[Album & MV Review] Tiffany - 'I Just Wanna Dance'

AKP STAFF

TIFFANY -- I JUST WANNA DANCE

Track List:

1. I Just Wanna Dance
2. TALK
3. Fool
4. What Do I Do
5. Yellow Light
6. Once in a Lifetime
7. What Do I Do (English Version) [iTunes/Spotify Only]

Long known as one of the top vocalists in the supergroup Girls' Generation, and as one-third of the hitmaking subunit TaTiSeo, Tiffany is the second Girls' Generation member to go solo. And she's here to tell you "I Just Wanna Dance."

I have to take a moment and talk about that awkward album cover. The one I have shows Tiffany on a bed, in a shift, looking lost and scared. That says "kidnapped teen sex slave" more than "pop idol," and makes me extremely uncomfortable. I don't wanna know who came up with that, but they need to fire that perv. A change of expression could do wonders to change the mood.

"I Just Wanna Dance" is the title track, but they could have picked a stronger lead-in to the album. The only thing I could ask for is more of a chorus. Her voice gives me chills and she shows off her impressive vocal range on this track, but it needs a bit more oomph. Her backing vox showcase what could have been. It grew on me the more I listened, though.

She tackles the other songs with more zest. The self-composed track "What Do I Do," for example, is energetic and full-on dance. Written by bandmate Sooyoung, it has enough highs and lulls to more than satisfy this jaded ear. Tiffany herself wrote the English version, only found on iTunes (or Spotify, if you eschew Apple IP).� Girls Aloud alum Nicola Roberts contributed the sultry R&B track "TALK," and Tiffany's voice is enticing here. She pitches her vocals deeper on the slower soul tune "Yellow Light," and totally kills it. "Fool" is a familiar-sounding song and has a lot of Girls' Generation in it while she traipses into pleasant soft rock on "Once in a Lifetime."

Tiffany has a gifted voice, and she proves it here. Every entry on here is pitch perfect, whether venturing into R&B or staying in her natural stomping grounds. From high and breathy to soulful and earthy, whatever the style demands she provides, like an aural chimera. Crossing genres is nothing new, but few do it this naturally. A beautiful singer with a beautiful voice.

MV REVIEW

Tiffany is nursing a cup of coffee in a restaurant, when she falls asleep. She awakens, and the MV dynamically shifts from black and white to color. We get various scenes of Tiffany dancing with backup dancers and walking on the beach, generally acting free and happy. But as all dreams do, this one eventually ends, and she's back in the restaurant with a confused look on her face...

While amusing, it's nothing we haven't seen before. Dancing? Check. Costumes? Check. Individual shots? Check. Sweetly (Check Check Check). But I have to confess that she looks gorgeous here, and the dancing is quite skillful, with the moves in sync and some ground dancing usually reserved for boy bands.

I certainly didn't hate the MV, if that's what you're thinking. As I said, while all the old standbys were in place, it was still slickly produced. Good summer fun is what we see here, and I've seen too many dreary days not to embrace this one.

Score

MV Relevance..........8
MV Production.........8
MV Concept.............8
Album Production..10
Album Concept........9
Tracklisting.............9