Stacie's Album Reviews
Stacie Orrico Christmas Wish
Thank goodness the EP concept hasn't died completely. Most labels are reluctant to release less than a full album on an artist (singles excepted, of course), but sometimes that's just the best course of action. It certainly is in the case of teen-pop singer Stacie Orrico's Christmas Wish. Even at a mere six tracks, it still tops 24 minutes, meaning that most of the disc's songs are well over four minutes long each. For all but the most devoted fans of the style or the singer, that'll be more than long enough to listen to Orrico moan through "O Holy Night," "What Child Is This," and "Come All Ye Faithful" in her best Christina Aguilera imitation. Christmas Wish also contains two new songs, "Christmas Wish" and "Love Came Down," neither of which encourage groups of family or friends gathered around the hearth and sing along. Only on "White Christmas" does Orrico leave the electronic plinking and thumping behind as Michael W. Smith provides an orchestral arrangement to back her. If you must have a Christmas album by a dance diva, go for Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas; if it's a teenage Christian singer you need, Jaci Velasquez's Christmas offers a more traditional take. Brian Mansfield CDNOW Senior Editor, Christian/Gospel
Stacie Orrico Genuine
Two years ago, Stacie Orrico was just another junior-high kid in Denver, Colo. After deciding to attend the annual Christian Artist Seminar in the Rockies event "just to see the concerts," she was encouraged by a friend to enter the vocal competition for pre-teens -- and to her shock, she won. After some months of consideration, Stacie signed a development deal with ForeFront Records. Two years later, the result is her urban/R&B-laced Genuine. The influence of artists such as Crystal Lewis and Lauryn Hill can be detected; Orrico's still-maturing pipes often traverse the dusky lower register of Lewis' voice, while the acoustic guitar overtones and hip-hop textures pay homage to Hill. Songs such as "Without Love" and "Restore My Soul" evince a surprising depth of feeling for such a young soul, while "Ride," "O.O. Baby," and "Confidant" are simply relaxed pop gems. Orrico has also tested the waters as a songwriter, penning the moving "Dear Friend," about her best friend's battle with anorexia, as well as co-writing the funky title track and the No. One hit, "Don't Look at Me." The now-14-year-old has already been written off in some circles as Christian music's answer to teenybopper thrushes such as Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. But this dynamic young talent was not hatched on Star Search or bred in a Florida swamp. Orrico's music does, in fact, come from a much truer, spiritual place. Bruce A. Brown CDNOW Contributing Writer