What ‘mo doesn’t love a good Disney Diva? Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Hilary Duff and Justin Timberlake—the family-fun entertainment company has pumped out plenty of pop stars that puffs simply go bananas over!
In that regard, this month’s marking of precocious, 17-year-old Selena Gomez’s debut CD, Kiss & Tell, may surely be a banana-split hit among queers and Cosmo-tweens. The Disney star of screens big and small makes a music splash with this 13-track release in what seems to be akin to the CD’s cover, showcasing Gomez as one who “‘hearts’ the scene;” Gomez shows her comprehensive music-scene heart throughout the LP in rock ‘n roll-ish beats like those in the title track and in belting out ballads like “I Promise You” all before going hip-hop-pop with “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know.”
The variety and diversity in the album’s tune-age may be a sign that Gomez may still be trying to find herself musically, which would also account for the album’s seemingly lack of any particular musical genre mastery. But then again, who can blame her? She is only 17—so she’s still got plenty ‘o time to professionally discover herself—and she’s definitely got the goods when it comes to vocals.
Overall Kiss & Tell is rated P for Pop (Be sure to check out the remixes of “Naturally” by DJ Ralphie Roasario, Dave Aude and Disco Fries) and Potential.
Reviewed by Jason P Freeman