From the time that it was announced that Selena was going to have a "band" instead of just going solo I knew that she would definitely end up going solo. The whole band thing was pretty silly...especially because she was practically solo anyway. It was a gimmick to have her do something different from Miley & Demi I believe. This release is her ("their") second album.
Track #1, Round & Round: This song is probably my least favorite lead single of hers (sans her new one which I find awful actually). It feels kind of a step back from Naturally and is more childish to me. The dance pop direction definitely fits her though. Her first album's style never really worked for her. 4/5.
Track #2, A Year Without Rain: The type of music that this song is describes my ideal Selena music perfectly. For a newer song of hers that gives off the same feel it would be Stars Dance. The pulsing beat in the background is so nice. Since she's not the best singer, the music really helps to mask that. And that also brings up what I dislike about the song. Her, uh, adlibbing I guess you could call it, is extremely annoying. Her voice is not meant for it and the music doesn't help sadly. 4/5.
Track #3, Rock God: Whatever happened to Rock Mafia? They made some great tracks. I haven't heard anything produced by them in a while. This is such a great track and has so much attitude. A surprisingly rebellious track on a Disney star's album (as she was still very much Disney at this point). 5/5.
Track #4, Off The Chain: This song will remain one of Selena's best ever. How it wasn't a single I will never now. It's a lot like Naturally except with a more danceable beat. I'd love another song like this. 5/5
Track #5, Summer's Not Hot: It certainly does not sound like Selena in the beginning of this song. This song really sounds more like something Demi would put out that Selena. The only thing that makes it more Selena is that it has a dance pop beat instead of being more straight pop. It's also a very Disney Channel song. There's nothing wrong with that, it just belongs more on her first album than this one. 3.5/5.
Track #6, Intuition (ft. Eric Bellinger): I have no idea who the feature is. I haven't heard his name anywhere. I'm guessing he must be part of another Hollywood Records group or something. It's just a really random feature that adds male vocals to a song that would have been perfectly fine without it. The song itself really fits perfectly on this album. It's a good mix of the more dance direction the album was taking with the more Disney pop of the first album. It works where Summer's Not Hot doesn't, by not alienating the fan base from the old album and having a new direction to appeal to more people. 4/5.
Track #7, Spotlight: Yeah the lyrics of this song aren't very good and the spoken bridge can be a little annoying, but this is probably my favorite song of the album. It's got a quality to it that makes it extremely catchy. I really can't describe it. I just think it's great. 5/5.
Track #8, Ghost Of You: I guess all albums just have to have a ballad don't they? What I appreciate about this song is her vocals and the production. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, I don't believe Selena can sing well at all. She does sounds quite good here. Sure it's been through a lot of studio filters and computer programs, but it sounds really nice with the minimal production compared to some of the other more dancey songs. 4/5.
Track #9, Sick Of You: This song sounds right off of her first album. It's not a bad thing in this case at all. Even though it's more pop rock instead of dancey, it works really well on this album. It's somewhat more mature than other songs on her first album and doesn't sound much like the Disney pop rock stuff. In fact, it reminds me a lot of Kelly Clarkson. 4.5/5.
Track #10, Live Like There's No Tomorrow: This album's over already? Wow it feels so short. It's too bad the album doesn't end on a high note. This song doesn't fit the album at all, which makes sense because it was a song for some movie she did. Even though it's my least favorite song of the album, I don't mind that it's here. It makes sense to put a promotional song like this on the album. It also sounds a lot like Jason Derulo's Marry Me....well, I guess his song would sound like this since this came earlier. I want to sing "will you marry me" at the chorus so much. 3/5.
The album is a step up from her first one. It's not so amazing as to blow the average listener away, but it's a nice album from a girl who was still very much a Disney artist at the time. 4/5.
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