2008 Woodie Awards
CD Review: Katharine McPhee
Dino Mujakovic
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
Katharine McPhee was only the runner up on American Idol, but her long awaited debut album, released by RCA Records in association with 19 Recordings Limited, satisfies with her powerful, yet so tender, voice which gave many fans the McFever.
Always appearing to appeal to the commercial audience, this Pop/R&B collection sounds both fresh and contemporary with a modern sounding ballads and up tempo R&B songs.
The first single of the album is "Over It." It is a sassy rock ballad with a twist of soul spiced, mid tempo, big pop image popular lately. It is describing how she is over all those things she liked about him in the first place and mixes with the theme of moving on:
"No that ain't no way to be/How I feel, read my lips/Because I'm so over/Moving on and it's my time/You never were a friend of mine/Hurt at first, a little bit/But now I'm so over/So over it"
Among the sassy, spunky and rocky songs, such as "Open Toes," there were also the typical ballads which made her a fan favorite on Idol. Contemporary power ballads include "Ordinary World" and "Home." The upbeat song "Dangerous" has the potential to be a club favorite, turning bored crowds into dancing maniacs warning of the next dangerous player.
My favorite song is "Neglected." Her voice goes through all the ranges that made me melt while watching her perform and cheering for her on Idol while the lyrics are powerful, striking and haunting.
"If these walls could talk, baby/What would they say/They've been a witness to all of the pain/I gave you everything I had to give/Now I'm so empty cause you had your fill/You took the life from my face"
However, what this album lacks is songwriting creativity. Although Katharine co-wrote three songs, "Neglected," "Open Toes," and "Not Ur Girl," it was still missing a certain spark, filling me with desire to play this album over and over again. It sounds as if Kelly Clarkson is being repeated here. Her first album lacked the same elements as Katharine's does, but the sophomore album gave all which was missing. Let us hope Katharine will follow the same multi-platinum selling steps
Always appearing to appeal to the commercial audience, this Pop/R&B collection sounds both fresh and contemporary with a modern sounding ballads and up tempo R&B songs.
The first single of the album is "Over It." It is a sassy rock ballad with a twist of soul spiced, mid tempo, big pop image popular lately. It is describing how she is over all those things she liked about him in the first place and mixes with the theme of moving on:
"No that ain't no way to be/How I feel, read my lips/Because I'm so over/Moving on and it's my time/You never were a friend of mine/Hurt at first, a little bit/But now I'm so over/So over it"
Among the sassy, spunky and rocky songs, such as "Open Toes," there were also the typical ballads which made her a fan favorite on Idol. Contemporary power ballads include "Ordinary World" and "Home." The upbeat song "Dangerous" has the potential to be a club favorite, turning bored crowds into dancing maniacs warning of the next dangerous player.
My favorite song is "Neglected." Her voice goes through all the ranges that made me melt while watching her perform and cheering for her on Idol while the lyrics are powerful, striking and haunting.
"If these walls could talk, baby/What would they say/They've been a witness to all of the pain/I gave you everything I had to give/Now I'm so empty cause you had your fill/You took the life from my face"
However, what this album lacks is songwriting creativity. Although Katharine co-wrote three songs, "Neglected," "Open Toes," and "Not Ur Girl," it was still missing a certain spark, filling me with desire to play this album over and over again. It sounds as if Kelly Clarkson is being repeated here. Her first album lacked the same elements as Katharine's does, but the sophomore album gave all which was missing. Let us hope Katharine will follow the same multi-platinum selling steps
Be the first to comment on this story