Jason Derulo (by Jason Derulo, R&B)

After scoring big with his singles "Whatcha Say" and "In My Head," hot young Haitian R&B singer Jason Derulo has released his first full-length, self-titled album. Fans of the singles, which focused on the ups and downs of love, will be thrilled to find that the whole album represents more of the same. Most of the tracks find Derulo either falling for or breaking up with someone, yet no matter what the circumstances, the singer keeps the discussion a lot cleaner than songs by most of his contemporaries. That's not to say the CD has no eyebrow-raising moments; there are some clear references to sex and drinking, as well as a few s-bombs. However, the album is nowhere near the maturity level of explicit records from other R&B singers like Robin Thicke.

If you're not listening closely to the 12 tracks on this record, you might miss where one song ends and another begins -- since the same synth-pop, Autotune-sound dominates every tune. It's a catchy enough formula to have earned airplay for the first singles off the album, but it quickly becomes overkill after hearing it repeated through an entire CD. Derulo would have done well to follow the musical example of Chris Brown, another young male R&B singer whose recent album Graffiti is much more creative and, ultimately, likable.

Released on: March 8, 2010
Label: Warner Brothers
Genre: R&B