Customer Reviews

Infinity: Limited Edition

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been listening to "Infinity" since its October 5 release in Japan. It's a worthy successor to Charice's self-titled debut album of a year and a half ago and continues the singer's transition, begun in "Charice," from power ballads to pop/R&B songs.

Before commenting on this album, I must note that Charice ("Sharisu") has become a huge celebrity in Japan. Her solo performances have consistently sold out, she has performed live and been interviewed on Japanese TV and, as soon as it was released, "Infinity" shot to the iTunes Japan top 10 albums and top 10 pop albums lists. This enthusiastic embrace of Charice by the Japanese clearly influenced Warner Bros. decision to release the album first in Japan -- nearly three weeks before it became available here.

"Infinity" showcases Charice's extraordinary talent and demonstrates just how much it has evolved in less than two years. Its songs are diverse, ranging from dance songs with strong beats ("Louder," "Heartbreak Survivor," "Lesson for Life," "Never Always") to a surprisingly well-composed ballad ("New World") written for -- of all things -- a popular role-playing video game developed in Japan, Final Fantasy.

"Louder," the album's lead single, is a great dance song. (If you doubt me, check out Charice's music video of it.) It's also got a great hook in "Let my heart beat/speak louder than my head."

A thread that runs through several songs is that of the woman who not only survives but is strengthened by the breakup of a relationship: "Bounce Back" ("So if you thought that I would break down and cry then you don't even know me. I bounce back."; "Heartbreak Survivor" ("... I'm a heartbreak survivor, walked out of love without a scratch. No burns, no bruises, no scars. I'm all intact."; and "Lost the Best Thing" ("'Cause payback here I go. I'm taking back the perks that you'll never know.)".

"Lost the Best Thing" also illustrates one of the album's unfortunate (albeit infrequent) problems: Charice's pronunciation and enunciation. It's a bad sign when one can only understand a song's words by referring to the lyrics sheet. No matter how many times I listen to this song, the phrase, "payback here I go" sounds like "pickpack here I go." And "Never Always," an otherwise clever song, is marred by poor enunciation in the very first line: "Hopes up, hands down," sounds like "Hope's up pants down." It would have been so easy to fix these; I am surprised the producers did not do so.

"Before It Explodes," a Bruno Mars composition released previously, has "hit single" written all over it. It is a powerful, emotional plea to end a failing relationship "Better now than in a year with nights of tears when we both hate each other." Presumably, "Louder" was instead chosen as the album's lead single because it has a stronger beat and is more danceable. (But then I always preferred "Reset" to "Pyramid" in Charice's debut album.)

"Infinity" closes with the gentle, moving "Lighthouse," which uses a storm-tossed ship and a lighthouse (the "light across the ocean") as a metaphor for (divine?) guidance appearing when one feels hopeless and filled with doubt ("[f]acing the storm on every side. Afraid to go forward, left or right. Tossing and turning with the tide in every direction").

Listeners who are expecting power ballads in the mold of Whitney Houston and Celine Dion will be disappointed. Charice has moved on, targeting a younger audience. Those who are willing to set aside their preconceptions about "pop" music (or, for that matter, about the kind of music that Charice sings) and simply consider each of "Infinity"'s songs on its own merits will, I think, be pleasantly surprised.

I can not rate "Infinity" any lower than 5 stars. I received it 4 days ago and have basically worn it out. Charice has progressed from power ballads to very moving love songs and dance hits. She has truly grown up!

My favorite songs on the CD are "Far As The Sky" which if I am correct is a theme song to a Japanese television show and "Before it Explodes". Both of which are very powerful and emotional love songs.

It is obvious by listening to this CD that Charice has moved away from the 'David Foster-esque' type of songs and is trying to make a name for herself. I am certain that she has suceeded. I predict one, maybe two top 10 hits in the US when it is released early in 2012. I can't recommend "Infinity" enough!

All the song in this album i love it, it has everything from dancebeat,inspirational,emotional,and many more. It worth to spend this much. I cannot stop listening this ALBUM in my ipod classic. I cannot wait to get her next album.

Ever since I listened to Charice ,it seems like a progression of musical taste from rock,disco,classic,soul..etc...but it's hard to ignore her beautiful voice. The last song "Light House" totally amazed me how she sings it.....whew...what a very talented singer!
I gave this album a 5 star...but I'm also looking forward to US version of this album. :)

Love the songs in this CD. There are several potential hits compared to her first CD. I especially like "Lighthouse", "Heartbreak Survivor", "Louder", and "New World".

i love it! the songs are written by famous singers -- natasha bedingfield, bruno mars, one of the jonas brothers, etc... love the song Lighthouse... Her voice matured now and it gets better.. wishing people will recognize more of artists that are really good.. like her and greyson chance...

I thought the songs sung in this album by this very talented singer were boring, typical, and extremely forgettable. I was disappointed. This is the first album I've gotten from her and I've been a fan of hers after seeing her amazing videos on utube, like the one when she was 9 years old and when she grew up and sung great songs from great singers like Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Mariah Carey, songs that were very hard to sing and she nailed them superbly. Going from that to this album, listening to it I didn't feel like there was a single hit song in there. I feel like she's taking a bad stray path from greatness to the 99 cent bin at the music store at the mall.

I think all that publicity really blew up the expectation of not only her but her song choices. This album never reached it. Have listened to this twice, it'll be the last. There wasn't a single song that made me want to listen to again. They were nicely sung, but nothing that stays.

Don't know how to say this but I think what I was looking for were unique songs that had more thought and not your typical love songs. Just feels like they're force feeding her these lame songs to sing and they're just flat out boring.

Still love the little girl with the big voice, I know I'm a brutal on the wordings, I'm just very straightforward.

This album is absolutely amazing! I have been following Charice since seeing her on YouTube on Little Big Star years ago, and it is wonderful to witness how far she's gone and how much talent she truly has.

I will point out though that when I went to put the songs on my computer, I noticed the information with the music was incorrect. The music itself was correct and in the right order, but the song titles and album information were still from her first CD. I had to manually correct the information, no big deal.

Five Star music all the way!