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Soulful
12/09/2003 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy
Clay Aiken fans might disagree, but this is the American Idol release most folks have been waiting for. Not only was the Velvet Teddy Bear the champ of the TV variety show's second season, but in the communal spirit of urban music, he also brings big names to the table: producers Swizz Beatz and Jazze Pha, and rapper Fat Joe, among others. Like the other Idol spin-offs, Soulful features state-of-the-art originals, songs that dally on the trendy edges of the mainstream (the hip-hop flavored "What Is Sexy" and "Can I Get Your Attention") but are savvily guided toward the middle of the road by label head Clive Davis. And Studdard, like fellow Idols Aiken and Kelly Clarkson, is hardly a pop pretender when his vocal skills equal or better much of the competition; he's no Luther Vandross, but he ain't no Wyclef, either. But the several familiar covers (why not "Sweet Home Alabama," at least?) highlight the show's underlying karaoke-bar cheesiness. Timeworn classics that stretch pipes and win contests–-the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart," Flack and Hathaway's "For All We Know"–-are poor choices for an album with something else to prove.
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