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Many young pop stars would follow up a
commercial debut with another formulaic effort. But give the
Velvet Teddy Bear credit for doing something different-in this
case, an inspirational album. Studdard certainly has the voice
to match the spirituality of the songs and the performance he
delivers is genuine and heartfelt, like on "Amazing Grace,"
"Don't You Give Up, "Center of My Joy," and the
rollicking "Restoration." Aside from the slick grooves
of the R. Kelly song "I Need an Angel" (notice the
irony here), the songs are well polished although the homespun
up tempo blues of "Fix It Jesus," a duet with Harvey
Watkins, Jr. breaks the mold. It remains to be seen if Studdard's
young fans will be receptive to gospel music, which might seem
foreign to them; even if you are an atheist, it would difficult
to not be uplifted.
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