Skip to footer

Lea Michele is so-so on debut album

Lea Michele did not deliver on her first solo album, 'Louder,' which sounded more like a demo. The last track was inspired by her boyfriend and 'Glee' co-star Cory Monteith, who died of a heroin overdose last year.

  • By Mesfin Fekadu AP Music Writer

On some of the songs from her debut album, Lea Michele is convincing. On others, it's like she is acting.

The "Glee" star, known for her big voice, provides the pipes on "Louder," but some songs sound empty and don't show much emotion or personality from the 27-year-old talent.

The dance-flavored title track is typical and forgettable, as is "Don't Let Go." ''Empty Handed," co-written by singer Christina Perri, comes off like an unimpressive Coldplay cover, while other songs echo Kelly Clarkson, but lack the energy that Clarkson's learned to build on her songs.

Michele, who has appeared on Broadway in "Spring Awakening" and other shows, gets it right on the piercing "Burn With You," where she sings: "I don't wanna go to heaven if you're going to hell/I will burn with you." She also shines on the slow piano tune "Battlefield," one of four tracks co-written by the exceptional Sia Furler (Rihanna's "Diamonds," Beyonce's "Pretty Hurts"). Instead of yelling, she works her voice nicely on "Thousand Needles," building it up when needed, but hitting softer notes to provide balance.

But, all in all, "Louder" is jagged. The songs don't play well together, and the collection sounds more like a demo, instead of a Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated singer-actress' debut album. That may be due partially to the group of producers and songwriters, which include Stargate, Benny Blanco, John Shanks, The Messengers, Anne Preven, Christopher Braide and more. While they've produced hits for others, from Clarkson to Rihanna, Michele might have been better off with a tighter and smaller group of collaborators.

Michele closes the album with the ballad "If You Say So," which was inspired by one of the last conversations she had with her "Glee" co-star and boyfriend, Cory Monteith, who died after overdosing on heroin and alcohol last year.

The track is somewhat chilling and worth a listen, but while the rest of "Louder" features a big voice, most of the time Michele isn't saying much.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Lea Michele is so-so on debut album
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2014/0305/Lea-Michele-is-so-so-on-debut-album
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe