Straight off the success of another
Disney
movie (
High School Musical
followed by
Jump In
), teen heartthrob
Corbin Bleu
released his debut,
Another Side
, ostensibly to show that there's more to him than just his acting and his pretty face. However, what the album illustrates most of all is that
Bleu
has an impressive production and songwriting team and plenty of money to make a hit record rather than any particular immense talent of his own. The singer's voice is decent in its own right, though not spectacular, and fits the kind of
pop
/
R&B
that's being churned out in spades, but
isn't able to give himself much of an identity or personality beyond that. The music itself doesn't help, either. The 12 tracks that make up
don't distinguish themselves from any other of the
teen pop
songs out there. They are catchy, but only in the most generic of ways, with too many synthesized beats and other instruments that are processed beyond the point of recognition. Yes, there are moments when
seems to find his voice -- the stalkerish
"Homework,"
the
Ne-Yo
-penned
"I Get Lonely"
-- but more often than not the tracks all seem to be knock-offs of older
faves
*NSYNC
(and similarly,
Justin Timberlake
, who
often seems to be mimicking) or even the
Cheetah Girls
; it's pure TV-channel-created
, meant to support and reflect the tween dynasty they've created.
and Co. are trying to appeal to a sense of fun, to singing along in the car with your friends (as your mom drives), but it's so generic and produced it doesn't even do that. And with that one objective failed,
loses its own purpose completely. [A one-CD version was also released.] ~ Marisa Brown