Christy Carlson Romano

Christy Carlson Romano doesn't quite seem to fit in with such Disney-bred teen pop peers like Britney Spears and Hilary Duff. Perhaps it's because Romano started her musical career a little later than Hilary, but it's more likely because her character of Ren on Disney's Even Stevens was smarter, more sensible, and more ambitious than Lizzie McGuire -- precisely the kind of teenager who wouldn't have been into light frothy teen pop. Because of this, it's kind of disarming to hear her sing such willfully silly songs as "Let's Bounce" -- Ren would never have the patience for this on Even Stevens, so why would Romano? If you get past that disconnect, the teen pop on Christy's eponymous debut mini-LP -- consisting entirely of songs previously released on other Disney albums and soundtracks, with the exception of the new tune "Dive In" -- isn't bad at all. It's well-produced and catchy, as lightweight as early Hilary Duff tunes at their best. The older material, whether it's the self-serious ballad "Colors of the Wind" or the pulsating hi-NRG throwback "Say the Word," doesn't hold its own next to the stronger newer tunes -- "Let's Bounce" and "Anyone but Me" -- which borrow a page from Ashlee Simpson's harder-edged, guitar-heavy hit debut. As such, the mini-LP is surprisingly incoherent, but at its best, it's charmingly lightweight, even if Romano never quite erases the suspicion that she could do better than the music here. After all, Ren would have done something smarter, wouldn't have she? ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide