Colby O’Donis: Colby O

Colby O’Donis, although only 19, has a resume equivalent to a veteran in the music industry. Reportedly singing before learning how to talk, at the age of eight his parents, both of Puerto Rican descent, relocated from Queens, New York to Orlando, Florida to focus more on his music career. Quickly he learned how to play the guitar and at age nine he was already working with production and song writing teams, most notably Full Force, a production team that has worked with James Brown, Patti Labelle, Britney Spears, Lisa Lisa, Cult Jam and many others. His most notable work during this period was having a song entitled “Mouse in The House” included in the ‘Stuart Little’ soundtrack and working with Michael Jackson. Now Colby is signed to Konvict Muzik (Akon’s record label) and has an album of his own, entitled ‘Colby O.’ Despite Colby O’Donis’ impressive amount of experience, his debut album doesn’t reflect that same realism. The album starts off with “What You Got,” perhaps the best track, which has received pretty good air play in the U.S. The song is quite catchy with an up-tempo beat and Colby’s voice goes along well with the tune. The second track, “Sophisticated Bad Girl,” doesn’t do much for the listener. The lyrics are jarringly repetitive and the beat unexciting, forcing one to skip to another track. However much of Colby’s album sounds this way. There isn’t much variety between each track, challenging the listener’s motivation to continue listening to the album. It almost seems as if Akon (whose influence on the album’s creation is prevalent) and Colby where in over their heads when they created ‘Colby O;’ unsure how to tap into Colby’s potential. What makes this even more apparent is Colby’s vocal abilities. Colby sounds the same in nearly every track, very rarely, if ever, is his vocal abilities challenged. It is quite obvious that Colby, with his boyish good looks and taste for the latest clothing in fashion, is hoping to cash in from the teenage female market. No doubt he will, but with an album as uninspiring as ‘Colby O,’ for how long? Even crushes tend to die down, and unless Colby doesn’t put in a greater effort, he’ll know what it feels like to watch his fans swoon over another artist.