"Dreams" by Diana DeGarmo from Blue Skies

"Dreams are just dreams when they're stuck inside your head, and all it takes is a little help from you…"

Diana DeGarmo isn't afraid to play with genre even in her freshman album Blue Skies. "Cardboard Castles" was pop rock, and "Dreams" offers a softer ballad accented primarily by simple piano.

I said before that twenty-year-old Diana DeGarmo had an excellent voice, and I stand by it. She knows how to sing and sings purposefully. She narrowly escaped first place in American Idol's third season for a reason.

On the surface, the song seems to be speaking of dreams in general, and of getting help from a loved one to make the dreams come true. But details in the song lyrics suggest that Diana DeGarmo might be intending to refer to God (though it might be an accident). Either way, "Dreams" encourages the hearer to reach for dreams rather than merely cling to them in the mind, where they can't become reality.

Diana DeGarmo ended up as a top seller on singles charts with this song for a reason. It's very soft, relaxing as it edifies the hearer with (not necessarily but potentially God-oriented) encouragement.

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Lyrics: 4/5
Music: 3/5
Vocal(s): 5/5
Overall: 8/10

"It's Not Over" by Daughtry from Daughtry

"My life with you means everything, so I won't give up that easily." 'Cause evidently "It's all misunderstood", his actions that caused the woman to leave the narrator. "It's not over", he insists, since she's "the only one" for him and he'll "try to do it right this time around". He's determined that neither of them "get caught up in" themselves.

The promise of change and working to make the one relationship work instead of bouncing to another one offers a welcome shift from some songs. The music video suggests the man served jail time. (The music video isn't really appropriate for children, though it's cleaner than those of many popular bands. It still shows clips of the heads of a couple presumably making love in the modern sense of the phrase.)

Though the song staunchly declares that "It's Not Over", it's because of his willingness to work at making it turn out rather than an immature determination for things to just go back how things were that seems to popularize songs.

"This love is killing me" serves as my complaint about the lyrics. Uh, right.

Chris Daughtry, who was the forth-place finalist on American Idol's highly popular fifth season, sings eloquently. Words and emotions come through his singing, though it really sounds similar to a lot of male rock vocals.

The guitar-based rock (post-grunge) music also offers more layered variety and smooth melding than is common for rock. It flows very well with the song and isn't afraid to shift within the song as necessary. For the genre concerned, the music is top-notch.

Okay, so I tend to prefer female vocals with this kind of music, but that's my preference. Daughtry does offer a pretty good and mature song in "It's Not Over".

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Lyrics: 4/5
Music: 5/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 8/10

"Behind These Hazel Eyes" by Kelly Clarkson from Breakaway

"Now all that's left of me is what I pretend to be," Kelly Clarkson admits in "Behind These Hazel Eyes". "Here I am, once again, torn into pieces," happens to all of us emotionally at one point or another.

Eh, so the song's obviously talking about a boyfriend. Those of us who can't relate to that can ignore those phrases and associate the song with a time when we've been "broken up, deep inside," not letting others "see the tears [we] cry." For me, it happens to be when someone I know dies; I'm strong for others, then break down weeks after they've gotten over yet—if I let myself. (That's an off-topic story that will likely turn up in one of my novels, someday.)

The lyrics "Behind These Hazel Eyes" are a refreshing shift from all the whining despite the obvious upset of the song's narrator. Bits and pieces of the well-chosen lyrics, like the "I thought you were The One," point to the shattering of the romantic dream as well as the relationship, so the narrator's likely wising up, too, or is at least headed that way. ("Swallow me then spit me out.") It's a more mature peek than most songs into the emotional rifts we all experience at some point, though not always from a boyfriend or girlfriend. And the song's clean! (Thank you, Kelly Clarkson! Regardless of who wrote it, you chose to sing it!)

From the songs I've heard by her, I'd have to call her vocals the best here. Her smooth vocal shifts in "No, I don't cry on the outside—anymore!! …Anymore," surprise me.

The music, too, is unusually good from her. Still mostly beat, but it sounds much better than she usually does. I'm giving her the benefit of rounding with the "above average" rating there, but it still could've been much better.

"Behind These Hazel Eyes" is likely my favorite song I've heard by Kelly Clarkson.

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Lyrics: 5/5
Music: 4/5
Vocal(s): 5/5
Overall: 8/10

"Never Again" by Kelly Clarkson from My December

Well, once again I'm a bit surprised at liking a Kelly Clarkson song—not from the title or bitter theme, but from the vengeful aspect that thankfully is referred to without crass language. ("I hope, when you're in bed with her, you think of me.")

That's one thing I like about what songs I've heard from Kelly Clarkson; clean language. Admittedly, "Never Again" does use "Bet it sucks" in the chorus, but not everyone considers that crude. Kelly's been burned by a two-timing boyfriend and sings this as a refusal to accept him back and as a warning to those who do accept him. ("He'll be through with you!")

Kelly's voice well manages the repeated shifts between loud and soft anger. She obviously knows how to sing and has a pleasing voice, but it's not exactly a "wow"er. (Unless, of course, you're comparing her to the people who don't know how to sing.)

She calls "Never Again" probably the most bitter song she's written; sometimes you just want something to yell along with. That this is more of an angry moment than one in a series of angry songs I consider a plus, but it still leaves me repeating a lot of others when I say I'm glad I'm not on her bad side—at least I hope not, since she doesn't know I exist.

Unfortunately, I can't say I like her choice of lyrics much. It's some nice imagery with the "Sunday School answer" and "trophy wife," but it strikes me as perhaps a bit disjointed. Granted, she's angry, and anger tends to produce less-than-ideal wordings, but… You're free to disagree with me on that one.

Also as usual is the average music backing Kelly Clarkson's song. I wouldn't mind if I happened to hear this song on the radio, and I'd be willing to look up more songs from My December to check 'em out, but buy the album in a few weeks? If I had enough extra money to splurge on that, I'd be donating to the missionaries I know.

An added dislike is the music video. It is pretty interesting, but I know my father (or brother) wouldn't let me outside in what she wears for much of it, and there's a reason for that.

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Lyrics: 3/5
Music: 3/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 6/10

"Cardboard Castles" by Diana DeGarmo from Blue Skies

Poking around on the American Idol website, clicking on names and song previews that look interesting, I found this song. I immediately started writing this post, already decided I would review "Cardboard Castles" if not look up more songs by Diana DeGarmo.

Diana DeGarmo, an American Idol winner, sounds promising on this selection from Blue Skies. "Cardboard Castles" actually has nice-sounding music beyond the stock, though it's still mostly of average quality in its pop. Diana DeGarmo's voice, though, that is an attraction.

At first, her voice sounds like it might just be the average nice voice that lacks control. Paying more attention, I noticed that she actually does have control of her voice. Her voice is consistent rather than clumsy as some poorly controlled singers demonstrate as they can't even keep their voice the same in a single song. (I would be one of those vocally clumsy people, myself, if I actually had a nice singing voice. Which I'm not sure that I do)

Dream-bubbles tend to be burst by life, but that doesn't mean we can't keep dreaming dreams we know will likely never come to be, "building cardboard castles in the air." I know I doubt I'll ever be a bestselling author. Even those times when life's going great don't last, as much as many of us hate to admit our goals of comfort wouldn't last, anyway, even if we reached them. The song admits this and our unwillingness to think about it. "Does anybody know? Does anybody care?" she asks.

Though not great, I still found it surprisingly good and look forward to hearing more songs by this singer in the future.

P.S. Since I keep finding myself returning to this song, I decided to reevaluate my rating. Thus its upgrade.

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Lyrics: 4/5
Music: 3/5
Vocal(s): 5/5
Overall: 8/10

"Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood from Some Hearts

My family hates country music. In fact, they don't really consider it music.

Note that I said "my family," not me. My exposure to country music's pretty limited because of that, though I'll occasionally listen to the Christian/country station out of curiosity. "Before He Cheats" won Carrie Underwood three awards at the voter-determined CMT awards this past week.

Her boyfriend's cheating on her "with a bleach blonde tramp." The song's narrator therefore goes and trashes "his pretty little souped-up 4-wheel drive," scratching it up, slashing the tires, and smashing out the headlights with a Louisville Slugger. (A Louisville Slugger is famous type of baseball bat, for those who like me would have to look that up.) Oh, and all this is a preliminary to dumping him. The language of "Before He Cheats" does avoid cussing and such, but the topic alone is more directly adult; the song clearly states that the cheating is an intended sexual escapade.

The pro-vengeance element is likewise iffy, though Carrie Underwood (or, rather, the narrator of the song's story) at least does demonstrate some sense in getting rid of the guy. The car-destroying could have been intended as an expression of the emotions of the situation rather than a promotion vengeful behavior. And the intention to teach the guy a lesson to help his next girlfriend is less selfish than many songs about this situational cliché tend to be.

The music of "Before He Cheats" is nothing special. Even the most casual listener will automatically think "country" upon hearing the music, and there's nothing notable about it. I don't know if this is indicative of the rest of Some Hearts.

Carrie Underwood's voice, however, proves her previous placement in American Idol. It's strong and mature, and also makes me think "country." That may be due to my being used to "Jesus, Take the Wheel" on the country station, which was the first time I'd ever heard her. (I've not seen American Idol besides a few episodes of the first season; I've lacked a TV since then.) Her voice suites the genre without sounding whiny or nasal.

Overall, it's a neat song, but I don't think it particularly special besides being on the better end of average. But the music video was well-done.

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Lyrics: 4/5
Music: 3/5
Vocalist(s): 4/5
Overall: 6/10

"Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson from Breakaway

Usually, when something uses netspeak, I flee in the other direction, especially when it can't get the grammar correct. "Since U Been Gone" should have been one of the victims of my flight. Thankfully, I'm curious enough about Andromeda's Rommie that I watched a music vid with this song and realized I liked it, much to my surprise after I saw the title, which I triple-checked in disbelief.

Kelly Clarkson's energetic young voice is precise and pleasing; she knows how to sing. The upbeat pop rock style she has chosen to produce isn't striking, but it isn't bad, either. Anyone with some experience in listening to pop rock will probably find someone to compare the sound to; it's little more than beat and a slight bit of emphasis. Kelly's voice is the attraction.

Despite using the usual concept of a boyfriend who ditched the song's narrator, "Since U Been Gone" is unusually frank about how idiotic most of those "stupid love song[s]" are. Rather than mope, the narrator is getting on with life. Hey, she made a stupid choice with a jerk boyfriend, but she's grown up from that circumstance. The story's a refreshing Breakaway from the too-popular complaining.

That mature handling of the topic with clean lyrics is refreshing. Kelly Clarkson even avoids the potentially offensive "shut up," the narrator singing "shut your mouth" with a tone that clearly portrays her frustration without the rude language. Her choice of clean lyrics sounds promising for the contents of the rest of Breakaway.

Overall, Clarkson's refreshingly skilled voice and decent lyrics bring "Since U Been Gone" above the "mediocre" rating into the "pretty good" range, in my opinion, and the lack of any annoying layers to the music keep it there.

Lyrics: 4/5
Music: 3/5
Voice: 4/5
Overall: 7/10