"Whether she succeeds with her debut album, Crystal Shawanda will live forever at American weddings. Shawanda’s first single "You Can Let Go” will be the new "Butterfly Kisses” of father-daughter dances at wedding receptions.

The rest of her 11-song effort is full of hits and hiccups. Shawanda, a full- blood North American Indian from the Ojibwe tribe in Canada, doesn’t draw from her heritage to influence any of her musical styles or lyrics. Most of the album is vintage Nashville pop with big chorus anthems and maudlin ballads. Shawanda’s voice opts for gravelly earnestness far too often to be genuine, and she sounds like a sober and softer Janis Joplin. "My Roots Are Showing” is a poor man’s version of Shania Twain, and the Hank Williams cover of "Your Cheatin’ Heart” definitely cheats the original."

Get the Story:
CD Review: Crystal Shawanda 'Dawn of a New Day' (The Oklahoman 10/17)
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