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Thirteen-year-old Miamian Sammie scored gold with his first single, "I Like It." Executive produced by fellow Southerner Dallas Austin,
From the Bottom to the Top is his debut full-length release. Sammie's strong voice and confident style invite comparisons to the young
Michael Jackson, though this veteran of
It's Showtime at the Apollo! spreads the melisma a little thick on the ballads. The biggest problem with the sonically crisp
Bottom is weak material: as Taylor
Hanson might remind us, a middle-schooler deserves good songs, too.
--Rickey Wright