The class is nearly over, but that isn't stopping some extremely high-profile artists from dropping big-time albums on the penultimate Tuesday of 2010. New albums from Jamie Foxx (Best Night of My Life), Keyshia Cole (Calling All Hearts) and Ghostface Killah (Apollo Kids) will all be hitting store shelves today, and the new album from Duran Duran (All You Want Is Now, which was produced by Mark Ronson) is also available digitally.
But possibly the most anticipated release this week is the new album by Keri Hilson, which is called No Boys Allowed. Hilson has been on the cusp of greatness for a while, scoring a bit of buzz thanks to one big hit ("Knock You Down," which featured drop-ins from Ne-Yo and Kanye West) and a lot of critical respect for her sweet voice and esoteric beat selection. Is No Boys Allowed the task that will have her a house name?
At the moment, the critics seem skeptical of that idea. No Boys Allowed has been greeted somewhat tepidly by the evaluators, beginning with a fair review in Entertainment Weekly. "This zigzagging sophomore disc suggests she's not quite certain where to go next," wrote Mikael Wood. "Our advice? Sidestep the lukewarm dancehall and raunchy electro and adhere to sensual future-soul slow jams."
Ben Ratliff of the New York Times also felt lukewarm about No Boys Allowed, and couldn't help but compare Hilson to another R&B singer who often shows up on high-profile collaborations. "It's clear that Rihanna, as of her troubles with Chris Brown and the album that resulted from it - last year's Rated R - has something big that Ms. Hilson probably wants: a narrative," he wrote. "But a few songs here are well enough to check the overthinking comparisons. One is 'Pretty Girl Rock,' produced by Ne-Yo and Chuck Harmony, four minutes of schoolyard singsong about her fabulousness."
Meanwhile, Elysa Gardner of USA Today thought that No Boys Allowed was scarred by the distinct lack of Hilson. "Given Hilson's record as a hit-shaping tunesmith for other stars, in fact, it's ironic how short of her own voice comes through on this set of bright and pleasurable but mostly disposable pop-soul candy," she wrote.
What do you consider of Keri Hilson's new album? Let us live in the comments! Tambin deberias leer:
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