Review Summary: It's a great pop records, an "eh" overall record.
When I first bought this CD, I thought to myself "What am I doing? I don't even watch American Idol." Then when I put in the CD and Mr. DeWyze hit his first falsetto note in the acoustic groove and title track, "Live it Up," the thoughts came back, but this time they were SCREAMING. First off, I wondered if I was delusional because I had voices in my head screaming at me. Then, I thought that there was no way the CD could be good after that song. With cheesy, cliché lyrics like "Maybe I'm not your type/Or maybe I'm your Mr. Right/I could be your Romeo and you could be my Juliet" and out of tune falsetto, I cringed. I thought the rest of this CD would sound like this terrible song.
Fortunately, I was wrong.
"Sweet Serendipity" is a fast upbeat (very generic) song, reminiscent of Kris Allen's, the winner from the previous season, lead single, "Live Like We're Dying." And surprise! "Sweet Serendipity" is Lee's lead single. "It's Gotta Be Love" is just an awkward song about some girl Lee met when he was drunk, but I think, think being the keyword, it has an ukulele in it. The beginning of this album goes from terrible to average, and at this point I wonder if I should even finish the CD or just give up.
Then "Dear Isabelle" came to the rescue. I'm guessing it's actually about one of Lee's prior relationships because there's actually emotion in his voice. The song sounds similar to "Hey There Delilah," being a primarily acoustic song and how it's supposed to be sung straight to a specific girl. However, "Dear Isabelle" is written like it's a letter to whoever this Isabelle is, which makes it seem more personal. And now, the album finally begins to pick up.
"Beautiful Like You" is one of the albums highlights. But, it's the only song that isn't co-penned by DeWyze. It's about Lee trying to make a girl realize how beautiful she is. "Me and My Jealousy" is the albums other highlight, and my favorite off the whole album. It's basically "Beautiful Like You Pt. 2 and Improved." But a name like that isn't as catchy as "Me and My Jealousy." The song is a mid tempo soft rocker that's piano driven. "I'm jealous of pillow where you lay your head/The only thing you're laying with is my regret." While those lyrics may not seem like lyrical gold, it's pretty good compared to the rest of pop music you here.
And that's what it really comes down. Is it a good pop record? Yes. Is it a great pop record? I would say yes. However, when compared to records in other genres, this is mediocre at best. So, yes it's a good record under some perspectives, but under other's it's a terrible record. This is labeled pop, so it's a great pop record.
