The American Idol 3 winner possesses one of the greatest set of tonsil of all the reality TV show winners, and a delivery and vocal styling likened to a sexy Stephanie Mills in her prime. This Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins is now transformed from a Destiny Child-esque hip-hop joint into a near-essential big-room dance outing from The Scumfrog; complete with stark violins and a darkly twisted bassline making it a perfect shirts-off anthem. Ms Barrino’s vocals perfectly suit the upbeat production, a feat which is replicated by mixer Nate Skaten on the equally funky ‘Truth Is’, the second single from the starlet produced by Soulshock and Karlin, (although there’s no sign of the Isley Brothers ‘The Highways Of My Life’ sample that featured in the original downbeat mixes). Not many artists these days have half the raw emotion and power of this self-proclaimed “gospel song bird”, so why on earth isn’t BMG releasing this current US import here until July?
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Lewis Dene
