Paris Bennett - Princess P (2007)

Writer's note:  I received the Paris Bennett CD, and despite taking a liking to her during her American Idol run, a quick listen I told me this album was not meant for "me".  This project is hunting for a younger demographic as its audience so, I decided to get a pair of "younger ears" to give it a fairer hearing.   The following review is from my 16 year old son, and music reviewer-in-the-making, Khari Clarke.                                                        

                                                                             - Les Clarke

With some anticipation as granddaughter of Ann Nesby and daughter of Jamecia Bennett, Paris Bennett dropped her freshman album entitled, Princess P.  Her talent displayed through her American Idol performances would attract a variety of people's interest. However, it is obvious that the target audience of this CD is people in their teens and possibly people in their early 20s.

If you are like me, or listen to pop music at all, this album will sound like something you have already heard, "I'm So Hot" and "Get Bizzy" especially. Also, there are a few songs that I can comfortably say that I hate. One of these songs is the remake of the Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back," more recently themusic from a Hess truck commercial jingle. I could not help but murmur the Hess truck song in fact while listening to it. Another song I'm not fond of is "Let Me Rap" which features Kevin Covais (better known as "Chicken Little" from American Idol). The song combines a weaker example of Bennett's singing ability with a horrible attempt at rapping made by Covais. When the two sing together it sounds similar to a Disney duet (Pocahontas and John Smith if you will).  In addition, "Can't Control Myself" would be better as a gospel song, if the words were changed.

Although there are many songs I could do without, I did enjoy a few songs on the album. "Ordinary Love", my personal favorite, combines Bennett's singing ability with a Rockish beat which makes for a really good song. It is one of few versatile songs on the album, and breaks away from the similarity of most of the other songs on the album. "Daddy", one of the more personal songs, shows a sincere side to Bennett's "Princess P persona". The song discusses Bennett's lack of relationship with her father and how it affected her life up to now. Another track that I enjoyed was "Best Friend," which incorporates the vocal skills of Paris, her mother, Jamecia Bennett, and her grandmother the great Ann Nesby. The way in which this song is setup is perfect: after the phrase "...because you are my best friend, for real," one by one three women begins singing solo, starting with Paris, and ending with Nesby. At the end of the song all three women sing the bridge and chorus together, and then confess their love and gratitude for each other, which makes for a beautiful ending to the Princess P album.

I would not recommend Princess P to everyone. The potential of a great album was present but not met in the album. Unless you are a strong fan of Paris, it maybe hard to listen to every track (it was for me), and the album will be a let down. Personally, I would buy some of the tracks off of iTunes because there are too many songs on the album that I never want to hear again.  Her stronger fans may like this, as her attractive personality can be seen through her music, and some songs offer a taste of Paris's singing ability. However, I do not think people over 23 years old would be interested in this album. Paris did not distinguish her self enough through the album to set her above most teens' favorite talents, like Ciara, or Hillary Duff. People who were fans of Paris's American Idol performances will almost definitely not be interested in this album. With learning, and growing however, I see a bright future in music for Paris Bennett. She just needs to distinguish herself and her sound away from modern pop music.   

by Khari Clarke