Kris Allen

Thank You Camellia | 3 stars

POP

Despite upsetting Adam Lambert for the American Idol crown in 2009, Kris Allen has been overshadowed as a recording artist by his far flashier opponent. That won't change with their new albums: Lambert's Trespassing beats Thank You Camellia hands down. But judged on its own merits, Allen's second set is still a winner. Smoothly and surely executed with his low-key manner, it charms you as easily as those dimples. Just try to resist an undeniable ditty like "My Weakness," with its whistling hook and bouncy strum. Cowriting every tune, Allen makes subtle musical shifts (the funk-lite, hip-hoppish "Rooftops") and lyrical twists (the country-style conceit of "Leave You Alone"). Best is "You Got a Way," a soulful piano ballad that echoes Billy Joel's "She's Got a Way" with more than just its title.

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Farewell Donna & Robin the Disco Beat Goes on
Like polyester and bell-bottoms, Donna Summer and the Bee Gees defined the disco era. So it's poignant that both the Queen of Disco and Robin Gibb would pass away within three days of each other, as if sharing their last dance together. It's bittersweet that they would leave us at a time when dance music is once again pumping life into the pop scene thanks to everyone from Lady Gaga and Britney Spears to Rihanna and Nicki Minaj. Of course, there's also Madonna, whose entire career was built on the multicolored-dance-floor foundation laid by Summer and the Bee Gees in the '70s. And there was more to them than disco: Summer's early hit "I Feel Love" pioneered today's electronica, while the Bee Gees, with their falsetto-fied harmonies, showed the likes of Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke that white boys could have soul too.

For more on Summer's and Gibb's lives and legacies, see page 74.

MY TOP 5 BEE GEES SONGS

1 "STAYIN' ALIVE" (1977)

2 "HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE" (1977)

3 "HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART?" (1971)

4 "YOU SHOULD BE DANCING" (1976)

5 "NIGHT FEVER" (1977)

MY TOP 5 DONNA SUMMER SONGS

1 "LAST DANCE" (1978)

2 "I FEEL LOVE" (1977)

3 "BAD GIRLS" (1979)

4 "MACARTHUR PARK SUITE" (1978)

5 "HOT STUFF" (1979)

Meet Rebecca Ferguson ... the Next Big Brit?
ON FINISHING SECOND ON THE U.K.'S X FACTOR IN 2010

It was life-changing. Adele sent me a note after I was on the show. I haven't met her, but I'd love to. I was on the show with One Direction, and I've watched how hard they work and am really happy for them.

ON ONCE DATING 1D'S ZAYN MALIK

We don't [still keep in touch]. I'm like that with relationships—you leave it where it is and then you move on. It was the right decision.

ON BEING COMPARED TO ARETHA FRANKLIN

I feel like it's too soon to compare me to someone so great, but I'm always really flattered and honored when people do it.

Quick Cuts
KIMBRA

Vows

The featured singer on Gotye's No. 1 hit "Somebody That I Used to Know," this New Zealander brings a similarly quirky sensibility to her U.S. debut. But evoking everyone from Björk and Nelly Furtado to Lily Allen and Jessie J, she lacks real identity. [2½ stars]

SARA BAREILLES

Once Upon Another Time

For this five-track EP, Bareilles has found her producing prince in fellow singer-pianist Ben Folds. After the final cut, the Sarah McLachlan-style ballad "Bright Lights and Cityscapes," you wish this story would continue. [3 stars]

GARBAGE

Not Your Kind of People

Reuniting for their first album in seven years, Shirley Manson and her boys still pack plenty of punch and crunch. Highlights include "Blood for Poppies," the funky, snarling single, and "Beloved Freak," a big bear hug of a ballad. [3½ stars]

BEST COAST

The Only Place

No less a music hipster than Drew Barrymore is among this female-fronted duo's fans—she even directed a video—and it's easy to hear why: Their retro cool and West Coast charms take songs like the jangly title track to groovy places. [3 stars]

Hot Singles
ALANIS MORISSETTE

"Guardian" On what sounds like an ode to her first child, 17-month-old son Ever Imre, Morissette goes from a caressing coo to a mama-lion roar. [3 stars]

T.I.

"Like That" For those who think he might have lost some street cred from that VH1 reality show, the rapper kicks it hard on a swaggering banger from his upcoming Trouble Man. [3½ stars]

KENNY CHESNEY

"Come Over" The country superstar aims for his own "Need You Now" with this yearning invitation. But the ballad is more of a solid album track than a killer single. [2½ stars]