Record Review - Justin Bieber: My World 2.0

It’s easy to dismiss online phenom Justin Bieber, with his teeny-bop appeal. But that’s not to say his music is as unimaginative as his marketing campaign. Much of the material on Bieber’s full-length debut, My World 2.0, is more memorable than one might expect. “Baby” is a fresh-faced puppy love song that benefits from Bieber’s confident vocals and a PG guest appearance from Ludacris, while “Overboard” features Jessica Jarrell in a duet that’s as dark as the album gets – which is to say, not very. There’s more charm emanating from the two youngsters than chemistry, but the love-as-drowning metaphor is an example of Bieber pulling off a pop cliché without a hitch. With such acts as Pretty Ricky making music too bawdy for most adults – let alone the teens that typically turn out for the shows – it’s not so bad to have a bit of harmless, unaffected pop to give the kids something to listen to. 3 out of 5 stars.