Arizona Daily Wildcat

Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Wild Life

It is hard to ignore a good pop album. There is just something about a song's dance-ability that brings out the best moods and moves in a person. Most of these albums, however, are dragged down by the ballads usually scattered throughout. This is the case with Ashley Tisdale's first solo release, Headstrong.

Does her name ring a bell? Most people know Tisdale from Disney hits like "High School Musical" and "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody." She takes a break from her tween-suitable characters on television to deliver a little more sexy sound on the album.

"Don't Touch (The Zoom Song)" is dance-floor gold, with a dash of women-empowering lyrics to an 80s-style beat. "So Much for You" and "Over It" channel pop queen Britney Spears with Tisdale's alto, husky voice.

Tisdale hits the right note with the out-of-this-world song "Not Like That." The up-tempo number features clap-along beats, white girl rhymes and lyrics every girl who has ever been to a club can relate to: "All the girls in the club got their eyes on me/I can tell by their look that they want to be/Hot, hot, hot like that/But it's not, not, no, it's not like that."

The album's ballads fail, though. Any "Musical" fan knows that Tisdale can belt one out, but this is not apparent on the album. In "I Will Be Me" and "It's Life," her voice comes across as forced, breathy and unbelievable when she sings the lyrics "I will be me, this I know for sure."

Although the album fails in places, it is ll a worthy attempt by an up-and-coming pop artist to please her audience. So import some of the songs into your iPod and give it a dance.

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