Altsounds - Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat

'Lucky' is a pleasant, lilting acoustic ballad that wouldn't sound out of place sound-tracking attractive teen poseurs frolicking about on MTV. Jason Mraz is not a name I was familiar with until this afternoon it has to be said, but if this song is anything to go by I can be almost 100% sure of his target demographic, and as I'm not a teenage girl I'm going to have to judge this on it's own terms.

The chords are predictable but perfectly suited to the simple melody and Mraz's boy-band vocals are matched perfectly by guest vocalist Colbie Caillat. The unforgiving tweeness of the chorus ("lucky I'm in love with my best friend") is initially off-putting though, and the string arrangements add a layer of gloss usually only found on songs set to cartoon animals smooching in a Disney film.

However, if I abandon my cynical nature for just one second I can appreciate the craftsmanship behind such a song as 'Lucky'. The sparse instrumentation perfectly frames the vocals (which harmonise perfectly at almost every turn) and the chorus is memorable (if overly familiar) and ..... sweet..... I guess.

I guess we all have a teenage girl somewhere deep inside of us (that sounded wrong) and Mr Mraz (how do you pronounce that anyway) should on any occasion prove it's perfect foil.