...doesn't give me a word good enough to discribe this album.
So, I'll go with what I know.
Jojo's sophomore effort completely succeeds. There are no 'fillers' on this album. This of course, is solely my opinion and there are people who will definately disagree with this. All in all, this album is amazing and you should really give it at least a chance. You might end up loving it like I do.
1.) This Time- (17/20): After listening to the whole album, I've come to the conclusion that this is a rather bland opening to such an album. But it's still a good song, with great beats and nice vocals.
2.) The Way You Do Me- (17/20): Again, great 'swing' beats and it has such powerful energy in it, but...it just doesn't appeal to me as much as others. Most likely because I find it difficult to believe that a, what, 15 year old, could be singing this, but that's most likely me.
3.) Too Little, Too Late- (19/20): What else could get me hooked on this CD? Honestly, if I hadn't heard this song, I wouldn't have given this CD a thought, just because I wasn't too big a fan of her first CD, apart from the first single. It really is a wonderful song. Powerful voice, good emotion...it's all there. I would go on, but most of you have probably already heard it somewhere, anyway.
4.) High Road- (20/20): Inspirational, Strong, ... the list could go on. If there is a song that one should live by, this is it. The person she sings about (herself, I presume?) is what people should all be like. Instead of going for revenge, just let it go and take the 'high road'. Two thumbs up. Definately.
5.) Anything- (17/20): One of those, what I like to call, 'crusing' songs. It's good when you just want to chill or relax. And it's got a sample of the song 'Africa'. What more do you need?
6.) Like That- (17/20): It's very beautiful. Very. It kind of puts you in a trance...I guess what I'm trying to say that it's kind of indescribable.
7.) Good Ol- (18/20): Two words. Very addicting. Be prepared to hear it replaying in your head over and over. There. Warning done. Basically, another chill song. In my opinion, it's better than 'Anything' cause this one will make you want to get up and dance.
8.) Coming For You- (20/20): Wow. Wow. And wait for it...Wow. This is the first of the streak of five amazing songs. It's very poppy, no doubt. But that's not always a bad thing. The music...it's gorgeous, the emotion...it's raw, and the experience is something we all can relate to. Bravo.
9.) Let it Rain- (19/20): I feel bad for this song, because it's behind such an amazing song ('Coming For You'), but it still manages to hold it's own. The beats on this song are superior to all of them. It's sounds mysterious. Nice. Honestly, at first I thought this was going to be another break up song, but I'm glad to say that it's not. It's about finally giving in too love, and I think that's great.
10.) Exceptional- (20/20): You ever feel down? This is the song to listen too. It'll lift your spirits. It'll make you want to fly. It's 'exceptional'.
11.) How to Touch A Girl- (20/20) Ha. When I first heard the name of this song, I was just, like, Oh My Word. I really thought it was going to be some perverted song. But it's not, and it's more towards touching her mentally (being sweet...ect.). Thank goodness. It's really good, though, and guys, if you listen to what she has to say on it...yeahh.
12.) Note to God- (20/20): Up on par with 'High Road' for most powerful. It is a sad song, yet it makes me feel inspired. Hmm...Nonetheless, it's a perfect way to end the album.
Buy it. You won't regret it. Trust me.
But if you don't want to, you should at least download these songs:
Too Little, Too Late
High Road
Coming For You
Let it Rain
Exceptional
How to Touch a Girl
Note to God
&&&
if you just want to chill...
Good Ol
Thanks for your time!
I have to disagree with another reviewer and say that this album can sound like a sophomore album (which it is) because of JoJo's vocal maturity. If you listened to her previous songs and album, you can hear the vocal maturity very much since then, especially in her range and power. In Too Little Too Late and another song I can't remember right now, she hits very very high notes that would seem to be out of range for an alto (which I believe she is), yet she hits them perfectly, without the operatic sound that most singers need. In addition to that, she is only 15 years old. Her age also relates to the maturity of this album. Sure, she did not write most of the songs, but I'm sure you can choose what you want to sing or don't want to sing, and the songs on this album (especially towards the end) have very good messages to them, such as Exceptional and Note to God. They are arguably very inspiring in a sea of poppish tunes of other artists with no point whatsoever.
If you're not an R&B, power ballad, curlicue type of person, I'd stay away, but I definitely recommend this album if you like to dance, sing, or just relax and chill with the music on.
When Jojo's debut album was released 2 years she was just 13, now she's almost 16 (Birthday in December) and has truly matured. When she sang about relationships on her debut it was hard to take it serious, it felt more like bubble gum teen pop then anything else and most of her audience was also young. It wasn't a bad album, especially the big hit "Leave (Get Out) which I also enjoyed. But she was simply too young and unexperienced and while it worked for a young audience it didn't for a older one. Things have changed dramatically in 2 and a half years time though, Jojo is older, she's been through realtionships (With soccer star Freddy Adu) and she's also got alot of help from some of the finest producers around like Sean Garrett, Scott Storch, Stargate, Swizz Beatz and Diane Warren. It obviously means that Jojo is good enough to take on a greater audience and that the music industry got trust in her. We all knew she was very talented but will that be enough for the difficult sophmore album?
It does, not only she matured as a artist but with the inclusion of better producers you get to see many diffrent sides of Jojo. It's all a mix between contemporary pop and R&b with some ballads included also. Jojo shows a rougher and more street smart appearence when she takes on songs like Garrett/Storch "This Time" with awesome beats and Garrett/Swizz Beats "The Way You Do To Me" also in blistering pace. Although I think she works better on the emotional midtempo/semi-ballad territory with the awesome title track "Too Little Too Late" the title track and "Anything" that lazily samples Toto's 1983 hit "Africa" but the sample and lyrics match each other perfect. "Like That" is a laidback slow-tempo, "Good, Ol" a midtempo and "Coming For You" is a pure pop song that resemble her debut album while Norwegians of Stargate produces "Let It Rain". They also produced Ne-Yo's debut album. The last 3 songs while of 2 Diane Warren penned, are all ballads. Not bad, but apparently they are not in focus either. For those that live in Europe, the order of the songlist is a little diffrent, it also includes 3 bonus songs "Do Whatcha Gotta Do" "I Can Take You There" and depending where you live a other version of an already released song. On one album for example there is a spanish verion of "Too Little, Too Late"!.
Overall, I wasn't going to get this album cause I didn't care about Teen-Pop but Jojo has matured for the better and this album is a more mature mix between contemporary Pop and R&B with both faster and slower songs. And Jojo is confident on both, even if she's better on midtempo's where she can truly sing out. If you like conemporary R&B-Pop like Brandy I think this album will suit you, it got something for all tastes.
JoJo's new cd entitled "The High Road" is a great cd. JoJo shows growth and maturity from her first album. The lyrics show that she has grown up and I think that she has what it takes to be a lasting force in the music business. If you don't have this album yet I recommend that you get it.
I completley agree with everybody, you can really hear how much JoJo has matured in this cd. For instance listen to Leave (Get Out) and then listen to Too Little, Too Late... you can hear a difference, a good one. JoJo is deffinatley going places in the music business, and this album prooves it. No matter what genre of music you are a fan of, there will be at least a track or two that you can relate to. I love this cd!
