MANDY MOORE
Mandy Moore
Epic
WILLA FORD
Willa Was Here
Lava/Atlantic
Mandy Moore is one of the busiest teen stars today. She works on MTV hosting Mandy, focusing on music and entertainment and she occasionally plays guest host when Carson Daly is absent on Total Request Live. She also had a role in Garry Marshall’s motion picture The Princess Diaries, which came out this summer. In addition, the 17-year-old is the spokesperson for Neutrogena, pitching television commercials and print ad campaigns.
But her work ethic doesn’t necessarily mean she has differentiated herself from her rivals or that it has brought her bountiful success. Her first two albums So Real and I Wanna Be With You didn’t have huge commercial success, selling close to 3 million copies. And her first single “Candy” had bubble-gum pop (pun intended!) written all over it.
The new album’s debut single “In My Pocket,” co-produced by Emilio Estefan Jr., has a Middle Eastern influence with a rich sound. But with an avant-garde turn, her fans apparently weren’t ready for the abrupt change as the song under performed expectations. “One Sided Love,” another Middle Eastern tinged tune, is wonderfully written and composed. With a breathy, Natalie Imbruglia vibe Moore spares us the vocal gyrations of some of her equals.
Despite being another love song “Cry” features a live string quartet, acoustic guitars, and a beautiful melody. “You Remind Me” is a lean, hip-hop spiked jam that reinstates Moore’s faith in love.
“Saturate Me” is one of the low points on Mandy Moore. The lyrics are throwaway, her voice is barely audible, and the music has no zing.
Mandy Moore isn’t a groundbreaking album nor lyrically perfect, but Moore does convince us that she’s not about walking around in a tube top, miniskirt, and heels; she actually seems to care about her music. But her longevity seems to be put into question. She’s already released three albums probably hoping to enjoy her current success before her fame disappears.
Breathing down her neck is a new teen pop starlet. Her name’s Amanda Williford (better known as Willa Ford). She’s blond. She’s seductive. She’s 20-years-old. Yep, another Britney wannabe!
Even before her first single hit the airwaves, Ford was already famous due to her two-year relationship to Backstreet Boy Nick Carter. But the relationship drew more hate than love for the fledgling songbird. The buxom blond apparently inspired enough venom among his fans to foster some four-dozen anti-Willa Web sites.
The debut single “”I Wanna Be Bad” is dance/pop to the core, with a cutesy sing-along chorus. But the song stops short of accomplishing its mission; the nastiest she gets is proclaiming “losing all my cool/ I’m about to break the rules/ I wanna be bad.”
“Prince Charming” is one of the few decent tracks on Willa Was Here. The up-tempo track is dance-floor pop at it’s best as she sings “fairy tales can come true/ so I will wait for you” to a future lover. “Dare,” another fast track, also shines as the chorus bumps, bangs, and knocks as she aggressively sings “nasty, nasty, nasty!”
On “Tired” Willa expresses abhorrence at critics who lump her into the manufactured teen pop heap. Ironically, the song has teen pop written all over it, canceling out any reason that we should classify her otherwise. The schmaltzy ballad “Tender” displays Willa at her worst-her voice works best when the speed is turned up with dance-pop beats.
It’s funny how Ford writes “Here’s to the next record, may my life be as much of an emotional rollercoaster as it was during this one so I can keep writing real lyrics and not the cheesy sh-t! about butterflies, sunshine and candy.” Memo to Ford: Hate it to break it to ya babe, but there are no real lyrics on your record. Oh, and one more thing, on the next record try being good for a change.
