With her dark fingernails, heavy eyeliner, and dyed-black spiky hair, Backstreet Boys protégé Krystal looks like Pink, but that's where the similarities end. While Pink is all hip-hop street cried, Krystal is a sensitive young Christian woman who's devoted to her piano. Most of the songs on Me and My Piano sound the same: piano, strings, drum machines, overproduced vocals, and traditional pop structure, right down to the key change three-quarters through each track. Standouts include the first single, "Supergirl," a strong, danceable blend of girl power and youthful vulnerability, and "Angel on My Shoulder," a ballad that recalls Mariah Carey's early inspirational offerings (with the accompanying vocal tricks).
"You're the Reason," a mid-tempo ballad featuring the Backstreet Boys, would be a perfect TRL chartbuster with its handclaps and softly strumming guitar if the melody wasn't so high, making it impossible for both Krystal and her teenage audience to sing along. The lyrics of every song could be about either a boyfriend or the Lord, which should comfort Christian parents looking for "secular" music appropriate for their adolescent girls. Overall, the album is capable but seamlessly uniform: background music to do your homework by, but little else. --Courtney Kemp
