O (by Omarion, R&B)

Omarion, former lead singer of boy-group B2K, struts some impressive vocal stuff on O, his debut solo effort. With a sensibility borrowed from generations of rhythm & blues crooners, he has the voice and looks to become a solidly swoon-worthy teen heartthrob. Unfortunately, Omarion's voice and classic R&B arrangements end up sounding a lot stronger than the songs themselves. Repetitive and a bit whiny, they miss the "less-is-more" point of great make-out music. When the lights are low and someone who looks like Omarion is whispering sweet nothings in your ear during the slow dance, explicit sexual imagery sounds more jarring than seductive. At the very least, it's conceptually redundant.

Gratuitously explicit, with just enough four-letter words to sneak under the parental advisory wire (there is no warning sticker, nor is there an edited version available), O ends up sounding like it's trying to do too many things at once. Bottom line: There's a lot of potential here, if the artist can come up with some better, more subtly sexy material.

Released on: February 22, 2005
Label: Sony Music
Genre: R&B