Christina Milian It's About Time CD

Personnel: Christina Milian (vocals); Fabolous, Joe Budden (rap vocals); Baby Dubb (various instruments, programming); Bryan-Michael Cox (various instruments); The Stereo (keyboards, programming).
Do you remember Christina Milian? Probably not. In 2001, the former junior journalist for the Disney Channel landed a single called "AM to PM" on the charts. It fared moderately well, while the album it came from did not. Three years later, Milian returns in her early twenties and marks the occasion with a clever and ubiquitous slice of high-class raunch called "Dip It Low." This turns out to be the biggest -- but not only -- highlight of her second album. It falls somewhere between Beyoncé's Dangerously in Love and Jennifer Lopez' This Is Me... Then in sound and scope, and yet it isn't quite as remarkable as either. Bloodshy & Avant, the two primary producers who reprise their roles from Milian's first album, hand the singer at least three other songs that have the potential to be played on radio and television with at least half as much frequency as the lead single. This should push her well beyond one-smash-and-out status. The club tracks work best and easily outrank the slower songs. Despite the album's handful of bright spots, Milian will need to be more convincing during the ballads next time out in order to be considered a true force. ~ Andy Kellman
Cuban-born pop chanteuse Christina Milian got her start as an actress on TV sitcoms, but from the beginning of her second record, IT'S ABOUT TIME, she makes it clear that, like other teen sensations, she's not that innocent. Opening track "Dip It Low" features a frenetic, sensual dance-floor beat with just a hint of Asian flavor, as Milian counts off numerous ways for women to drive their men crazy.
The record continues with the atmosphere of a raging party, with rappers Fabolous and Joe Budden dropping by to lay down rhymes (Budden has some particularly mighty moments on "L.O.V.E."). Milian's vocals possess enough imperious swagger to pull off the upbeat dance numbers, but also the requisite coy desire to spice up the slow jams (ballads "Miss You Like Crazy"--not a cover of the Natalie Cole song--and the enthrallingly luscious "Highway"). Milian's music struts with a power belying the singer's age, making the funky IT'S ABOUT TIME an entertaining record from start to finish.