Details
Track Listing
1. Welcome to Tomorrow
2. War
3. Fire Burning
4. My Girlfriend
5. Face Drop
6. Magical
7. Island Queen
8. Tomorrow
9. Twist Ya Around
10. Wrap U Around Me
11. Shoulda Let U Go - (featuring Good Charlotte)
12. Over
13. Ice Cream Girl - (featuring Wyclef Jean)
14. Why U Wanna Go
Album Notes
Recording information: Boom Boom Room, Atlanta, GA; Levcon Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Paramount Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Electracraft Studio, New York, NY; Ameraycan Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Henson Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Mux Music, London; Chalice Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA; F2 Studios, Hollywood, CA; Platinum Sound Recording Studio, New York, NY; Campground Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
Poised for a repeat performance of his hit-making run in the summer of 2007 (the singles "Beautiful Girls" and "I'll Take You There," and a self-titled debut), Sean Kingston caps off another season of chart-toppers with his 2009 follow-up, TOMORROW. Expanding upon the debut's breezy, radio-friendly take on reggae-inflected pop R&B, the album presents a mix of uptempo club bangers ("Fire"), as well as more introspective fare such as the single "Face Drop," which relays the singer's own experiences as a chubby, lovesick teen.
The good news is that with TOMORROW, the Jamaican-born, Miami-raised singer Sean Kingston has matured from the precocious 16-year-old of his debut into the much cooler and natural 19-year-old found here. Musically, he hasn't evolved a lick. This means the highly polished, island-flavored, hip-hop-influenced R&B of his debut is back, although, this time, the gimmicky ideas come off as more clever than cute. With Kingston adjusting his swagger accordingly, his patois shouts of "What a gwaan!!" make the electro-disco "Fire Burning" much more charming than the Flo Rida and Black Eyed Peas singles it apes. The glorious "My Girlfriend" could be passed off as a nu-disco bootleg remix of some classic lovers rock track, and while the infamous auto-tune device is used frequently, Kingston has it turned up so ridiculously high that it fits right in with all the other futuristic sounds. Right in line with the mash-up style, Good Charlotte's punk-pop chorus is a drastic and fun shift during "Shoulda Let U Go." But special guest Wyclef blends in much more naturally, bringing his mature tropical voice to "Ice Cream Girl" and making it sound like New Edition hanging with Robert Palmer. Anchoring it all is a humorous acknowledgement of his weight gain on "Face Drop," a handful of reggae-pop tracks that are bright and pleasant, plus some stripped-down, campfire-on-the-beach ballads where the waves roll in as the singer delivers his sweet nothings. TOMORROW proves Kingston can provide a whole album's worth of pool-side entertainment even without the "Beautiful Girls"-sized single.
Industry Reviews
Kingston does widen his scope a bit, as evidenced by the percolating synth/dance vibe of the set's first single...
3 stars out of 5 -- Kingston's mix of young-adult desire and disco heat shows he can cross over in unexpected directions.
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