Dying for a Heart (Compact Disc)

Krystal Meyers pitches her tent in the heavily-trafficked neighborhood of Super-chick, Avril Lavigne and Aly & AJ. While it’s unfair simply to dismiss her as one more girrrl-rocker, she plays into many of that genre’s clichés.

The record, produced by Wizardz of Oz (Britney Spears) and All Star United’s Ian Eskelin, launches with a credible, buzzing rock track, “Collide.” Not super-original but good for a spin or two, anyway. Better still is “Live,” which might even stand up at mainstream radio. This hook-heavy track is a bit Michelle Branch-ish—but easily the record’s strongest cut and Meyers’ best vocal. And “The Beauty of Grace” is a grand, swing-for-the-bleachers rock ballad, on which Meyers sings “There’s freedom from your scars/The mistakes that you’ve made, forgiven/The memory’s erased/That’s the beauty of grace.” Nicely done.

From there, the record takes a wrong turn and never recovers. The guitar work of “The Situation” tries almost comically to create drama, and the song drips with high school angst. The generic “Shake It Off” could come from any of a dozen of her peers. Other songs sound like Hilary Duff fronting a hair-metal band—the sing-songy “Only You Make Me Happy,” “Love Is on the Run” and “Stand and Scream.” When Meyers sticks to more modern stylings (as on the first three tracks and “Together”), she gets more palatable results.

In short, this record doesn’t match up to the musical chops or engaging lyrics of Superchick or BarlowGirl, and Meyers sounds like other artists on too many of the songs. Heart has a couple of oh-yeah-that’s-cool moments and at least two killer singles. But it’s also responsible for more than its share of skippables—too many to keep this disc spinning.

BEAU BLACK

Review Provided by CCMmagazine.com

Essential Records artist Krystal Meyers recently returned from a whirlwind promo tour in a country known for its mastery of high technology, its strong work ethic and its position as one of the world’s leading economic powers.

While famous for motor vehicle exports, groundbreaking electronics, cutting edge video games and animated films, sushi and Major League Baseball’s best pure hitter (Ichiro Suzuki), Japan’s most popular entertainment import at the moment is, surprisingly, homegrown—as in “Made in the U.S.A.” At press time, Meyers enjoyed her fifth consecutive week at No. 1 on the Japanese pop music charts, ahead of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Meyers, in a camouflage-lined newsboys cap, strapless baby doll tank, multilayered gold necklaces and two-tone braids, looks every bit the celebrity status she holds abroad as she sips her coffee on this summer day at a quiet java joint in South Nashville.

Launching into her impressions of Tokyo, the world’s third most expensive city, Meyers notes the impressive attitude of service she experienced and the anything goes fashion mentality where she felt completely normal. Guest spots at MTV Japan and cover photo shoots for two Japanese magazines promoting her September 19 release, Dying for a Heart, put her in contact with local teenagers and allowed her to experience a new perspective.

The 17-year-old singer says the thing that impressed her most about this country, where less than one percent of its 125 million inhabitants share her Christian beliefs, were the open ears.

“Anticonformity,” her breakthrough hit from last year’s self-titled stateside release, has resoundingly struck a chord with Japanese listeners, despite its English-language rendering and Meyers’ Christian musician status in a country comprised mainly of Buddhist believers. Meyers believes the reason is in the song’s message.

Since Japan’s teen population is so driven by trends, Meyers was skeptical at first of how she would be embraced. “Here I was with this message of anticonformity. I was talking about how fads are not what it’s about, how [teens] need to become who they were created to be and not worry about what everybody else thinks they should be... I would explain to them that, at the root of it all, it’s becoming the person God wants you to be. God wants to have a say.

“That would lead them to ask more questions,” says Meyers, “and I won’t be ashamed of [my faith]. It’s cool to see their openness, and I’m there because I want to help them understand,” she says.

Meyers’ forthcoming Dying for a Heart album was produced by The Wizardz of Oz and All Star United’s Ian Eskelin. Says Eskelin, “Krystal Meyers is anticonformity. Very rarely do you meet a young artist so driven, confident and outspoken in their music and faith. Not only is she a pleasure to work with in the studio, she’s just plain fun to be around. I think I’ll call her right now…” When CCM emailed Andrew Bojanic and Liz Hooper (aka "The Wizardz of Oz") about working with Meyers, the duo replied with a joint statement. “Krystal has the spirit, the joy and the energy of 10 teenagers,” they wrote. “She delivers her message in such an honest, fun and beautiful way that it touches even the most cynical heart. She is blossoming musically with every new song, and we are often caught between feeling like proud 'producer/parents,’ and wanting to be 18 again so we could be just like her!”

Meyers is heading back to Japan for the third time late this summer, and, then, she’ll return to the United States for the “Shoutfest Tour” this fall, continuing to reach out to teens with truth and music. Though she’s not sure what the rest of the year holds for her, she’s confident that “God’s not going to steer you wrong.”

Article Provided by CCMmagazine.com