Heidi Montag – Superficial (a J!-ENT World Groove Digital Album Music Review)

I’ll give credit for Heidi Montag for the effort she put into making this album, funding it and making her musical dream come true.  As for the album, it doesn’t stand out vocally compared to the music of many solo female artists out there but if you are a fan of Heidi or Team Speidi, then by all means, give “Superficial” a try.

ARTIST: Heidi Montag

DIGITAL ALBUM: Superficial

LABEL: Pratt Productions

DURATION: 40:24

RELEASE DATE: January 11, 2010

For reality TV star Heidi Montag (of MTV’s “The Hills”), when the first announcement was made that she was pursuing a music career, I was a bit surprised because we rarely see the musical side of her on television.

But here we are three years after the announcement of her pursuing a music career and her debut independent album “Superficial” which she fully funded.

With so many TV talent attempting a music career, especially reality TV show stars from Brooke Hogan (VH1’s “Hogan Knows Best”) to Jo De La Rosa (Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Orange County”) and some have a top hit and some never make it past a performance at a local mall.  And in my experience, I have had the opportunity to review TV talent turned music artist from several countries and have seen those who were just good and some that were downright terrible.  Where does Heidi Montag stand with “Superficial”?

“Superficial” was an expensive album for Montag, who spent $2 million of her own money to get hit-making producers to work on her new album.   In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Montag said she used every dollar on this album and when asked what if she doesn’t make her money back, Montag said, “That’s not even a possibility. I think within the first week we will definitely make our money back. The songs will make an impact in pop history. They are absolutely incredible and everybody involved is the best of the best. People just haven’t seen me as a pop star. I’m very excited for the world to see a whole new Heidi.”

But one thing that both Montag and husband Pratt have is a level of infamy tied to their names and if anything, the controversy has helped in getting the two in the public eye.  May it be club appearances, front covers of major magazines, reality TV Show and morning show appearances.  In fact, Montag even performed for the Miss Universe pageant on live television.

Love them or hate them, it’s all about Montag and if she has the talent to be a successful music artist.  Listening to the album, I must admit that I was surprised.  Because seeing her on television and even on Twitter, the two have been very Christian, in fact Montag’s tag on Twitter is “I Love Jesus!” and at first I was thinking, is this going to be a Christian pop album?  Let’s just say that with the lyrics I heard from the explicit version of “Superficial”, this is not a Christian album with some profane lyrics.  Granted, you can buy a non-explicit version but I wanted to hear how explicit Montag gets.

Montag does use the F-word, especially in a track like “More is More” and with her lyrics in “Superficial” is a song (her first single) with a statement for her detractors.  Montag sings:

I’m addicted to the glitz and glamour
Maybe I need Betty Ford
A rehab for my shopping habit
If I see it, I gotta have it
Cause Daddy never says no
Mama get what she wants
I keep it new, new
Like I’m supposed to

And I don’t care
That I keep pissin’ people off
Ima let ’em talk
I don’t give a damn what they say
It isn’t fair
That I wear diamonds for breakfast
And I know this isn’t helping

But for her album, you can hear Montag is inspired by Britney, Fergie and Gwen for some of the tracks on the album.  Her collaborations with British songwriter/producer Cathy Dennis, producers Sebastian J., Chris Rojas, Steve Morales and a few others definitely give her album some street credit musically but vocally, some songs fall flat.  Songs such as “Hey Boy”, “One More Drink”, “Twisted” and “My Parade” are catchy but part of the problem is how her music stands out versus the many American-based pop stars in the US.  Unfortunately, there are no songs that I listened to that stand out and makes me want to hit replay.

Not to say this album is the worst album from a TV talent. In fact, its much better than Brooke Hogan’s “Undiscovered” album and comparable to Paris Hilton’s album “Paris”.  Also, I can see this album possibly being brought into another country like Japan and definitely be marketed overseas, especially if it received some remix treatment and brought over to the clubs.  But in the US, there are way too many talented beautiful female solo artist and vocally, she doesn’t stand out.   She may have put a lot of money and effort into making the album, but there have not been many appearances by her at events for her to sing live and promote the album.  Sure, it’s only a digital release but as long as she was promoted musically, may it be singing the “Star Spangled Banner” at sporting event to an musical appearance at a club to promote her album, she has a lot to prove that she is a legit music artist.

Where Heidi Montag does stand out is television.  She and her husband Spencer Pratt are a unique duo who have manged to survive their 15 minutes of fame and have managed to still get coverage on media blogs, publications and television because they are who they are.  Love them or hate them.