5.0
- Release date:
- July 22, 2008
- Artist/Band name:
- Miley Cyrus
- Record label:
- Hollywood
- Official Web Site:
- http://www.mileycyrus.com/
Backstory: After carefully positioning her as a bankable star, totally apart from her Disney Channel “Hannah Montana” character, the Empire of the Mouse is finally ready to unleash Billy Ray Cyrus’ precocious daughter as the latest and greatest product of their tween-pop assembly line—a sturdy platinum-record-making machine that has also launched the likes of Hilary Duff and the Jonas Brothers.
Why you should care: “Breakout” isn’t so much an album as a pop-culture event, on par with the Super Bowl and the latest Batman movie. Like it or not, we’re all going to be inundated with Miley mania for the next six months or so.
Verdict: As music for the masses goes, “Breakout” delivers the goods. The majority of its songs are big, slick and catchy as all get-out, and Cyrus’ voice is a surprisingly resonant instrument, richer than other teen-pop brats like Duff and Avril Lavigne. Cyrus co-wrote 10 of the album’s 12 tracks, and you can hear the influence of her dad’s record collection; she has a penchant for Nashville’s easy sentimentality and full-throttle choruses, especially on mid-tempo rockers (you heard us, rockers) like “The Driveway” and “Full Circle.” A few of the ballads fall flat, and some of the album’s retro electronics feel like an unnecessary nod to today’s production trends. But overall, “Breakout” is an example of tween pop done right, and will likely be a guilty summer pleasure for plenty of non-tweens, as well.
X-Factor: Including a cover Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” is one of those ideas that probably sounded great in a boardroom, but in practice, the track’s glossy guitars and Cyrus’ karaoke-faithful delivery feel phony and forced. Please, Disney, let the girl do her own songs.
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