| Judging by some of the song titles ("Guilty," "My Cowboy," "Wanted") on her self-titled debut, one could say that 20-year-old Georgia newcomer Jessie James lives up to her name as the female version of the American outlaw. The standout track "Bullet" slams with double-entendres, as the diva teases, "Be careful what you wish for/You get what you see/Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" The spotlight shines brightest on the ballad "Burnin' Bridges," with verses sung with a phrasing that brings to mind Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel." James carries a sweet melody on the midtempo song "Inevitable," while "Blue Jeans" offers a countrified, rhythmic pulse. With a voice that seems to work with many genres, James' set is reminiscent of hits from late-'90s pop acts, but with a more mature, sexually charged attitude and influence from country and hip-hop. --Michael Menachem...full text |
| Forget all the marketing bluster and sampled banjo loops: Jessie James is in no way a country singer, she's a Christina Aguilera wannabe in tight blue jeans and tall cowboy boots, belting out songs co-written by Kara DioGuardi and Katy Perry and constructed in ProTools. Like the girl-kissing Perry, James revels in creating the perception that she's a sexy bad girl, leaning hard on single-entendre flirtations and shopworn jokes, stooping so low to pull out the classic "is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me" on "Bullet," one of two cuts co-written by Perry. Jessie James manages to create some heat, but not enough to disguise how she, like her idols Xtina and Katy, is a complete show biz kid doing whatever she can to be a star. That eagerness to sell out can be grating, especially when her 2009 debut slides into glassy ballads, but fortunately she's also picked up (perhaps unwittingly) on the underlying oddness of Aguilera and Perry, turning out purportedly mainstream pop that puts together familiar ingredients in weird ways. Jessie struts in her "Blue Jeans," a tight rhythmic chat, turns out the best homage to early Christina Aguilera with the great first single "Wanted," delves deeply into the weird with the vaguely ominous "Psycho Girlfriend," and the shimmering, minor-key "Girl Next Door," another Katy Perry co-write that oddly recalls Kate Bush. These are inspired, original pop, and, of course, nowhere near country music -- but, hey, putting on a sassy country girl act is what it takes to get Jessie James into the game, that's fine, because the best moments of Jessie James suggest that she could wind up as enjoyably odd as her inspirations....full text |
Send "Jessie James " Ringtones to your Cell 
Roots-music purists love to complain about their inability to distinguish current Nashville product from poppy Top 40 fare. This 20-year-old Georgia native never knew there was supposed to be a difference; her boots-and-beats debut is equal parts Carrie Underwood and Christina Aguilera. Jessie James falters on a handful of snoozy power ballads but plays one heck of a small-town sex kitten on up-tempo numbers like ''Blue Jeans,'' where she claims her tight pants get her into the club for free, and ''My Cowboy,'' a sly country-rap jam co-written by Jamey Johnson and produced by John Rich. B+...full text