ALY & AJ "Insomniatic" Hollywood Records CORBIN BLEU "Another Side" Hollywood Records
Aly & AJ's "Insomniatic" includes plenty of signs of the teen queens' growing pains.
(By Sheryl Nields)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
ALY & AJ"Insomniatic"Hollywood RecordsCORBIN BLEU"Another Side"Hollywood Records
SISTERS ALY AND AJ MICHALKA are at such an awkward age: the teen actors/singers/models, now 18 and 16, respectively, are caught trying to maintain their sugary-sweet image among a fan base that is rapidly outgrowing such childish things. Launched into a multidimensional marketing campaign a la the Olsen twins, Aly & AJ have recently found themselves on Honey-Comb cereal boxes and starring in the MTV-to-DVD film "Super Sweet 16" (based on the network's reality series), with video games, dolls and jewelry products soon to come.
The girls have also delved into music, and "Insomniatic," the follow-up to their shimmery 2005 debut, shows clear signs of those growing pains. They are listed as co-writers on every song -- and Aly even contributes piano and Rhodes to a handful of tracks -- and as a result, the lyrics sound alternately like sappy love letters ("Bullseye") or angsty journal entries ("Like It or Leave It," "Closure"). Despite their obsession with relationships, "Potential Breakup Song" sounds like a youthful version of Gwen Stefani's "What You Waiting For?," and that expansion into a more dance-oriented sound may help them hang on to some of their maturing fans yet.
Like the Michalka sisters, Corbin Bleu started with acting first, with roles in the Discovery Kids series "Flight 29 Down" and, most notably, as Chad in "High School Musical." His debut album is an R&B affair that makes this Justin Guarini look-alike sound like Justin Timberlake Jr.; the overprocessed "Deal With It" and the creepily voyeuristic "Homework" (think: "Every Breath You Take" in the high school halls) do little to show that Bleu has any aptitude beyond the TV screen.
-- Catherine P. Lewis
Appearing Sunday at the Patriot Center.
