Rating:
Genre:
R&B
Release Date: 07/21/2009
Jordin Sparks didn't get any traction until she received a boost from
Chris Brown via their duet
"No Air," the one moment on her 2007 eponymous debut that felt unquestionably modern, so it makes perfect sense that her second album,
Battlefield, ditches almost all lingering
American Idol pageantry for stylized pop and R&B pitched halfway between
Rihanna (whose
"S.O.S." is essentially rewritten here, with
Shannon's
"Let the Music Play" substituted for
"Tainted Love") and
Leona Lewis.
Jordin has had enough success to hire some of 2009's biggest hitmakers in the business, including
T-Pain and
OneRepublic's
Ryan Tedder. Most of these namebrands are recordmakers, not songwriters, so it's not a great surprise to find
Battlefield works as a collection of productions where
Jordin's voice is merely one element of the overall picture. This sentiment doesn't apply quite as strongly to the clutch of
Sparks' collaborations grouped toward the end of the album -- all ballads, some with vaguely spiritual overtones such as
"Faith," whose chorus inadvertently flirts with
John Hiatt's
"Have a Little Faith In Me" -- but for the first two-thirds of
Battlefield, it's all a cool, expertly crafted modern pop and R&B, which is enough for
Sparks to sustain her momentum. [A deluxe version was also released.]
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
;)
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