Barbie

With the popularity of the Kidz Bop series and likeminded kid-oriented albums of pop hits, it was only a matter of time before the longstanding queen of preteen culture, Barbie, got in on the act. Barbie Hit Mix's liner notes show Barbie and her friends gussied up in rocker threads and guitars alongside tickets for a "Pink Dolls" concert, suggesting that the album could be a collection of songs covered by Barbie and her band (could a Barbie & the Rockers reunion be far behind?). However, the compilation actually reveals Barbie to be a relatively hip DJ. Barbie Hit Mix kicks off with a surprisingly convincing version of OutKast's "Hey Ya!"; even though this rendition of the song overlooks the inherent bittersweet nature of lyrics like "Nothing is forever...then what makes love the exception," it does score points for keeping the lines about all the Beyoncés and Lucy Lius reporting to the dancefloor. Barbie must be a big OutKast fan, because none of the other songs on Barbie Hit Mix sound as much like the original versions. In fact, most of the rest of the songs are performed by a female vocalist (who might as well be Barbie herself) and a chorus of girls. This girl power approach targets the album's main audience and works especially well on "With You," "Tomorrow," "So Yesterday," and, believe it or not, "What I Like About You." Of course, the collection wouldn't be complete without a song from that living Barbie doll Britney Spears, and Barbie Hit Mix completes the circle with a version of "...Baby One More Time." While it's not the most authentic of the kids-singing-along-to-pop-singles collections out there, it does provide plenty of singalong fun for sleepovers and birthday parties, all done up in shocking pink. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide