Yet another of the "kids singing along to
pop
hits" collections that suddenly became popular in the early 2000s,
Kids Picks Hit Mix, Vol. 2
features sound-alike musicians and singers backing up
the Kids Picks Singers
. The album revisits a lot of the territory covered by the
Kidz Bop
series as well as its other competitors: it leads off with a version of
"Hey Ya!"
that is pleasant enough but doesn't have quite the impact of the
cover (to say nothing of the original, of course). However,
are featured more prominently on these remakes than they are on many of the other series, where the kids' vocals seem like an afterthought. This works on the tracks that are actually suited for kids, such as
"So Yesterday,"
"Where Is the Love?,"
and
"What Dreams Are Made Of,"
but not so much on serious
ballads
like
"White Flag"
"My Immortal."
Like the rest of these
singalong albums, this collection is certainly preferable to letting young children listen to anything violence- or profanity-laden, but it's not particularly nourishing or inspiring, either. Parents shouldn't necessarily nix
, but it probably shouldn't be the bulk of their kids' listening. ~ Heather Phares