As difficult as this will be for us to admit, the majority of UK acts simply aren’t ‘world class’.

Indeed, as talented as they may be, the nation has developed a habit of spawning acts who are more pedestrian than power player, lacking the star quality that comes all too naturally for their foreign counterparts.

Fortunately, in joining the likes of Adele, Emeli Sande, MKS and Ed Sheeran in truly representing his nation abroad, comes Labrinth– the Brit-Pop hit maker behind Rihanna’s ‘Lost in Paradise’!

Unfamiliar with his work?

Peep his performance of ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’ live at ‘Billboard’ HQ below!

Originally a duet with ‘Next To Me’ singer Emeli Sande, the song now enjoys ‘Hot 100’ peak position of #34, featuring on his debut album,  ‘Electronic Earth‘- released in April 2012.

With the world slowly but surely catching on to his cause, we can’t wait to see just how well Labrinth will fare commercially once he reaches US notoriety, and if his success will encourage British labels to set higher standards when picking up new acts.

For, as harsh as this may sound, there’s an air of basic that lingers around UK’s Pop/Urban scene, with only a small number of its staples(MKS, Ed Sheeran, Rita, Marina, Misha, Jessie J, Chip and James Arthur to name a few) that have what it takes to make them worth anyone’s time…home or away.

Your thoughts?