MIKA shot to fame in 2007 with the release of his album Life in Cartoon Motion. The effort included the smash hits Grace Kelly and Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) and, if you’ve ever heard either of these tracks, you’ll know how infectious they are. On this follow-up album, Mika has moved on, but only from childhood to adolescence. Mika is still having too much fun at the kids’ party to forsake his commitment to a full-on urban pop genre. But we’re not complaining. Each song is a different door to Mika’s imagination. The sunny teenage rebellion of We Are Golden, the saloon-like sway of Lover Boy, and the somnambulant tones of By the Time are all extensions of Mika’s re-imagined reality. Rain sprouts from the same Euro-disco garden as Relax (Take It Easy) on Life in Cartoon Motion and will keep the glow stick wavers content through the listening session.

The Afropop-influenced Blue Eyes offers the most resonant reflection that "sorrow is so peculiar, it comes in a day, then it’ll never leave you, you take a pill, wonder if it will fix you, then wonder why sorrow has never left you." Both I See You and By the Time are appealing arrangements that find Mika’s vocals complementing elegant piano lines well — the former is particularly striking in its accomplished articulating of melancholy. Exuberant, glittery dance tracks are still his specialty (Touches You, Good Gone Girl, and the booming Blame It On The Girls) and lively vaudeville-esque piano numbers (Toy Boy and Dr. John) add diverting variety.

Best track: Rain

Worst track: One Foot Boy

Anjulie— Anjulie (Hear)

On her self-titled debut album, Anjulie, the Los Angeles-based songwriter comes across as a confident young woman who examines her life, loves, obsessions, and heartbreaks with fearless introspection. Young Anjulie’s sultry voice defies her age: powerful, focussed and seemingly effortless.

Pair that with the fire and energy of her youth and you get a dazzling blend of R&B vocal styling with creative hip-hop instrumentations. The album showcases an eclectic mix of songs that showcase her vocal and stylistic talents. The album commences with the stylish Boom. It begins with a deep beat and Anjulie’s fierce vocals. Its 1960s-inspired sound makes it completely fitting for a James Bond film. Anjulie has writing credits on every track on the record, and there are no vocal appearances by any other artists. This is a brave feat in today’s music age, where collaborations seem to rule the urban charts. Crazy That Way has the most conventional beginning of the songs here, with just a woman, a piano and a confession: "Sometimes I lock myself inside your closet, breathing the scent of your clothes/Take home a T-shirt and pretend I lost it, hide it under my pillow."

A few of the songs on the album explore Anjulie’s playful romantic side, such as Fatal Attraction. She confesses, "It’s a fatal attraction, I’m a slave to a passion," as she proclaims her urges in this song of temptation. Love Songs shows off Anjulie’s charming side in this enchanting number complemented by her elegant voice and the slow, precise chiming. As it stands, it’s a promising start.

Best track: Boom

Worst track: Same Damn Thing

Sean Kingston— Tomorrow (Epic)

Nineteen-year-old Sean Kingston hit the big time with his Stand By Me sampling smash hit Beautiful Girls in 2007. His eponymous debut album was then a Top 10 hit with its fun but lightweight mix of R&B stylings, would-be gangster rap and dancehall-reggae tropes, and in that spirit, Kingston adheres rigidly to the same-old formula for this follow-up. The problem remains that vocally Sean sounds like a one-note singer and his lack of range means that the album soon sounds repetitive. Musically he’s stuck somewhere between Sean Paul’s dancehall sound and contemporary R&B. To win over the audience once again, Kingston really needed to pull some quality tunes out of the bag, but sadly he doesn’t manage to do that with enough frequency here. To his credit, Kingston tries to add some variation to the collection. Face Drop is a sparkling mid-tempo jam, Island Queen is the most authentically reggae-sounding song here, but the title track strips everything back to square one. Unfortunately Charlotte collaboration Shoulda Let U Go falls right on its face. There are a few good moments here though. Fire Burning is the strongest cut on this album, even though it sounds a bit tired at the end. The uptempo beats and Kingston’s reggae-tinged vocals complement each other but there’s just nothing really special here. Magical is a swinging island love ballad, Ice Cream Girl brings Wyclef on board for a choppy, uptempo collaboration, and Face Drop is a straight-up techno dance jam.

Best track: Fire Burning

Worst track: Twist Ya Around

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