Jessie J - Who You Are (2011)

I guess, as is common with reviews I do, a little backstory is necessary, since Jessie J actually did overcome a few serious hardships to eventually get this record out. Jessie J, aka Jessica Cornish, was born in London in 1988 and spent her early years in musical theater, leading up to her signing a deal with Gut Records. And that label..... went belly up before she could release anything. Around the age of 18, she suffered a minor stroke due to an irregular heartbeat, and stopped drinking and smoking as a result.

Sony signed her as a songwriter, however, and she started penning songs for other pop stars, including Miley Cyrus (she had a hand in "Party In The USA") and everybody's favorite, Chris Brown. Soon enough, her hard work paid off and she signed to Universal Records as a performer, working with names like Dr. Luke (those of you paying attention to pop music are awfully familiar with this guy by now). The first single, "Do It Like A Dude" hit #2 on the UK singles chart, behind my boy Bruno Mars and "Grenade." After a quick stop to come out as bisexual (okay, trivial in the long run, but I just wanted to make sure you're paying attention), Who You Are finally hit the shelves in early 2011.

Now, what to expect with Jessie J? Well, firstly, she's not from the Britney Spears school of pop stardom by any means. If you find melismatic vocals to be off-putting (you know, the melodramatic people who fit eight different notes into one word), well, glance up at the upper left corner because use of the Back button is strongly encouraged. She doesn't sound "yell-y" like Christina Aguilera or anything, but Jessie J, given the opportunity, will sing you to death and leave your corpse out in the woods to rot.

 

Musically, Jessie's influences are pretty obvious. To look at her, you'd expect that she's the latest girl to try and rise up and take the throne from Lady Gaga, but that is most definitely not the case on Who You Are. The dynamic is different, and she instead takes her cues from P!nk, Lily Allen and Fergie, amongst others. Hell, have you seen the video for "Do It Like A Dude?" Subtle.

I like a gimmick as much as the next guy, but mileage may vary. In Jessie's hands, a silly song like this is a bit of an awkward fit. "Do It Like A Dude" is admittedly as catchy as a plague, but it kind of comes across like an easy attention grabber, and worse, it shows no indication of her vocal prowess. Ditto for another track here, "J-Love," easily the worst track on the album. It's supposed to be a defense towards singing silly love songs (sound familiar?), which is cool, but it collapses without much of a memorable hook and cloying lyrics, and that renders her strong vocals useless. Don't even get me started on the preachy "Price Tag."

Why do these attempts to get cute feel so awkward? Here's a good reason: "Big White Room." If Jessie's tendency to rain hellfire on every mammal in sight with her vocalizing doesn't bother you, then this song is her crowning achievement. Stripped down to a lone acoustic guitar and performed for a live audience (you should probably know that ahead of time, or else the cheers may startle you a bit) this is a case where her vocals are appropriate, as the song is very pretty on its own, but Jessie just takes it into the stratosphere. She adds weird stutters on the choruses for some odd reason, but other than that, this is the easy highlight of the record, showing her off as a pure soul singer and just owning it.

Other than that, this is a pop record through and through. Caught between being a diva and being a cutesy pop star, the end result is a record that makes it sound like Jessie doesn't quite have it all together yet. It's not for lack of trying, as she has a songwriting credit on every song on the album, but she hasn't pinned down a good balance yet. There's certainly memorable highlights on this record, but for all her effort, there's also a lot of filler, and the songwriting takes a noticeable dip in the second half. It ends on an inspirational note, as the title track offers the message of "be true to who you are" to listeners, and it's delivered with enough power that it almost disguises the fact that as far as those kinds of songs go, this doesn't offer anything new.

Jessie J means well, and delivers her words passionately and with power to spare. Which is kind of ironic, since the album is a good example of someone who hasn't found her voice yet, and Who You Are suffers as a result. Ultimately, there's just not enough catchy moments to sink one's teeth into, leaving Jessie's vocals to carry the day, and despite her talents (I don't know if I mentioned it but damn that woman can sing), it doesn't carry the proceedings - hell, at times she downright devours Who You Are like the fish from Super Mario Brothers. If "Big White Room" is anything to go by, however, I think I'd like to hear Jessie drop the brass persona and play it a little more straight.



**1/2