Melissa O'Neil — Melissa O'Neil

Calgary's Melissa O'Neil might be Canadian Idol's strongest winner yet, but it'll be her next album, not this one, that'll decide whether she's in the music biz for the long haul. That's because her rushed debut, albeit a good pop-rock record, is filled with very few original ideas. Not ready to deviate from the pained girl-power formula that Kelly Clarkson does so well, O'Neil's songwriters will have to come up with something more clever the next time around. Making her sing "I'm not your doll/Not packaged at all" and "I think you watch too much TV" on the otherwise excellent "Original Girl" is only ironic to critics. Nonetheless, O'Neil turns earnest songs of melancholic teenage love and independence like "String Me Along" and "I Won't Take You Back" into surefire hits, sounding like post-2000 wannabe-teen Liz Phair, but with actual vocal talent. 

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