Having been the youngest guest judge ever on The X Factor UK last year and performed most recently at the annual Royal Variety Performance, graced by the British royals and her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, 20-year-old Pixie Lott has definitely got a promising future.

Since releasing her first album, Turn It Up, which went double platinum in the UK in 2009, she’s kickstarted her acting career, appearing in Fred: The Movie and is set to star in the 2013 movie, Sweet Baby Jesus, replacing Britney Spears as the young Mary in a role that will see her act with Sam Rockwell and Kim Catrall. Besides launching her exclusive line for young women’s fashion brand Lipsy, she also traded in her luscious blonde locks for a spunkier do and found herself some new man candy.

Her sophomore and latest album, Young Foolish Happy, features collaborations with mainstays in the music scene like soul icon Stevie Wonder and John Legend. In an interview with The Daily Mail, Pixie explained that her naming of the albumhad been inspired by “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” by The Tams – because she felt it was time to bid farewell to her youth.

Photos courtesy of  Graham Finney & Universal Music Singapore.

The first track “Come Get It Now” sets the tone for the album – one which shows a stronger influence by soul music. Other songs like “Stevie On The Radio” which features Stevie Wonder playing the harmonica, “The Thing I Love” and “I Throw My Hands Up” are reminiscent of gospel-esque R&B music from the 60s that will get you snapping your fingers and up on your feet.

One must give props to her producers for getting a legend like Stevie Wonder on board to be in one of her tracks. It’s no secret that Pixie Lott is an ardent fan of his, describing the experience of meeting him in the flesh as “crazy”.

With such a soulful record, it’s good to see that she’s staying true to herself and not blindly jumping on the electro or reggae music bandwagon as in the case of other artistes like Cobra Starship, Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez in 2011.

Following the success of her debut single “Mama Do”, this second outing also contains wiggle-worthy dance tracks like her first single “All About Tonight”, which will get you in the mood for a ladies’ night out; and the infectious “Kiss The Stars” which is set to be her third single. The addictive “Uh-ohs” from “Mama Do” can also be heard in “Birthday”, an upbeat snazzy track with unfortunate meaningless lyrics like “Don’t need a party or Barcadi and coke or cake, I get excited when I know that I’ll see you face”, not to mention a redundant swear word.

One of the more promising tracks is “What Do You Take Me For?”, featuring American rapper Pusha T. In an interview with Metro, Pixie revealed that Beyonce’s choreographer had choreographed the dance. These catchy tunes are what save the album, though they’re still not as good as tracks like “Boys and Girls” from her previous album.

Other notable tunes that should deserve more recognition are “Nobody Does It Better” and ballad “You Win” for which John Legend plays the piano.

While there’s no “Gravity” or “Cry Me Out” equivalent on the album, Pixie’s tried to recreate that magic with tracks like “We Just Go On” and “Everybody Hurts Sometimes”, though they’re a little lacklustre.

Despite having a few promising tracks, the album is slightly disappointing and pales beside her first album. It fails to make an impact and is a far cry from the standard of music produced by current female singers dominating the industry, like Adele. Once rumoured to be the next Amy Winehouse, Pixie isn’t living up to expectations with this release despite possessing such a divine voice. Young Foolish Happy lacks meaningful lyrics and the maturity she promised we’d see, notwithstanding the groovy beats.

You won’t hate Young Foolish Happy, but you won’t fall in love with it either. Let’s hope Pixie finds her footing soon and produces another amazing album worthy of following her first one.

 

Album Details

  • Artiste: Pixie Lott
  • Album Name: Young Foolish Happy Deluxe Edition
  • Rating (out of 5): 3/5
  • Language: English
  • Genre: Soul/Pop
  • Record Label: Mercury
  • Release date: Nov 14 2011

 

Tracklist

  1. Come Get It Now
  2. All About Tonight
  3. What Do You Take Me For? (featuring Pusha T)
  4. Nobody Does It Better
  5. Kiss the Stars
  6. Stevie on the Radio
  7. Everybody Hurts Sometimes
  8. Dancing on My Own (featuring Marty James)
  9. Love You to Death
  10. Birthday
  11. Bright Lights (Good Life) Part II
  12. Perfect
  13. You Win
  14. We Just Go On

Bonus Tracks

  1. Till The Sun Comes Out
  2. The Thing I Love
  3. I Throw My Hands Up
  4. Black As Rain
  5. Paper Planes
  6. What Do You Take Me For? (Benji Boko Remix)