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Jason Hartman – On The Run

He's making the music he wants to make, but it isn't necessarily what his audience might want to hear. Perhaps that's the sucky thing about breaking into the biz through a medium like Idols. There's this pop persona who's trying to win, and then there's the musician behind it trying to get his big break. Jason's fans fell in love with him on Idols, singing Bryan Adams covers and such like. Now on this album we're discovering a different artist altogether.

That's not so bad, though. Instead of a factory issue, primped and manufactured pop star, Idols has offered us a new singer/songwriter with a lot of potential and a bad-ass attitude to boot. At the very least, it's refreshing.

"On The Run" needs your loving attention. Don't expect to pop it in your front loader and clutch your chest screaming (like you did when he performed on Idols). Be gentle with it. Jason's commanding and caressing voice is still there, so take your time through the tracks and you'll discover a few gems lurking beneath the awful photoshopped cover.

You've probably heard the title track on the radio, and it's great for radio, but when you read the lyrics, it feels thrown together like a sloppy gatsby. But hey, all pop stars know you don't need lyrics to get playlisted. Jason gives his cover of the Eagles' "Hotel California" an up-tempo spin, which unfortunately suits neither him nor the song. Essentially Jason needs a little more time to discover what works best for him.

That said, Jason isn't a bad songwriter. He wrote "Today" which features guest vocals from Sasha-Lee Davids and together these Idols make a hot, catchy track that shows off the reason why they were in the top two – their incredible lungs.

Jason didn't take himself too seriously, though. "Supafly" is so catchy but so damn cheesy! "That's Why I'm gonna love you long time yeah" sounds like something a naughty 16-year-old sucking a lollipop would say. Other lines in the song like "I will be your swivel stick" and "You can jump me anytime" take the piss out of corny pickup lines and everything that goes along with hooking up in seedy bars like Crossways where he used to play.

"You're The One" is where you'll find the old Jason. It's a well put together track where he's at his most honest. He's always worn his heart on his sleeve, and on "Save The World" he embraces his environmental concerns using his green thumbs and impressive falsetto to convince his audience that nature is naaice.

While this album isn't what I expected, it's obvious that it's what he wanted. He's got the voice, the skill, the maturity and image to make it big. I just wish he wasn't so hard-ass about his music and would take a little well-intentioned advice.
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