Just Like You Album Reviews Options

[beckysspam]

Thought we needed a thread to post the album reviews for Just Like You...

I'll edit them in as we find them.


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From EW

Just Like You (2009)
Allison Iraheta
Reviewed by Michael Slezak | Nov 24, 2009
Michael Slezak

EW's Grade: A-

With 11 different producers for 13 tracks, you'd think 17-year-old Allison Iraheta would need a miracle to create a cohesive debut disc with Just Like You. But nope, the muscular, instantly recognizable growl that carried her to a fourth-place finish on American Idol's eighth season is all she needs to seamlessly wed a collection of first-rate ditties, from the relentlessly propulsive ''Holiday'' to the '80s-influenced ''D Is for Dangerous'' to the soaring ''Don't Waste the Pretty.'' Meanwhile, ballads like the understated ''Scars'' and the bluesy ''Trouble Is'' separate Iraheta from questionably abled Miley/Selena contemporaries. Girl. Can. Sang! A-

Download This: Listen to the song Trouble Is
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20322505,00.html

From Syracus.com"

Debut CD from season eight finalist "American Idol" Allison Iraheta's 'Just Like You' drops on Tuesday

By Mark Bialczak/The Post-Standard
November 27, 2009, 10:41AM

Another well-anticipated debut CD from the season eight cast of "American Idol" drops on 19 Entertainment/Jive Records on Tuesday..

The good folks there sent me an advance copy of Allison Iraheta's work, and the 13-song collection "Just Like You" provides a pop canvas for the teenage singer from California's big voice.

Iraheta's forte on the Fox show was big and passionate rock.

After one listen, you can hear her love of rock 'n' roll.

Yet the red-haired belter also makes sure to dive into the pop realm. "No One Else,"for instance, is co-written by AI judge Kara DioGuardi, Greg Wells and PInk. For sure, the work reminds me more of the kind of work Kelly Clarkson's landing on the radio than the Janis Joplin or Heart persona that Iraheta slipped into so comfortably during season eight.

By ordering the collection ahead of time on iTunes or amazon.com, fans can buy special editions, too. The deluxe version on iTunes includes a Spanish-language version of the her single "Friday I'll Be Over You." On iTunes, the pre-order crowd also will receive a download of "Don't Wanna Be Wrong," co-written by Chris Daughtry and his Daughtry mate Brian Craddock.

Here's a song clip from my quick-hit favorite from the CD. It's "Trouble Is," produced by Ron Aniello.

I had the chance to interview Iraheta twice before she performed in Syracuse in September with the "American Idol" live tour.

Here's a bouncy over-the-phone Iraheta question-and-answer session.

She told me about making the CD:

"Yeah, before we went on tour, I was co-writing with great people. I've done that before the whole 'Idol' experience. Just working with people like David Hodges and Kevin Rudolf, it was an amazing experience."

And: "It'll be fun. It will definitely have a rock vibe to it. Hopefully, it's good."

She's right. It is very good.

On the show date, Sept. 14, I interviewed five Idols in the lobby of the Onondaga County War Memorial. Iraheta came to the interview session with a handful of journalists riding the shoulders of fellow Idol Michael Sarver.

Her first words to me fit nicely into the image she's beamed into America's living rooms the whole "American Idol" season.

Iraheta greeted me with: "Hi, dude!"

http://blog.syracuse.com/listenup/2009/11/...t_like_you.html

From the Quincy-Herald Whig:

High 5 for 11/26/09: Make way for Allison
Posted by seighinger on November 26, 2009

Allison Iraheta

Happy Thanksgiving to all High 5 readers, and good luck with that Black Friday thing tomorrow:

THE NEXT BIG THING: Musically speaking, it could be Allison Iraheta, the fourth-place finisher last season on American Idol. Her debut album, “Just like You,” is scheduled for a Dec. 1 release and the reviews have been tremendous. Iraheta’s Janis Joplin-esque performances on Idol created quite a buzz last spring, and that momentum was maintained during the summer tour of the top 10 Idol finishers. It would not be a major surprise if the spunky little redhead winds up being the biggest star of all from last season’s show. Sorry about that, Adam Lambert fans.

http://www3.whig.com/whig/blogs/ihavealottoshare/?p=1134

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Herald-Dispatch:

GO COMMENT

Allison Iraheta CD Review: Nothing New, But...
If Kelly Clarkson and P!nk had a daughter she would be Allison Iraheta. Her appearance, her demeanor, and especially her voice are the spitting image of both of them combined…

And although I mean that as a compliment to Allison it is also a bit of a problem for her on her debut CD, “Just Like You.” Because even though it is a strong effort, you can’t get over the feeling that you’ve heard it all before…

In fact, several of the tracks sound like hidden tracks/castoffs from P!nk’s or Kelly’s latest CDs. Opening single “Friday I’ll Be Over U” is pure Max Martin (“My Life Would Suck Without You,” “Since U Been Gone,” “So What”). The ballad “Scars” is very much in the vein of “Sober,” but it’s so perfectly suited for Allison’s voice you can overlook it. “Trouble Is” allows Allison to completely showcase her vocal ability, but if you heard it on the radio it would be a good minute and a half before you realized it wasn’t P!nk (if you did at all).

Ironically, one of the least P!nk-sounding songs on the CD is “No One Else” which P!nk co-wrote with Kara DioGuardi and Greg Wells. It’s pure Kara though (which I mean as a compliment), so it’s got that pure pop sound to it that could make it a big hit for Allison.

My two favorite tracks on the CD are the two sillier songs—“Robot Love” and “D is for Dangerous.” Although I’m still a little unclear on the meaning of “my boyfriend’s in love with a robot,” “Love,” which samples Gary Glitter’s “Rock & Roll Part 1” is a great song with a super catchy chorus you’ll be bopping to for hours. And “Dangerous” adds some much-needed funk…

The funk does not work, however, on the Kevin Rudolf co-write, “Beat Me Up.” The verse is ok, but the chorus just doesn’t work and the song sticks out like a sore thumb.

“Just Like You,” “Don’t Waste the Pretty,” “Pieces,” “Still Breathing” and “You Don’t Know Me” are all mid-tempo numbers in the lighter P!nk/Kelly Clarkson vein, while “Holiday” gets a little grittier…

The bottom line is that this is a strong debut for Allison with plenty of pure pop ditties that radio should eat up. But if you’re looking for a lot of originality, you’re not going to get it.

But when it sounds this good, maybe that’s okay…

“Just Like You” hits stores Tuesday, December 1st
http://media.herald-dispatch.com/blog/idol...othing-new.html

Lyndsey Parker talks to Allison about her album, also talks ABOUT her album/FIBOU first single: http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityro...interview-pt-1/

^^^Guys, go comment on the article! It hardly has any comments!

Review of the snippets from Jim Cantiello... This one will get edited down to the bottom as we get more reviews since he has a lukewarm reaction to the 30 second snippets.

http://newsroom.mtv.com/2009/11/12/allison...like-you-album/

Dumba$$ review of the snippets. And by dumb, I mean completely idiotic, lol: http://oigmusic.blogspot.com/2009/11/irahe...w-album-is.html

This post has been edited by beckysspam: Nov 30th 2009, 1:07 PM

[Burritosbite]

Is this Jim guy, the one who interviewd kevin Rudolph? If it's him, then he is more of an Adam fan and clearly dosn't hear what we hear in these snippets......

[TigerLily84]

I mean I understand what Jim was saying but to call Just Like You generic and actually like No One Else is weird...cause I think the opposite...I like Just Like You more than No One Else...even though NOE is far from generic.. She's 17 and will only get better with age so they need to wait for Allison to be old enough to start pushing the envelope...I think these songs are age appropriate and a lot more rock was added then I think all of us were expecting so Jim is out of his fuuckin mind as far as I'm concerned...I mean I know not everyone is gonna be giddy with love for her whole album but they others need to hear the whole song before commenting...IMO!

This post has been edited by TigerLily84: Nov 12th 2009, 2:37 PM

[Charmqn]

I wish that people would just wait until they hear the full songs before reviewing, cause with 30 sec snippets you don't really get a good feel.

[LulaSan]

I wish that people would just wait until they hear the full songs before reviewing, cause with 30 sec snippets you don't really get a good feel.

Yeah, reviewing 30 secs snippets is a bit odd and I have to say, I don't agree with a lot of what he said.

[Jesses_Girl]

Is this Jim guy, the one who interviewd kevin Rudolph? If it's him, then he is more of an Adam fan and clearly dosn't hear what we hear in these snippets......

Actually he is a crazy Kris stan. I think he has a man crush on Kris but he did say that Allison is his favorite, and he's starting to come around to loving Adam. He's just another Kradison fan like my self.

I don't agree with some of what he said but I'm sure we all will change our minds for the better once we hear the whole album.

[1201O]

Ok guys be prepared for rant. (I've been lurking since april and only recently joined so i have a lot of pent up issues regarding kradison that i couldn't relieve) If you are primarily a Kris or Adam please skip this, remember we are in a Allison fanboard so i'm allowed to tard

Up until this point i've only barely tolerated Jim b/c he seemed to like Allison, other that i've found him to be an annoying idiot who thought his opinion mattered just as much as the opinion of those moronic judges to viewers. However, with this review i've completely written of the idiot as any source of valid opinion or input.

He says he's worried that allison album has too much filler? This is after he said Kris had a strong album debut. I mean i was happy that Kris won b/c i thought i could listen to his genre more often than adam, but his debut album is too weak. Nothing on that album has enough strength to carry him smoothly into a post idol world. Which is why i hope that for his sake he can manage to come with an equivilant to Jason Mraz's I'm Yours on his next release. Kris' album was filled with mostly dull songs that won't make an impact on the radio and will be forgotten by his fans after a few months of play. Even though we only have 30 sec. worth of material, i am confident enough that song for song Allison packs more of a punch and has kris beat.

He gave Adam a good review, and said he saw alot of potential singles. I thought that was ironic b/c aside form FYE there were 2 other songs that i saw had radio potential. the rest was nothing more than GENERIC FILLER.

Obivously Jim has no clue what generic is. When you take a look at Kris' album most of his songs are generic (there's nothing wrong with generic if its done right). Just b/c a song is personal (Red Guitar) or written by an unknown band (LLWD) does not make it un-generic or for that matter good (Sorry Kris but even with the better production i got second hand embarrassment from Red Guitar). Adam has no song that doesn't fit the generic bill but like i said sometimes generic works, so he has 2 or 3 potential radio hits (Kris has none). I'm not going to say some of we heard from allison isn't generic but she makes it work and when compared to adam or kris her album is much less generic. In case Jim doesn't know of the best pop songs in history are generic (I hate the example i'm going to use but even a hater like me must admit when something is good). Britney, one of the most generic artists that has ever lived has made some of the best pop songs such as BOMT and Toxic.

The thing that made most mad however is that he kris a pass even though he came out with a poppy rock album when he was expected to go accoustic rock/pop and gave adam a pass when he was hailed as a glam rock god and comes out with GLAM/DISCO POP. Yet he rains on our parade when god forbid allison does something other than rock.

Rant over. sorry but had to get that off my chest we can now forget i ever posted this

[Burritosbite]

Glad you had a bit of a rant, but honestly, it's not worth worrying too much about his review of 13x 0.30 secs worth.A non fan isn't really going to offer much and we can all just take it with a pinch of salt.It's when the big guns come out , we'll get a chance to see some serious analysis. So long as we enjoy these wee snips for now, is what really counts

[just_insanity123]

so....I just kinda wrote jim off one of my favorite interviewers/reviewers. buh bye jim.

[Jesses_Girl]

Guys, he still likes Allison, he's writing this review based off 30 seconds snippets. I think it's rediculous for someone to say they like something based off these just as much as it's ridiculous to say you don't like a song based off these 30 seconds.

He's just doing his job, he's not gonna like everything Kradison does. It's just 1 opinion. Me, personally never really got into Jim. I think he's funny and i love his tweet beats but he seems somewhat psychotic, whether or not he likes Kradison's songs. I'm still not 100% on him. I love me some Slezak though, he's hilarious!

I'm sure you'll enjoy his review of The Rocker's songs more

[just_insanity123]

I understand his opinion and that he won't love everything Allison does..or Kris or Adam for that matter. But jeeze to completely write off some of the songs based on 30 seconds is ridiculous. Calling most of it filler? That's crazy. It's like the "ringtone" version of the songs. It's just stupid to post such claims over 30 seconds. Oh well..Jim was one of my favorites..but he was a little psychotic as someone said.

[AllisonUK]

I think the guy is a clueless idiot to be honest. The only thing I find odd is FIBOU and Robot love at the start-- aside from that its VERY promising stuff (based on 30 sec snippets!)

[wickedelphie10]

I don't even remember who Jim is. Did he like fibou? I'm thinking if he disliked that it might influence his opinion on the other songs since he might think they'll be similar and he won't like them either. I don't know... All I know is that I can't wait for slezak's review! He's hilarious and loves Allison! Plus I usually agree with him the most.

[Photon]

His review left me wondering if he listened more than twice because I see in the clips what he says he doesn’t in some cases but I'm not all that upset. I have a hard time with 30 second clips. It's sort of like judging a book by its cover. You have to reserve full judgment until you look at the whole. Normally I don't think clips have any value beyond helping you find the song you have heard before but don't know the title. In 30 seconds do you hear the kind of sound that you personally like?

[buckcherry]

I've read Jim's review. We both dislike basically the same songs and we both think that her album really starts with "Scars"... it's almost scary But I don't agree with some things he wrote.

I share his distaste about Robot Love, it’s sounds to much Britney Spears meets Avril Lavigne (it’s sad but that’s what sells these days…) for my taste. Despite that I wouldn’t call the song a filler. It has its originality in lyrics. It’s a song about how technology stands in way of normal human relations. It’s very current, something you can easily relate to in 21st century.

Still Breathing is one of my favorite tracks. I can easily compare it to Daughtry. It’s rock ballad that rubs off a little of pop. Daughtry is played on radio stations, this would to.

Beat Me Up is one of the songs I look forward listening to the most. I wouldn’t call it “poppy as hell”, more 80s/90s rock at it’s best. Kevin Rudolf described it as (Pat Benatar’s) Hit Me With Your Best Shot 2010 – and this sums the song at best. Jim should've done his homework.

You Don’t Know Me has message but more obvious that the one Jim stated. She co-wrote that song after AI and before the Tour started. Simon constantly accused Allison of being boring and lacking personality. For us, people who tried to get to know her, who watched her interactions with other people and interviews, she may lack some pageant queen skills (she’s a rebel, rocker, an unfiltered teen) when it comes to interviews, but she definitely doesn’t lack personality and she’s not boring – whether you like her goofy personality or not, you have to admit this. Lyrics: “I got more on my mind that I never told, I’ve got pain that you never felt, I’ve got the scars I can deal with on my own, I have stories that I never tell, but maybe it’s just this way, you don’t know me, you don’t want to know what’s real”. Again Jim didn't do his homework.

And my main issue with his review. He heavily praised Kris album, yet he says that some of Allison songs are generic and most are fillers. I strongly disagree with it. Most of Kris tracks are really generic, forgettable and most of them has the unique sound of some other artist/band which is my main problem. Although I do have some issues with some of Allison’s tracks, her album overall seem to be much better. Each song (whether we like it or not) is distinctively different (=not forgettable) and only few of them can be compared to other artist. Maybe it’s not what we dreamed for, but seriously, did we really expect Jive to let her, a 17-year old debuting singer, record a rock/alternative album? In my opinion the snippets seems promising enough to say it’s a great album for AI standars (and she finished 4th!) and a really solid debut for a new artist. It’s edgy, it’s in your face, it has songs from pop to rock, it’s more mature than FIBOU suggests and it’s more Allison than we thought Jive will allow. She delivered what she promised – a pop/rock album with a strong rock vibe and an attitude comparable to P!nk. That’s what Allison is, the anti-Miley.


..that was long

I don't even remember who Jim is. Did he like fibou?

He didn't like FIBOU. He thought she deserved a better song. That it's too teenish and overproduced and they autotuned her voice too much.

[AllisonUK]

'Just like you' and 'Dont waste the pretty' I would rate as 8/10 (strong) songs... but hey 30 sec clips and opinions....

[xxitsbeccaxx]

I think if you take a kinda/sorta fan of any artist, and tell them to review 30 second clips of the songs on said artist's album, they'd all have a "lukewarm" response. Only hardcore fans are gonna give such short song clips raving reviews (like us, haha). Everyone else will be convinced after the full album comes out, don't worry.

And at least most of the comments disagreed with Jim. Unless they were all written by you guys, lol.

[4thosewithheart]

Seriously Jim? Allison's is mostly filler and Kris has a solid debut? whatever. To be honest, Kris' bored me and Adam's felt like a disappointmet, IMO. I only liked maybe two from both of them and I thought Allison's was the best from all 3. But then again they're just 30 seconds and maybe I'm just biased lol

Anyways, he'll change his mind when it actually comes out. I really wana read Slezak's review though.

[magicmusic]

Personally I prefer that people like Jim make honest and opinionated comments rather than just stan away. Slezak didn't really have 1 negative thing to say about Adam! Come on now. Nobody is Jesus and cranking out hit after hit.

There are a few tracks on Allison's CD that underwhelm me (I don't care though cuz Allison could sing the Japanese phonebook and make it sound decent). I think Jim was just trying to be 100% real.

This post has been edited by magicmusic: Nov 12th 2009, 5:43 PM

[TigerLily84]

^^^ Yes, I agree we need real people...but I read his review on Kris' song and it gave me a sense that he was being to stanish on his stuff...which bewilders me...Not everyone is gonna like her or her stuff but I still think calling a lot of her song fillers was a bit too much... The one thing that bugs me the most is he seemed to be expecting to much from her...She's a 17 year old her with a good debut who will only get better with age.