roheblius's Full Review: Katharine McPhee by Katharine McPhee
(This product is mistitled and hopefully will be fixed soon.)
Katharine McPhee is known as the runner up to season five winner Taylor Hicks on American Idol. The 22 year old singer utilized her good looks and fantastic voice to overcome a lack of "it" factor to go far on the hit TV show. She comes from a musical background as her mother is an accomplished cabaret singer and she was the most veteran singer of the Idol group despite her young age. Katharine McPhee, which is her debut release, features help from a heavy hitters like Babyface, Walter Afanasieff (think Mariah Carey), The Underdogs, and Timberland buddy, Nate "Danja" Hills, who produces eight of the twelve tracks. It was rumored to be rushed after missing several release dates, and though at points it does sound so, for the most part, it feels complete.
Because of her vocal background, I expected this album to be full of Barbara Streisand like adult ballads in addition to being a borefest. Fortunately it's not, and there is a lot to like on the album. For starters, the first song, Love Story is an awesome way to start the album and really sets the tone. Produced by Nate "Danja" Hills, it features a creative background of peppy instrumentation and shows McPhee as someone who is not only young, but hip, which you didn't really see on the show. If anything, on the show she was an old soul in 22 year old skin. With Love Story she fits right in with the younger singers in the R&B genre. Initial single Over It is very much so a pop song that you'd expect from any of the young pop singers and while it doesn't show any of her strengths as an actual singer, it will get onto the iPods of young teenage girls, which I think is the point.
She's going to be compared to Christina Aguilera throughout her career just based on her powerful voice. Vocally, unless you listen very closely, you may think you hear Aguilera. Home doesn't try to shy away from that. In fact, it welcomes it with open arms. Co-written and co-produced by Kara DioGuardi, Home piggybacks Aguilera's own Beautiful both in production styles and how McPhee sings it. She also channels her inner Aguilera on the Afanasieff helped Ordinary World. She seems to embrace the Aguilera style in everything from how she sings the chorus to her runs and everything in between. Not a bad person to be compared to if you can step up to the plate. She doesn't yet emote like Aguilera, but Aguilera didn't emote like Aguilera until her last two albums. Each Other is her We Belong Together slash Be Without You song except she never told her man to call the radio if he can't be without his baby.
While the attempt to be Christina Aguilera 2.0 is a mixed bag just because she's a hard person to be compared to, the album does a good job with the faster tempo songs, which aren't always a strong point from someone with such a good voice. Not Ur Girl (again a Danja track) has a nice groove to it with a simple drum beat and McPhee shines on a track that Gwen Stefani would've muddled up with her rap singing. McPhee gets to show off a little bit on the chorus, but if anything, she holds back on the vocals for most of the album. Not all the faster paced songs hit though as the Underdogs produced Do What You Do tries to show her off as this diva like B-girl, and it's a laughable attempt. Dangerous brings it back a little bit with an anthem for girls to watch out for dangerous boys. Open Toes will probably be successful for her just based on it's silliness and the ability for it to connect with females. And it features a beat seemingly created by someone's fist and a park bench in an ode to Jam Master Jay.
With her voice, you'd think that her calling card would be the ballads, but it's on the ballads where the album slows down. While the production on the songs that have the pepper are creative and hot, the production on the ballads are just the opposite. She sounds like every other singer in the genre and only gets by because of her voice. Better Off Alone sounds like a song that Christina Aguilera would've left on the cutting room floor even on a double album release. Neglected is Danja's one misstep as he produces a slow and plodding beat that isn't saved by McPhee and her uninspired chorus. Babyface teams with McPhee on the last song, Everywhere I Go and 'Face allows McPhee to finally show off her pipes. It's your usual Babyface ballad, but you're not someone until you have one.
Katharine McPhee's first album isn't going to make people think she's the next great female singer, but there's enough positives in it to believe that one day she's going to be able to put together one hell of an album. She may still not have that "it" factor, but Katharine McPhee has enough good material on it to where I wouldn't be surprised if it sold it's share of copies.
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