Identified
Vanessa Hudgens' second album Identified is a muddle of different styles. The Disney Channel star must not have too much control of her music. The album is a dance/pop/R&B fusion with a little more maturity than the age range that would listen to it. The album is a mix of genres, and creates a similar sound to Paula Abdul during the height of her career, albeit unsuccessfully.
The album as a whole is highs and lows of quality level; unfortunately mostly lows. "Identified" is a decent song. Truthfully, it's a lackluster Britney Spears song; something that she would instantly reject. On Spears' level, it would be horrible, but with Hudgens it doesn't sound too bad. The dance quality is nice, but the lyrics are a little risqu? for the age range that would listen to it. I appreciate the quality level of "First Bad Habit." It at least has a strong bridge. If you could get past the nasal quality, "Don't Ask Why" isn't bad. The slower R&B style actually shows a little bit of vocal power.
There is something weird about "Sneakernight." It falls between the good and the horrible. The lyrics are horrible, but the beat is really catchy. The vocal power of Hudgens is actually stronger than in the rest of the album. She is not as nasal as the other faster tracks and she hits some highs in her keys. The idea to drop the beat near the end of the track prevents a little bit of the repetitiveness of the whole song. The fact that production picked "Sneakernight" as a single actually makes some sense.
There are a lot of weak songs on Hudgens album. "Last Night" sounds horrible. The nasal quality of Hudgens is muted, but the song suffers from redundant lyrics and a little bit of a monotone beginning. "Hook it up" has the same monotone lyrics. It also suffers from questionable lyrics. For example, the chorus "You got the money, money. She's got the hottie body. We wanna party, party. Hook it all up" basically tells any girl to get the boys to pay for drinks or the entrance fee. The song also bashes people who can't dance well, saying that they don't deserve to go to the club. What? Vanessa Hudgens is telling little girls who can't dance that they shouldn't party, because they suck. Also, there is no oxygen on the moon. But seriously, "Party on the Moon" comes off as a really boring party. Don't even get me started on "Gone with the Wind." I often complain about the order of songs and by placing "Gone with the Wind" at the end is a snooze fest. Maybe it's Hudgens trying to tell us that her career will be gone with the wind after Disney has squeezed the life force out of her.
I may have found one of the worst songs ever. "Paper Cut" has a horrendous lyrics and Hudgens is at a nasal high. She squeaks through the song, singing lyrics like, "Your love hurts like a paper cut, so sweet never even feel the slice; you're so deep." Paper cuts aren't sweet. And paper cuts feel better with time because it is an external pain which hits only the top of your skin. The song picks up tempo for no reason and then drops back to the original tempo. This song is no "Bleeding Love" and it shows.
In comparison to herself Identified shows growth. It's not High School Musical at all and it shows that Hudgens actually has the ability to grow up past the Disney image. Her fans may not be the right age for the album, Identified is a little risqu? for a tween and parents should question whether or not to buy the album. Either way, Vanessa Hudgens has grown up. Soon she will grow up more and be able to pick better producers.