Pixie Lott - Turn It Up

Rating

: *

Verdict

:

Teen pop of no guilty pleasure value.

Pixie Lott is an English young thing who, worryingly, dots the i's of her name with hearts. Lott was blessed with her wieldy voice - it can be rich, soulful and sweet, and, at points, sounds mature beyond the years of the naughty-but-nice blonde on the cover. But it's not exercised to its full potential on this simple, whinging album.

Aged just 18, Lott's obvious enthusiasm is ingratiating, but it is not enough to compensate for the inane wateriness her naivete brings to the bulk of her album. Her singles

Mama Do

and

Boys and Girls

are less bland than the slow tracks where she wails about her confusing world, but they are still not songs to savour.

As for her single

Cry Me Out

... well perhaps someone will appreciate performing it - with some stage-show gestures - on an idol show.

Band Aid

and

Jack

are cheerful enough to accompany a Disney soundtrack, but the rest of the album does not live up to the invitation of its title song. The pretty popstar could move closer to the league of her admired artists Britney or Mariah if she was prepared to be more outrageous, but then she would lose the impishness she has tried to sell this time around.

Jacqueline Smith