CD Giveaway - Sam Shrieve, "Bittersweet Lullabies"
Ends Nov 29, 2009
The current student at Berklee College of Music has a rock 'n' roll pedigree, but delivers a pleasing and diverse collection of soft pop on his debut record. Enter our contest for your chance to win! |
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Music Review: Bianca Ryan, "Bianca Ryan"
by R.J. Carter
Published: December 9, 2006
She wowed them on Star Search, knocked them dead on Showtime at the Apollo, and stole the show on America's Got Talent, impressing curmudgeon producer Simon Cowell enough to make him exclaim, "Bianca Ryan is potentially one of the best singers I have ever heard in my life."
Now comes the real test -- the time to prove whether young Bianca Ryan is indeed a star entertainer or a novelty youth act; whether there is any art beyond the otherwise flawless craft.
And the answer so far is... maybe. Ryan's debut album includes a number of standards, such as "The Rose", "You Light Up My Life", and "I Believe I Can Fly". The problem with these songs is that they are almost universally songs that are competition pieces -- songs you choose to sing to prove you can sing, because of their difficulty; they're audition songs.
Fortunately, Ryan's repertoire is more than that, including some new tracks written for this self-titled release. Among them is a track you ought to be hearing repeatedly by now, the seasonal and very upbeat "Why Can't it be Christmas Every Day?" In fact, this holiday song is one of the few up-tempo pop sounding songs on the album, joining "Superstar" and "Awake" in that regard, both of which showcase Ryan's amazing vocal range. In fact, "Superstar" and "Why Can't it be Christmas Every Day?" have been getting the repeat play on my disc changer.
The other newly written tracks -- "I Wish That" and "Pray for a Better Day" -- mesh with the R&B soul and gospel sound that permeates the rest of the album. You can't really believe these mature and soulful sounds are coming out of a tween WASP. The real question is whether her own peer group is the target audience, or if Ryan and her handlers are trying to reach a more mature and nuanced demographic, because there's not a whole lot of Radio Disney product in this mix.
Bianca Ryan
Track Listing
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- The Rose
- Awake
- I Believe I Can Fly
- Pray for a Better Day
- Dream in Color
- I Wish That
- And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going
- Superstar
- I Will
- Pure and Simple
- You Light Up My Life
- Why Couldn't It Be Christmas Every Day?
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"Sometimes I can't believe this is all actually happening," says Ryan of her newfound celebrity. "This last year is proof of how God can make your dreams come true."
Throughout the tumult the past year of stardom has created, Ryan credits her faith as something to anchor her, and uses the spotlight to share her Christianity. "I have been able to talk about God to other people during all of this," says Ryan. "I also have had a few times where I could respond to fan mail when they would ask me different questions like how I can sing so well, and I tell them how good God has been to me and my family and how my singing is a gift from Him."
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