The high-profile, hit television show American Idol has launched the careers of several popular vocalists in the past few years, including Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, and Clay Aiken. Mandisa, a former finalist, will have her own success story to share one day as well.

But what sets this talented vocalist apart from many of her predecessors is her decision to release an overtly Christian record, on a Christian label no less. But make no mistake, Mandisa's powerful pipes and well-produced debut album could have her ready to once again take on the world at large.

True Beauty gets off on the right note with Mandisa's new hit single "Only the World." Full of optimism and joy, this singer refuses to let anything superficial bring her down. Her positive energy continues to flow through True Beauty's eleven songs. The title track has a similar vibe to the opening tune with its bouncy rhythm and R&B pop flair.

Mandisa even revisits her version of MaryMary's charismatic "Shackles (Praise You)" (for those of you who may have missed it, Mandisa performed this song live on Idol). "Love Somebody" has the funkiest groove found here, featuring tobyMac chiming in with his signature rap/spoken word style. Even though much of True Beauty is fun and upbeat, Mandisa utilizes several stunning ballads to capture her spine-chilling vocals. The show stopping "Voice of a Savior" exhibits the potential to become a heavy-hitter on Christian radio. Other gorgeous ballads such as "God Speaking" and "Only You" are just as powerful as "Voice of a Savior" and nicely complete True Beauty.

This album is undeniably a strong debut disc. Nevertheless, it still leaves many opportunities for this budding young artist to grow into a seasoned, well-rounded performer. While all of the songs from True Beauty are smoothly produced and nicely crafted, many of them seem to fit into the comfortable "Christian pop" mold, occasionally being anything but original. Alongside that, some of the lyrics and themes of True Beauty seem somewhat redundant, bringing to mind the work countless other artists who also fall into the Christian pop/adult contemporary category.

American Idol was merely the beginning of Mandisa's career. As she continues to grow and search out her own musical path, Mandisa will quickly be on her way to being one of the industry's leading ladies. But until then, True Beauty will likely satisfy the ears of most listeners.

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 Fantasia's CD leaves a lot to be desired

Heat. Heat. And more heat.

That's what Fantasia brings on her new, sophomore self-titled CD.

Unfortunately, those bumpin' "urban rock" tracks -- as she calls it -- aren't for everyone.

Unless you're into the club scene or crave hardcore, Missy Elliott-type hip-hop music, tunes such as "Baby Makin' Hips," "Not the Way That I Do," "I'm Not That Type," "Uneligible," "Surround U," and "Bore Me (Yawn)" will keep you away from the 14-song collection.

Except for the "American Idol" Season 3 winner's R&B hit single with Big Boi of Outcast, "Hood Boy," and the addictive, sing-along "Sunshine," those songs are simply forgettable for those who prefer more mainstream hip-hop. These tunes would never make it on Top 40 radio.

But, there's good news. Just as unimpressive as those six burning songs are, the other half of the album consists of gems.

Bringing back memories of the 2006 Grammy nominee's No. 1 Adult R&B smash, "Truth Is," Fantasia displays tender vocals and emotional vulnerability on "When I See U". As in "Truth Is," the new song's subject tells the story of a woman who has lost her man but still longs to be with him. Don't be surprised if this becomes another chart topper.

Other ballads such as "Only One U" and "Bump What Ya Friends Say" also show the softer side of the soulful singer. The radio-friendly "Only One U," an ode to her faithful partner, could become another hit if it's released as a single. The Gospel-styled "Bump What Ya Friends Say" reminds the listener of Fantasia's heartfelt vocals on her Idol-winning song, "I Believe".

Other potential hits include the mid-tempo, sexually-driven "I Nominate U" and the mild, sassy "Two Weeks Notice." Both songs could be the mainstream breakthrough hits Fantasia has been seeking. Containing the most creative lyrics in the set, "Two Weeks Notice," likens a breakup to quitting a job.

The CD's best song is Dianne Warren's emotional "I Feel Beautiful." Produced by Babyface, this empowering and inspirational tune could turn into a classic. Seemingly real to Fantasia, it tells the story of a woman who has been consistently discouraged by her lover. Yet, the subject is determined to remain strong and see herself as beautiful despite the obstacles.

Even being slightly better than half-good, I still recommend buying this CD. The eight quality songs are worth it. Who knows, the rough hip-hop tunes may eventually grown on you over time.

This recording still falls short of what I expected from Fantasia. She hasn't reached her full potential yet. I guess we'll have to wait another album for that.

Warning: this CD does contain some obscene lyrics. 

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Daughtry's CD a slam dunk

Wow.

Um...wow.

That's probably the only review I need to write when it comes to today's release, Daughtry. I wondered what it would be like when I bought the CD. Would it be a half-hearted pop-rock effort like Bo Bice's first? Or would it be a true-to-his-roots labor of love like Kellie Pickler's recent disc. I listened to the CD. Then I listened to it. And just for a change of pace, I listened to it again. Ladies and gentlemen, the verdict is in. It's a slam dunk. I love it. Call the American Idol votes back in, people, we have a new winner.

Seriously, after the fabulous albums that Daughtry and Kellie Pickler have released, Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks are going to have to REALLY knock it out of the park to be better. Taylor's CD is going to have to heal the sick and raise the dead before I call it better than Daughtry. I'm actually curious if this might be the year where both the second AND first place winners fall by the wayside. I certainly don't wish that on them, because they're both talented people. But they are going to have to really bring it home to beat the CDs that have already been released.

My thoughts about Daughtry's CD are pretty simple. It rocks from start to finish. There is not one track on it that I dislike. It's one loud wall of sound from the time your CD drawer closes to the time when the final track cuts. If I had to pick a couple of tracks that really stand out, I guess I'd say "It's Not Over" and "Over You" probably gave me the biggest kick in the head. "Home" is also pretty good. But honestly, I could love every single moment of this CD without hesitation.

Of course, the insufferable rock music snots are already poo-pooing it, which you should expect, because, well, they're insufferable snots. And their musical tastes are more valid than yours. And they're cooler than you, which is only slightly obscured by how much they were constantly made fun of in their youth and the length the stretch marks around their butt cheeks from having their underwear pulled up somewhere around their adam's apple by people who were, in fact, cool, and not insufferable music snots. If I've heard the word "overproduced" once today, I've heard it a million times. Of course there's no such thing, as quality is highly subjective, and what might be overdone to one might be underdone to another. What these people mean by overproduced is that the music has a lot of help from the people recording it, as opposed to just some unwashed, smelly hippie like themselves playing it in front of nobody on a broken Fender knock-off. Well, let me amend that: most music critics aren't actually capable of creating music themselves, so that should be some OTHER unwashed, smelly hippie playing with a broken Strat knock-off. These critics are by and large unhappy when something comes along that is actually commercially successful. They're the same people that helped Kurt Cobain commit suicide.

But the truth is this: the music is good, no matter how it was produced, and the lyrics are thoughtful. There's really no reason to compare him to Nickelback or Fuel, as many are doing, because while they're in the same genre, Daughtry has their own unique sound, and they're doing what they love to do, which is rock it and rock it hard. And they're cooler than the critics, which just drives them batty.

In any case, ignore those idiots. These are good tunes. Chris had a hand in writing all these songs, with the exceptions of "Feels Like Tonight" and "What About Now," the latter of which was penned by Ben Moody, formerly of Evanescence. "Breakdown" was one that he did with his former band, Absent Element. The fact that a guy, who is as new to the business as Chris Daughtry, can pen these tunes is mind-blowing. Are they mainstream? Yeah. Will they rock your world? If you let them. Musically, the band is tight. I've rarely heard guitars sound this nice, and Paul Bushnell on bass just makes me want to cry tears of joy.

Chris' voice on this album is better than it ever was on Idol. He has help in the form of Howard Benson, who also produced the All-American Rejects and My Chemical Romance. On the mixer is Chris Lord-Alge who has worked with Green Day, B.B. King, No Doubt, Bad Religion, and many others. Extra special is a guest appearance on "What I Want" by Guns N' Roses guitar legend Slash.

All told, this album is quite solid. You will never hear me say this again, but I recommend purchasing the album through Wal-Mart, as their discs (and only theirs) contain two bonus tracks (an acoustic version of "Home" and "Crashed.") It's worth a buy, and it will be a mainstay in your car's disc changer.

What are you still reading for? Go get it!

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Ditz just in: J.D. Matthews loves him some Kellie Pickler

If you've kept up with (J.D.'s Musical Ramblings) for the past year, you'll know that Kellie Pickler and I have sort of a history. It was a bad start. I was at the forefront of the Kellie-haters, calling her Icky Picky and screaming "Kick Pickler" to the top of my lungs.

And then she did it. I don't know quite how, but she used her little vixen magic. Despite all my harsh words, I finally picked Pickler. My public apology to her and her subsequent response are all a matter of record now.

However, I've reserved the last measure of judgment for the release of her new album. No matter how much I like Kellie personally, she is still going to have to prove something with her album. She is going to have to be good.

She's not good.

She's GREAT.

I've been enjoying her recent single "Red High Heels" quite a bit recently. It has been featured prominently on my weekly show on Idol Waves Radio and has been quite popular. (If you want to catch her single on the show, it airs at 3 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Central Standard Time each Tuesday. Her song was up to number eight on the countdown this past week.) It's catchy, sassy, and just an overall good song. But could the rest of her album be any good?

You better believe it. She's a power-packed little ball of energy, our Kellie. No wonder then that 19 Entertainment chose to break with tradition this year and release her CD before the winner's CD release. (Typically, non-winners are contractually bound to hold off on releasing an album until the first and second place winners are on the market.) Kellie's is the first official 19 release this year. (Ayla Brown is the first actual release, but she's not in the 19 stable.)

For this review, I used the tried-and-true car stereo test. I had to keep driving a while, because once I got started there was no way I was leaving the car till the CD was over.

It would be easy to imagine Kellie coming out and doing a sort of Clay Aiken-esque disc, with watered-down country ballads and generic cover songs, but Small Town Girl is full of energy, and Kellie herself comes at you like a spitfire, railing on the irresponsible men in her life, celebrating her countryfied persona, and basically getting you on the dance floor for a good old fashioned hootenanny. For a girl who doesn't know the meaning of the word "ballsy," she most certainly is.

For me, the biggest moments on the whole album come smack dab in the middle, on the track "I Wonder." Kellie's tear-jerking ode to her absentee mother is quite a punch in the gut that left me wiping an un-masculine bit of moisture out of my eye. You can hear the hurt in her voice, and she perhaps has never put more heart and soul into any performance than she does in this song. If this isn't released as a single, then someone needs to be fired.

Even though this is the most powerful track on the album, the rest are no slouch jobs either. She ranges from being almost snarky on "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind," to bleeding out some heartbreak on "Didn't You Know," to breathing nostalgia on "Small Town Girl," to having fun on "One of The Guys," and then back to being sentimental on "My Angel," a tribute to her grandmother. And I still love "Red High Heels."

In fact, I just love me some Kellie Pickler.

"But J.D., what about that nasal voice you kept harping on during Idol??" you ask. Well, to be honest, it's still there, but not as much, because she's obviously been doing work on her vocals. But I think a lot of what makes her voice sound thin is the fact that she's a fairly high soprano voice anyway. The truth is that once you listen to the album, you'll realize that even though she does go into head voice sometimes, she always has complete vocal control. (And honestly, whatever else is left is easily handled by the back-up singers.) Still, in her proper element, any shortcomings she might have just melt away. And she's loads better than she ever was on any of the Idol shows.

Long story short, go get this album. You can pick it up for the low low cost of $9.99 at Best Buy for a limited time, or you can click here to order it from Amazon. It's well worth owning.

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                                         Moving Forward

Ayla Brown puts American Idol behind her, releases debut CD

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