Let Your Love Out

From eating fried worms to churning out catchy tween pop, young actor/singer Luke Benward expanded his entertaining repertoire in 2009 with the release of Let Your Love Out. The album resembles the peppy fodder you might hear on a soundtrack of the films in which he has had starring roles, including the previously referenced How to Eat Fried Worms, Because of Winn Dixie, and Disney Channel's Minutemen. To his credit, Benward does not try to be anything more than he is — a fun, happy-go-lucky young man with an obvious passion for getting smiles from young viewers and listeners. He doesn't push himself with vocals that are outside of his range, which keeps him in his well-defined comfort zone and thankfully prevents any real missteps. Groovy guitar and pop beats punctuate the album, much like contemporaries Miley Cyrus and PureNRG. Father Aaron Benward shares co-writing credits with CCM artist Joy Williams and others. Let Your Love Out is hopefully a sign of good things to come — the only downside to the album is the running time (not counting the repeated "sing-along tracks," it clocks in at barely 15 minutes).