Review: Celine Dion's CD "Loved Me Back to Life"

So, I just bought Céline Dion's new CD, "Loved Me Back to Life." I had never heard any of the songs on the album, but I LOVE her CDs "The Colour of My Love" and "Unison," and of course the song "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic, so I assumed I would like this CD. Not the case.

Her sound has changed SO much that I don't even recognize her. In fact, she doesn't really sound like herself on any of the tracks. It's like she's imitating other artists! She sounds sort of like Katy Perry in "Loved Me Back to Life." She has an R&B sound like Alicia Keys in "Water and a Flame" and "Didn't Know Love," which sounds very fake and unnatural. "Breakaway" sounds like the newer music Rihanna has been releasing. And Dion attempts to channel Taylor Swift in "At Seventeen," but clearly does not have the heart-felt sentiments of being a teenager like Swift does (Dion never had the chance to be a normal teenager. She was thrust into stardom by the time she was 12 years old). And she definitely sounds like someone else in "Save Your Soul," but I can't put my finger on it. Who do you think she sounds like on track #6?

She does two different duets on this CD, one with Ne-Yo and the other with Stevie Wonder. This CD showed me how much Ne-Yo sounds like Stevie Wonder, so Dion isn't the only imitator here. I found the choice of male singers odd. Josh Groban would make sense. But these guys? I need someone to clarify the connection for me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Ne-Yo's music. But I also think of him as yet another male singer who just sings about sex (like his song "Mirror." I mean, really?). NOT classy.

The only sincere song on the entire album is "Always Be Your Girl," which is a song to/about her son. It's almost as touching as "A New Day Has Come," an earlier song about the experience of finally having the child she always wanted. Any of the other songs not mentioned here were just "meh." They were okay, but when you're Céline f***ing Dion, they should all be awesome!

All I wanted was a CD full of her traditional power ballads, and that is NOT what I got. Now I know why, only after a month of the CD's release, Barnes and Noble is selling it for $7.99. Too bad I bought it in California, where I had to pay 9% sales tax.