We almost have to commend Sabrina Carpenter for trying. Almost.
The 15 year-old Disney Channel starâs Tuesday release, âEyes Wide Open,â is a poor excuse for a pop album.
âEyes Wide Openâ reminisces of early Taylor Swift and backburner Colbie Caillat. Its hopeful tone throughout becomes annoying and the songs are clearly products of someone elseâs hands.
The debut album sounds like Hollywood Records masterminds Brian Malouf, (Michael Jackson, Madonna) and Matt Squire (Ariana Grande, Good Charlotte, Kesha) slipped blonde hair, blue-eyed Carpenter onto the album solely to generate young fans. Not even fans of her television show âGirl Meets Worldâ will listen to this album.
The 12-track compilation is rooted by light drums, poppy guitars and unoriginal vocals. Weâve heard Carpenter do better.
Her cover of Adeleâs âSet Fire to the Rainâ has rung in more than 5 million views on YouTube due to its precious charm and well-sung melody. If Carpenter went the route of soul instead of already-done pop on âEyes Wide Open,â the record mightâve held more fire.
But instead, listeners are given an already-been-chewed, spat out actress-turned-popstar gag.
In the title track, Carpenter sings about keeping her eyes open and that sheâs about to âmake her way.â At least she acknowledges in the song that she has no clue what she is doing with lyrics like âThis dream burns inside of me/And I canât just let it go/Thereâs still so much that I donât know.â
Leading fan-favorite âWeâll Be the Starsâ is the sing-along takeaway, and was released in February. Its catchy hooks, short verses and fun premise set an anthem for mall-bound teenyboppers everywhere in the backseat of their momâs car.
âTwo Young Heartsâ adds to the track list of monotonous pop numbers, preaching the excitement of young love. Besides the cute lyric and beat-driven melody, the tune drowns ears with drawn out, useless notes.
âSeamlessâ is the skip-over track that listeners need to hear. Itâs the closest thing to her Etta James, Sam Smith and Adele covers that sheds a light on Carpenterâs ability to take a risk. Having been one of the few songs that Carpenter assisted in writing, âSeamlessâ should spark the young singerâs interest in taking the ballad trail if her people allow her to do a second album.
âEyes Wide Openâ concludes with the ironic âWhite Flag,â whose title indicates surrender, yet the song is about hope. âDrown my dreams in a coffee cupâ Carpenter croons. âPalms out, wanna beg for luck/But Iâm too proud, never giving up.â
At least listeners will know after taking a peak at âEyes Wide Openâ that Carpenter is still figuring out where she belongs in the music world, but that doesnât excuse this useless array of sound-the-same pop songs. Itâs just another album to forget.
For musicâs sake, Carpenter should stick to Disney.