By Keily Oakes BBC News Online entertainment staff

Who would have thought that a little over a year ago that Darius Danesh, he of the egotistical Britney Spears performance on Popstars, would be on the edge of a credible music career?

Ridiculed for his goatee, ponytail and his efforts to "feel the love in the room", the Scot was a laughing stock.

But having redeemed himself as a self-deprecating nice guy on Pop Idol, his fame has been eclipsed by the show's winner Will Young and runner-up Gareth Gates.

But that is all set to change with the release of his debut single Colourblind.

Danesh has had the sense not to leap on the Pop Idol bandwagon and quickly release a sloppy cover track.

Instead he has chosen to bide his time, wait for the right record deal and bravely pen his own songs.

And here he is months later, bursting on to the scene with a great pop tune and one he can claim as his own. Well, partly his own, it is co-written.

Darius Danesh co-wrote Colourblind

The theme of the song is nothing revolutionary - love is fantastic, she's so beautiful it makes me blind, feeling blue without you etc etc.

But it does show off Danesh's voice to the maximum, with a strong vocal range sure to make the ladies go weak at the knees.

Detractors

This guitar-edged pop song is not destined to become a pop classic, in fact it is actually quite forgettable even after numerous plays.

But it looks destined to give the king of reinvention a deserved first number one single.

If this happens he will be able to stick two fingers up at his detractors - namely "Nasty" Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Cowell - who did not think he had the talent to go all the way.

Perhaps the time has come for Danesh to go forth and eclipse Young and Gates.

He should enjoy having the spotlight to himself because this time it is for all the right reasons.

Colourblind is out on 29 July on Mercury Records.