Album Review: Tulisa - The Female Boss

Rating 4/5

Twenty-four year old Tulisa Contostavlos has come a very long way in a couple of years. Though she experienced an alarming amount of chart success as part of hip-hop trio N-Dubz (two platinum albums and eight Top 40 singles), she was far from a household name, as perhaps the lesser known member of the act.

However, when Dannii and Cheryl announced their departure from Simon Cowell's epic 'talent' quest The X Factor, she jumped at the chance to take a judge's seat and devotedly worked her cotton socks off to mononymous status.

Though she has had success on the singles chart and a controversial sex tape (which subsequently boosted her popularity with the boys) - Tulisa knocked Cheryl off the top of FHM's Sexiest chart. But with two series under her belt, pressure was mounting for the outspoken starlet to take a solid step into the solo terrain and Tulisa finally rewards her growing fanbase with her debut album - 'The Female Boss'.

While Tulisa may have initially silenced critics with an impressive vocal display during her duet with Little Mix during The X Factor Semi-Final last year, her stage presence and vocal dexterity have since come into question after an array of nerve-ridden performances to support her singles to date. While the singles 'Young' and 'Live It Up' hardly suffered as a result of her shaky performances (they hit 1 and 11 in the charts respectively), Tulisa has a lot to prove with 'The Female Boss' - most pointedly her credibility as a talent show judge.

Unlike many of her contemporaries,Tulisa has a writing credit for each of the 16 tracks that form 'The Female Boss', which is in itself an impressive boast. But the real test is whether the material is worth writing home about.

As she opens with the questionable 'The Female Boss (Intro)', it is hard not to immediately write off Tulisa as a talentless try-hard. Though her heart is in the right place, her declaration of contemporary feminism and self-belief is poorly worded, but more strikingly misleading. While Tulisa believes herself to be a role model for the young woman finding her way in the world, the material that follows - a mixed bag of celebrating money making and one night stands while mourning broken hearts - far from justifies that 'bold statement'.



As the familiar stomp of 'Young' boots 'The Female Boss (Intro)' into oblivion, Tulisa proves herself a competent, if slightly generic dance-pop contendor. 'Young' epitomises the peak of Tulisa's intentions. 'The Female Boss' is essentially a high energy dance album, with beats that rarely relent and pulses that will have you begging for the dancefloor. 'The Female Boss' is far from short on potentially chart-topping singles - most notably the irrepressible Rihanna meets Nikki Minaj 'Live Your Life' and the Cher Lloyd-inspired and Nines featuring 'British Swag'.

Though thin on the ground, the ballad more than lends itself to Tulisa's growl. Whilst her latest single 'Sight Of You' lacks sincerity, mid-tempo 'Take My Breath Away' and Diane Warren co-penned 'Counterfeit' showcase Tulisa's softer side. However, it is the Eg White co-written 'Habit', which oddly analogises a broken relationship with a wilting cigarette - that pitches Tulisa in a unique terrain and steals the show.

But for all its dance-inducing peaks, there are as many questionable troughs. The slow grind of 'Damn' is dull, while the catchy 'Foreigner' takes lyrics into a beyond dubious terrain. N-Dubz cast off 'Visa' would have been better best forgotten. For all their flaws, not even the lacklustre can prepare any listener for the catastrophe that is the cacophonous 'Kill Me Tonight'.

'The Female Boss' is far from perfect. Though Tulisa has tried to cover every base over the album's sixteen tracks, closer attention to both the final track list, and order there of, would have ensured a better journey for the listener. While 'The Female Boss' firmly fails in her misguided quest to become the poster girl of female empowerment, it is as enjoyable as any Rihanna album has ever been. 'The Female Boss' is, somewhat surprisingly, far from the car crash many had anticipated.