Sony
2004
Free
About This Album
LaShell Griffin may be the winner of Oprah's Pop Star Challenge, but her debut album, Free, shows that she's actually a gospel star waiting to happen. As the winner of Oprah's competition, Griffin definitely helped separate the contest from its inspiration, American Idol: after years of honing her skills in her church's gospel choir, she is a more seasoned and independent performer than the young singers that come out of American Idol's pop-star factory. Unfortunately, this isn't always reflected on Free. The album tries to blend contemporary R&B, middle-of-the-road pop, and gospel into something that will appeal to as many people as possible, and ends up short-changing Griffin's voice in the process. Most of the album consists of pretty, vaguely inspirational songs such as "Learn to Breathe," "Rise," and "He's Coming Again"; even though Griffin gives them all the passion she's got, they still sound meandering and somewhat tuneless. Anyone who saw or heard Griffin's performances on the Pop Star Challenge or its accompanying CD knows that she's a powerful performer when she's given good material, but too often on Free, she's let down by bland songwriting.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,4 and 10)

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