Forever Diamondz - Collector's Edition

Since fashion is literally the reason the Bratz dolls exist, it's a good thing that Forever Diamondz is the strongest collection of songs released under the dolls' name. As usual, the plastic girls with a passion for fashion are right on trend, enlisting the talents of hitmaking producers such as Engine and Matthew Gerrard for their own au courant dance-pop. Just as the Bratz dolls are super-stylized versions of teenage fashion plates, Forever Diamondz plays almost like a cute caricature of current music trends. The remake of David Bowie's "Fashion" might make the ears of crazy pop connoisseurs p***k up — even though the guitars are more Franz Ferdinand than Mick Ronson, it's pretty weird. "Wazz Up" and its en español counterpart, "Que Tal," reflect the heavier hip-hop and Latin influences on Forever Diamondz; these songs and "Ooooh Fashion" were produced by Engine and have a slick, slightly hard-edged approach that makes Bratz's music seem more mature than it actually is. The tracks Gerrard produced follow that lead: "Express Yourself," with its sassy rapping and a beat that should be rated at least PG-13, sounds like it could be Peaches or Fannypack for the preteen set. "What's Goin' On" (not the Marvin Gaye classic) sounds a little like a lost Motown girl group song reconfigured into state-of-the-art dance-pop, and a little like Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man." Later on, the cover of Aguilera's "Beautiful" feels especially fitting, not just because of the song title, but because she's always seemed like one of the major inspirations for the dolls' look. Rihanna's sleek, buzzy, very danceable sound is also a major inspiration here, particularly on "Best Friends" and "Keep It Up." Forever Diamondz is a little samey sometimes, a problem that plagues all of the Bratz albums since they're so defined by their themes (fashion here, genies and Middle Eastern music on Genie Magic). Yes, the Bratz albums are incredibly blatant marketing ploys (this one is a tie-in to the Forever Diamondz line of dolls). And yes, their tendency to use a Z where an S would work perfectly well is extremely irritating. However, the actual music is far better done than it could have been — and still compares well to the output of the living, breathing pop stars who inspired it.