If he’s the Latin answer to R&B superstars Justin Timberlake and Chris Brown, well, he’s a pretty good answer.
Colby O’Donis, the 19-year-old singer-songwriter who has been in the public eye since he was signed by Motown Records when he was 10 years old, broke onto the music scene in a big way with the release of his first single, “What You Got,” in February.
His second single, “Don’t Turn Back,” was released last June, and the rest of his self-entitled album “Colby O” hit stores Sept. 16.
When listening to the album, you get the feeling that O’Donis is going to be in the spotlight for a really long time.
First, he’s got a great voice – it’s definitely comparable to Timberlake or Brown. But, at the same time, he’s not just a singer.
His guitar playing during songs like “Saved You Money” is reminiscent of early Carlos Santana, and that alone is enough to give him some major respect from me. There’s plenty of musicians out there who probably would be lost if you handed them an instrument.
It’s also cool he writes his own material. Out of his 15 songs on the album, 14 were written or co-written by him. Someone who can write their own lyrics and play their own instruments doesn’t have to depend on as many people as, say, Britney Spears.
He’s also got Akon in his corner — Akon was featured on his first single and produced eight of the songs, and his record label, Kon Live, distributed the album.
You can tell that O’Donis put a lot of work into this album. If you hadn’t heard his first two singles before listening to this album, it would almost be impossible to pick out the best tracks – there’s almost zero drop-off between songs.
At the same time, you can’t help but remember that O’Donis is only 19 years old when he starts singing about all of his past heartaches. When did he have all this free time to fall in love and then break up?
I know relationships tend to move at a quicker pace when you’re young. But still, I can’t really take him seriously when he starts singing about how his new girl is the “closest thing to Heaven,” in “The Difference.” Until when? She dumps you at the senior prom?
On the whole though, I did enjoy his album, and I think it’s a breath of fresh air when you put him next to some of the stars who’ve dominated the billboards for the past decade.