You want it to be good, because she's so damn likeable. Unfortunately for former "American Idol" contender Melinda Doolittle, her debut album is only listenable. There are a few attention-grabbing cuts ripe for urban AC, like the cover of Aretha's "Wonderful" and several faux "oldies" R&B cuts that may result in an older following for the charming Doolittle. Still, producer Mike Mangini has sadly provided Doolittle an album 20 years her senior, the milquetoast CD of a comeback veteran. It's most apparent on the Doris Day cut "I'll Never Stop Loving You," where the sweeping, saccharine strings threaten to impose a listener pandemic of diabetic comas. "Wonder Why" and "We Will Find a Way" try, but join a pantheon of calculated songs that attempt to serve as standards yet fail to rise to the occasion, foiling Doolittle's considerable talents once again. 2 stars.
