Undaunted by the commercial indifference that greeted her self-titled debut effort in 2010,
Ashlyne Huff
quickly returns in 2011 with her sophomore release,
Let It Out
.
Huff
is taking careful aim at the teen dance-pop market, which means beat-heavy productions with simple, repetitive choruses that she chirps in a voice treated by Auto-Tune. Probably the likeliest hit is "Whatever," a reflection on love gone sour rendered in teen patois. Once,
sings, she thought love was forever, but "Now, I'm, like, 'whatever.'" Hip-hop and rap elements are given limited exposure, but mostly this is pure pop with a laser focus on its target audience; the percussive title song sounds more like a cheerleader chant than an actual song.
and her collaborators have succeeded in coming up with a batch of tracks that would slot in seamlessly on Top 40 radio between
Katy Perry
and
P!nk
, but promotional considerations are likely to determine whether any of the songs succeed. The field is crowded, and the competition fierce. ~ William Ruhlmann