That One Off American Idol (The 2nd Time Around) (Fantasia - Fantasia)

Member Name: XICripZ

Product:	Fantasia - Fantasia
Date:	25/08/09 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of big tunes

Disadvantages: One weak track

Fantasia (Barrino) released her self-entitled second album in 2006. It found that the third American Idol winner progressing with her music as she goes from the typical Soul material, more towards the more contemporary R&B field here as she dropped this sophomore record which was aimed towards a more diverse audience.

1. "Hood Boy"

The album start with what I saw as the best single from the singer up to that point as she came with this as the first single of the album as she shows that she is capable of much more than what her first record offered with this one getting her doing things in the style that was seen on Destiny's Child's "Soldier" with her working with Big Boi of OutKast about the type of men she's into (and how the rapper fits this description).

**Five Stars**

2. "When I See U"

This one for me was just as strong as the first single as with this on she was seem to get into one of the most emotive tunes you will find form her. The vocals are put to the test here, and she really makes the most out of this opportunity to come up with a killer track which has her working on some soft beats whilst doing her Soul thing.

**Five Stars**

3. "I Nominate U"

I saw this as a rather unexpected track on the album as you see that with this one she shows what she can do with some well-written material which has her performing roel play in an intimate one about how she would like to nominate her partner for various awards in order to show just how much she appreciates him.

**Four Stars**

4. "Baby Makin' Hips"

With some new names on the production scene working with her, out see that you get a rather fresh-sounding one here as she appears to move towards he more general R&B style here and does so as she incorporates contemporary techniques which were found throughout this field and in Hip Hop at the time.

**Four Stars**

5. "Not The Way That I Do"

With this you get her moving over towards the club end other here material and I felt tha tit was done in one of the most impressive ways that had been heard fro her as she jumps on pounding beats and is suited perfectly to the grimy track which you get in this song. It does its job and get you moving.

**Four Stars**

6. "Only One U"

This was the least most impactful single which you get from her here, but I have to say hat she certainly deserved attention for this one as she works with Bryan-Michael Cox and he shows that he's still got what is needed to make big hits for the biggest R&B talents (as he had with many including Aaliyah, Toni Braxton and Usher).

**Four Stars**

7. "I Feel Beautiful"

With the acoustic approach taken with this one, you find that in this case she slows things down somewhat in order to get into the much more emotive material where she can really show how far her voice can be taken when working in a more traditional format as she does here on a empowering breakup joint.

**Four Stars**

8. "I'm Not That Type"

This is a one of the flyest tunes on the album and one which really stands out here as the producer decides that its about time that fantasia get into some Crunk & B here I felt that this amongst that you get from it as it sounds to be of the standard you would expect from a single and it brings out the best in her abilities when working with some of the best talent in the R&B and Hip Hop production game.

**Five Stars**

9. "Uneligible"

Although at first I through that this was a tune I could potential feel over time, I felt that it simply wasn't something on the release I was ever really going to feel as you find that here she gets into one where she turns towards the commercial side and does a pretty plain Pop tune in what can only be described as an off-putting manner.

**Two Stars**

10. "Two Weeks Notice"

I felt that this one showed the highest standard of writing on the album, and this certainly had a massive effect upon my enjoyment for it as she is seen to sing emotively about how she wants out of the relationship she is in with her man and so uses a employment resignation as a metaphor for how she can't cope anymore.

**Four Stars**

11. "Surround U"

Here you find that you get a fly jam which has thing moved on quite a it as Swizz Beatz gets on the beats and does the expected thing by getting on some samples, and in this case chooses to go for a classy one to get the listeners two-stepping along (rather than going where he usually does with the hyped club jams).

**Four Stars**

12. "Bore Me"

The production for this one is funky and has you grooving along as she tries out new things of this one as she lifts thee tempo here and forces you to really engage you with the song as she talks of how she has too much life in her to be tied down with a partner who is out creeping around with others at this stage of her life.

**Four Stars**

13. "Sunshine"

You get nice and floaty tune here to cause things to lift somewhat as she gets into more of the contemporary R&B and jumps on to of the style of beats from the time where it is all based on some powerful bass and other things which make up a Hip Hop-inspired cut which has her making the most of what comes through here.

**Four Stars**

14. "Bump What Your Friends Say"

The album ends with her getting into a big tune where it appears that she gets well into a bald tune which has its traditional form altered partway through in order to show that she isn't going to put people off by this sort of thing, it seems to support the emotional journey she goes through as she discovers that she needs to ignore her friends in order to get what she wants in her love life.

**Four Stars**

Aside from one clear lapse in quality in a single track, the whole of this album is strong and shows great progression from the singer and she makes full use of the opportunity to work with big names in the R&B production game to create what you get in this release and so I would have to recommend it to anyone who was into the kind of material which you found a this sort of time.

Summary: Fantasia's second album