Music Review: Allison Iraheta's "Just Like You"

Music Review

Allison Iraheta's "Just Like You"

By our guest blogger, Sanela Djokovic

There’s a song for just about every lovelorn teenage girl on "Just Like You," the debut album from American Idol’s Allison Iraheta. There’s a song for the girl who receives the text-message break-up, a song for the girl whose self-esteem is crumbling, the girl learning to embrace her imperfections, the weak girl who gives in, the strong girl who gets out.

Iraheta already has drawn several comparisons to Pink, and although she is carrying the female empowerment torch and while she does have the raspy rock tone to her voice, Iraheta's sound and style gear more toward another pop superstar’s--Kelly Clarkson. Both Pink and Kelly have been able to effectively fuse pop and rock into perfect doses of might for females everywhere, but most will admit that Pink adds an element of badassness that Clarkson and Iraheta lack.

Iraheta’s first single, "Friday I’ll Be Over U," is a lively, enjoyable and snapping retort to a cheating boyfriend that any young woman could easy sing along and shake their hair to. That’s if they get to hear it. While the very balanced song is perfect for radio airplay and the video is fun and eye-catching enough to be played on MTV, "Friday I’ll Be Over U" has yet to make the playlists.

Other fun anthem-like tracks include "Robot Love," a song calling for a revolt against technology for stealing the attention of boyfriends, and "Just Like You," molded to typify the irate break-up song. There also are stripped down versions of these songs, such as the melodically subtle, but extremely engaging "Don’t Waste the Pretty," which reaches out to the downhearted and disheartened, and calls for them to own themselves--not sacrifice themselves. Other tracks, such as "Beat Me Up," are less infectious and seem to stray away thematically, creating a little bit of an unpleasant aftertaste, thus disrupting a pretty smooth ride.

"Just Like You" is not an overwhelming winner, but it is a pleasant surprise and definitely builds on the promise Americans saw in Allison Iraheta. She’s delivered a sound true to her niche and one that is sure to satisfy the people who voted for her...and there were many. There are plenty of na na na’s, hey’s and oh yeah’s to invite listeners to sing along, but Iraheta’s voice lends enough maturity and validity to the issues she sings about to let listeners invest a little more.