GWYNETH PALTROW's debut effort as a singer may be top of the charts in Australia - but she won't be having the same success in Great Britain.

Record company execs won't be releasing CRUISIN' - her ballad from the movie DUETS - as they don't think it's good enough.

The movie star's tune, a duet with 80s singer turned actor HUEY LEWIS, has just hit the number one slot Down Under. EDEL RECORDS offered the tune to British radio stations in November (00), but not one thought it suitable for their playlists. Two months on, the company believe they would be flogging a dead horse if they attempted to re-offer it to radio stations and release it as a single. Their decision was backed up by the fact that DUETS was a huge flop on its release over here.

A company executive at EDEL records, which released the Duets soundtrack, said: "We only released it as a promo over here - just for radio play. "The film flopped. There is limited scope for that type of track as far as radio is concerned in the UK. Australia may be a different scenario."

The duet CRUISIN' was a key moment in the film, which was directed by Paltrow dad's BRUCE. It saw Paltrow, 28, and Lewis as an estranged father and daughter, who reunited thanks to a shared love of karaoke music. It proved such a bizarre plot which movie-goers didn't bother to go see.

However, Paltrow's voice fared a little better with the critics - some even suggesting a singing career could be an option. Despite that the track won't reach the UK charts. "We did a full service for radio and realised from the reactions we got back that it wasn't really going to achieve much. To release it as a single would not have been worthwhile," the executive added. Even the usually Hollywood-friendly radio stations across Europe didn't warm to the five minute track. Some stations in the States embraced the tune, but it still won't be released as a single over there. The album is out though, and even that has bombed at record shops across the world. Most high street music stores aren't stocking copies of the LP, even though it's just two months old.

Paltrow had another musical effort on the CD - the 1980s smash from KIM CARNES, BETTE DAVIS EYES, which was labelled 'enthusiastic' and 'entertaining' by music critics. One expert said: "Gwyneth's songs are as interesting for their sheer novelty as for the discovery that Paltrow has a surprisingly good singing voice." "Paltrow's guileless reading of Bette Davis Eyes reveals the desperation and vulnerability that drives her character in the film." (JD/LB/WN)

Source: WENN