ALBUM REVIEW: Jessie J - 'Who You Are'

Unquestionably the UK’s newest and biggest thing in music at the moment, Jessie J released her debut album ‘Who You Are’ on February 28^th, a month earlier than planned due to popular demand.

Winning the 2011 Critic's Choice award at The BRITs, both of her debut singles are featured on the urban-pop 13-track LP; her first, ‘Do It Like A Dude’ reached number 2 in the charts which was later followed by ‘Price Tag’ featuring B.o.B that successfully achieved the number 1 spot.

In an interview, Jessie expresses how the song ‘Who You Are’ states that being true to who you are is important and therefore is the reason why the 22-year old chose this as her theme and album title.

Her very first piece written at the tender age of 16, ‘Big White Room’ is recorded from a live performance with only an acoustic guitar accompaniment and as a result is quite attention-grabbing. Another favourite is ‘L.O.V.E.’ which has a soulful r&b vibe.

Jessie endeavours and achieves to be a role model for the younger generation and does this through positive lyrics. ‘Rainbow’ produced by Oak touches upon the theme of togetherness and in ‘Stand Up’, she continues to be optimistic and encouraging.

Vocally, no one can deny Jessie’s extraordinary talent that is demonstrated throughout the whole album, however ‘Mama Knows Best’ doesn’t seem to live up to what was expected; perhaps performed better in person in than her studio recording.

A couple of other must listen tracks are ‘Abracadabra’, produced by Dr Luke, and ‘I Need This’ which she originally wrote for Chris Brown’s ‘Graffiti’ album.

Overall, the record is a mixture of ballads and mid-tempo tracks, some more likable than others but still conveying her musical gift throughout.

It’s a grower; 4 out of 5 for this one.


Reviewed by Cherelle Thompson.