Eliza Doolittle

As far as chick-pop goes, Eliza Doolittle has assimilated into the music industry quite smoothly. Before releasing this debut in the U.S. last month, the sassy 22-year-old from London gained her foothold in the U.K. charts with the self-titled album in the summer of 2010. In terms of looks, she’s Fiona Apple’s funky little sister. But in terms of sound, think MoZella’s punchy notes and vocal creativity meets Amy Winehouse’s bad-ass attitude and Motown influence. In the chorus of her best-known hit, “Pack Up,” Doolittle is interrupted by a Stevie Wonder/Ray Charles-sounding guy belting raspy lines (borrowed, in part, from a 100-year-old marching song): “Ya gotta pack up your troubles in your old kit bag/ and bury them beneath the sea,” but she chimes in cheerily: “I don’t care what the people may say/ what the people may say about me.” That’s not to mention the baritone sax riff that propels the song, or when Doolittle takes a break from singing to let out a sweet “tweet, tweet.” Her retro influences, like that ’50s-style sax, are obvious throughout, and she keeps her lyrics cute and playful, but witty, like these from “Police Car”: “I’ve got my head like a cello/ melancholy bows/ If it goes, keep it mellow.” The songs are perfect for humming along to during an afternoon of chores, or during a drive down Highway 99.