Wildflower

I didn't watch Lauren's series of American Idol, but being a fan of past alumni like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Adam Lambert, I do like to take a casual interest once the show is over. I heard a short clip of Lauren's single Like My Mother Does on her website, and there was no denying she has a cracking voice. I decided to take a risk and buy an album from an artist I knew next to nothing about. Sometimes these "risks" pay off as the buyer has few preconceived expectations on what they will receive, and so the potential for disappointment is perhaps less than with an established artist with a large fanbase to appease. Being unavailable mainstream in the UK, Lauren's album was shipped to me by third party from Canada via Germany, but arrived a day before Amazon's estimated first delivery date.On first listen I was impressed. The album is pretty instant, and Lauren's vocals are awesome. She also has very clear diction (unlike some country singers), which makes it very easy to learn and sing along to the narrative lyrics which usually tell a story. There's some feisty uptempos like the rocky Georgia Peaches, the insanely catchy She's A Wildflower and the punchy Funny Thing About Love. Then there's some more country-influenced tracks like Growing Her Wings, The Locket and I'm Not One Of Them. The highlights for me however are the ballads, which show an impressive variation. There's the power ballad single Like My Mother Does, the beautifully sweet The Middle and the poignant faith inspired Dirt Road Prayer, which showcases some of the best vocals on the album. My personal favourite however, is Eighteen Inches, which sounds a hell of a lot like a Carrie Underwood song (I'm thinking Jesus, Take The Wheel meets So Small). The lyrics are beautiful, as Lauren tells us 'there ain't no greater distance than the eighteen inches from your head to your heart'.In short, it's a cracking album, full of great country pop tracks. I like that this is one of the few albums where I love every single song, and it's hard to pick favourites. The whole thing only lasts about 45 minutes, but it's so enjoyable that I tend to leave it on repeat (something I very rarely do). Think Carrie Underwood meets a slighly ballsier Taylor Swift, and a slightly more restrained Miranda Lambert and you have a good idea of what's on offer here. Highly recommended.

This is a lovely CD. Lauren has a very similar sound to the amazing Carrie Underwood. I love the song 'Georgia Peaches' and the chorus is already stuck in my head after only hearing it 3 times! All the songs are good but that is my favourite along with 'Growing Her Wings' 'Eighteen Inches' and 'Like My Mother Does'I hate to admit it but I think I prefer this to Carrie's latest album which I thought was mostly pop. I did have the UK version though so it may have been remixed to take out the country as they so often are. I will reserve judgment until I get the US version. But this album is certainly as good as any of Carrie's.

Arrived quickly, and I've been looking for this album for a while. I'm a huge Lauren Alaina fan so this album was a must have, and it's brilliant.

she has made i good record. and the music is awsome. i have now had the cd for over a year and this is still one of my favorite albums to listen to.

album starts of amazing with Georgia peaches and finishes beautiful with dirt road prayer, bit like miranda lambert. got a lot of country chick feel to it and a lot of songs to move your feet to and songs that are heart felt like the locket and like my mother does

Love this album, Lauren Alaina didn’t disappoint

Great album can she release a live one please she's incredible

Sat no more.