1000 Stars

There are plenty of pop starlets out there, and while many muse at America's fascination with the form, the overwhelming force of pop in Europe and Australia simply can't be compared. At the forefront of the Aussie portion of the pop world is Natalie Bassingthwaighte, a songstress with a relatively normal voice and some relatively normal compositions, but with a surprising amount of passion in her delivery. The sound is almost ridiculously optimistic — the follow-your-dreams content that makes up so much Disney pop. Between the bouts of optimistic balladry, though, Bassingthwaighte is all bombast, with massive chorus parts interspersed among the softer, more lilting bits. When she gets into the electronic beats of "Alive," she enters pure Hilary Duff territory. The music never really breaks away from straightforward high-energy and high-melodrama vocal pop, and indeed Bassingthwaighte never really stretches beyond the almost-canned passion that comes to so many songbirds singing others' compositions. Fans of the genre should get considerable enjoyment from 1000 Stars, as it's a great example of the form. Those who normally shy away from teen pop should presumably also shy away from this one.