There is good and bad news regarding teeny-bop pop. The bad news
is that there always seems to be a new entry or three trying to
grab their share of the throw-away pop throne for a few
minutes.
The good news is that the herd tends to thin itself – and the
weaker entries — out quickly. This is the fate that actress
Christy Carlson Romano seems to be about to face with her
self-titled mini-album. (I refuse to call any disc with only eight
songs — that wasn’t released by a progressive rock group — a full
album.)
Best known to a phalanx of young girls across the country as the
voice of Kim Possible, Romano pleasantly sneers her way through a
selection of songs featured in various Disney shows and movies, but
never really finds her own unique voice or sets herself out among
the crowd. This quickly proves to be her downfall.
It’s not that songs such as “Dive In” and “Let’s Bounce” are
unpleasant; indeed, I’ve heard worse coming out of my daughter’s
boombox. But Romano doesn’t really have the range to nail some of
these songs — as painfully evidenced on a stone-cold rendition of
“Colors Of The Wind.” Unfortunately for Romano, things go downhill
quickly from here.
Tracks like “Could It Be,” “Teacher’s Pet” and “Dream Vacation”
all are the musical equivalent of white bread: very little
substance, no real value. Had she kept some semblance of the style
she showed on the first couple of songs on this disc, things might
have been a little different.
This all isn’t to say that Romano can’t become a talented
singer. After all, she’s still very young and has yet to find her
particular vocal and musical niche. But Christy Carlson Romano
serves as proof that just because you’re on television doesn’t
necessarily mean you should record an album of your own. Just ask
William Hung.
