BLEH BLEH BLEH

[Video]
[5.86]

David Sheffieck: I’ll take Ryan Tedder’s bag of tricks over, say, Pharrell’s any day – here, it’s the delicate a capella “I keep going to the river” before the final chorus reprise that gets me most. Predictable? Unquestionably. Effective? I sure can’t deny it.
[7]

Thomas Inskeep: Signed by Simon Cowell, given a big first single by Ryan Tedder – so she’s Leona Lewis, then? Henderson seems to have a capital-V voice, and knows what to do with it on this big, slightly skewed pop (aka pop, not turbo-pop of the Katy Perry variety) record. Potential here, though I frankly don’t expect much. Maybe she’ll surprise.
[5]

Alfred Soto: Reciting Tedderisms over ponderous piano and Maroon 5 rhythm licks, Ella Henderson sings with the confidence of a new star guaranteed a number one hit (she was right). Her voice is like the river she sings about, eroding sharps and edges in the interest of maintaining a pace.
[3]

Megan Harrington: I love Ryan Tedder’s sense of economy: piano, thunderous drums, handclaps, a funky guitar riff, and Henderson’s voice quadruple tracked into its own chorus all have their moment in “Ghost.” He’s just shameless and so am I, he could orchestrate this in his sleep but it always sounds thrilling to me. My score errs on the lower side of my surging heartbeat because the lyrics are weak. Henderson’s got a strong J. Spaceman start in “I keep going to the river to pray” but ends the couplet with “cos I need something that can wash all the pain.” Immediately, I want to re-write that second line as “cos I need something to wash the pain away.” As well, “soul” should be somewhere (really, everywhere) in this song, but the closest Henderson gets is “spirit.” Her writing is either rushed or green. 
[7]

Scott Mildenhall: Entering a pantheon of musical talent to have escaped northern Lincolnshire including Rod Temperton, Bernie Taupin and Kim from Pop Idol 2, Ella Henderson has what can only be described as “pipes” to go along with “Ghost”‘s moderate funk, and she deploys them with aplomb. She goes high, she goes low, she goes hiccupy, brilliantly interpreting lyrics admittedly silly – venturing down to Tetney Lock to pretend you’re an evangelical American from the 60s? – but equally coherent.
[7]

Will Adams: Hand-in-glove, Ryan Tedder’s technically perfect, terminally inoffensive style is a perfect match for X Factor alum Ella Henderson. The injected gospel references have reached a breaking point; the down to the river line is repeated endlessly, as if attempting to trick the listener into thinking there’s something soulful about this.
[5]

Brad Shoup: Nu-northern soul, riding pop piano progressions and pop-funk rhythm guitar; it’s a distant cousin to John Newman’s “Love Me Again,” with allusions to DJ Mustard’s yelling dudes. I’m mostly here for the way she pronounces “ghost”.
[7]