Katie Melua - "Piece By Piece"(Dramatico Entertainment, 2006)

Like Norah Jones before her, Katie Melua blends jazz, blues and pop to create ear-catching melodies which have captured the world's attention. And like for Jones, following up a successful first album that broke genre barriers proved difficult. Should an artist change up the sound, continue to evolve after a creative breakthrough? Or should the sophomore slump be avoided by simply sticking to what worked before? Melua chose the latter path, filling her largely forgettable second effort with songs like "Shy Boy," which retreads the ground her cover of John Mayall's "Crawling Up A Hill" did on her debut, or "Nine Million Bicycles," saccharine numbers that mask in cuteness the fact that the songs are dull as dishwater. "There are nine million bicycles in Beijing," she sings. "That's a fact, it's a thing we can't deny ..." Like the fact that this is yet another suprisingly boring follow-up to an exceptionally original debut. But you can bet it'll sell millions.