Album Review: Jason Derulo - Jason Derulo

Ever heard the old expression “You can’t put lipstick on a pig?” In the modern music industry, apparently you can. Two methods have emerged above all the others for talentless and marginally talented artists alike. The first method is masking the vocals with a slick electronic dance beat to distract the listener. The second is autotune. In his self-titled debut, Jason Derulo makes liberal use of both, and the result is eminently forgettable.

To be fair, he does have two big hits from this record - In My Head and Whatcha Say:



In My Head is formulaic, but catchy. It’s basically a harder, more rock-oriented version of NeYo’s Because of You with guitars.

When it comes to Whatcha Say, let’s be real - it’s all about the sample (go to the 2:50 mark). The producer made a dramatic beat with a singable chorus, then he thought, ‘We need some filler to spread over this bad boy.’ Enter Jason Derulo.

But regardless of talent level or the situation, do you really need that much autotune? Probably not. I guess that’s what a full album is for - to show that over the long haul, you have the talent to carry a track on your own. So the question is, despite over-saturating Whatcha Say with vocal silicone, does Jason Derulo show anything in the rest of his record?

In short, no. The other songs are the musical equivalent of those 100 calorie snack packs they peddle to insecure women - it’s like eating air. His voice is whiny, and it would be way too easy to do a mocking, yet accurate impression of him if you’re singing karaoke.

Anyway, I give Jason Derulo a 2.5 out of 5. Not a bad album to listen to in the background if you’re shopping at Hollister. Otherwise, if you need tracks to populate your iPod with, just buy the singles of the two songs you know and leave the rest on the shelf.

Listen to samples and download the MP3 album: