By Michael Osborn BBC News Online

It seems Pop Idol finalists Will Young and Gareth Gates are about to enter an illustrious hall of fame, inhabited by the likes of musical male couplings The Righteous Brothers and PJ & Duncan, now better as Ant and Dec.

The chart-topping pair have been brought together to record a duet of The Long and Winding Road, a song from The Beatles' back catalogue.

But this musical dream team is set to be a short-lived affair, for they will return to their solo careers after this one-off has stormed the charts and become the stuff of pop trivia.

The Idols' managers have plumped for this whimsical, autumnal tune for the boys to perform - which simply is not the stirring stuff of duets.

Young beat Gates in the Pop Idol final

As the tune languidly glides along, Young and Gates largely sing solo, dividing up the vocals between them, apart from a few faltering bars where their voices sit side by side and are largely indistinguishable.

This choice of song fails to make the most of the pair's contrasting voices and styles which have moulded them into two distinct pop packages.

Clearly "Will and Gareth" are not about to become a regular double act.

They are using this as a profitable one-stop along their own long and winding roads to further solo success, shown by Gates' timely, jaunty version of Elvis classic Suspicious Minds on the flip side of this record.

The much-vaunted duet is a light, innocuous confection of strings, guitar work and delicate instrumentation which ambles along gently and is designed to leave a dewy tear in the eye.

For the legions of fans from both the Will and Gareth camps, this is a blessing from heaven - and will be pure joy too for record executives as it blitzes its way to another number one spot in the charts.

But as a piece of music supposing to bring the talents of the nation's Pop Idols together as a harmonious one, this fails to make the grade.

The Long And Winding Road by Will Young and Gareth Gates is released on Monday 23 September.