Jason Derülo: Jason Derülo

Posted September 13, 2010 by J Matthew Cobb in Reviews 1.0

Pumped up to be the hottest kid on the block, Jason Derülo hits all the right notes, does all the right songs but is still missing edge.

He got his grooming under the wings of P. Diddy writing for Sean Kingston, but Jason Derülo wanted a piece of the bigger pie as well. His shot at a debut album feels just right on his self-entitled debut and he makes all the right moves – from using cagy uptempo party pop to hip-hop peppered beats to – on his nine-track voyage into the big crossover. Not a tacky move for the newbie with this being his official debut. He is fresh, new to the scene – so this kind of artistic swagger burns with promise and a successful sales pattern across the board.

With the help of J.R. Rotem’s production power and Derlüo’s writing skills, much of the tracks on the album contain all the right ingredients for Top 100 ear-candy. “Whatcha Say” gets the heaviest Auto-tune touch-ups and comes off as a cross of Chris Brown and T-Pain, nevertheless it’s an infectious teaser of an album opener. “Ridin’ Solo” keeps the pace going, and so does the other uptempo gems following that like the melodic, R&B burner “In My Head” and the innocent party-gone-wrong ode “Love Hangover.” “Encore” sounds like tasteful Usher leftovers and “Strobelight,” the album’s bonus track, plants Derülo in some expected electro-dance territory.

Unfortunately the studio tricks are a bit heavy on his vocals and the album is a bit short in its length; leaving a lingering disappointment. The excessive copy-and-paste “Jason Derülo” trademarks at the beginning of almost every track, sounding so much like an underground mixtape, also leaves a sinking feeling in the gut that Derülo is hungry to be noticed. These irritations hurt the album more than help. Of course, debut albums usually resort to dusty CD bins, but the songs here aren’t bad on the ear. Only careful consideration for the album to help boost its pride: add a few ballads into the collection, use a little more vocal punch and less dependance on Auto-tune software. Those additions could have made Jason Derülo a little more meaningful and memorable.

J MATTHEW COBB