Love in the Real World (Arista, 1999)

The concept of originality is about as foreign in Nashville as it is in Hollywood. Nowadays, every female country singer who comes along is shoehorned into the Shania Twain mold, whether or not it makes any sense. So with Australian SherriT Austin we get the same drum-heavy melody, the same cotton candy lyrics.

Of course there's good cotton candy and bad cotton candy. The first single "Never Been Kissed" is catchingly bland. Some genuine emotion manages to slip into "That's No Way To Break a Heart" and "All That Matters." Billy Falcon's "Wish" is interesting, but not really suited for Austin's vermicelli-wide vocal range. As for the rest, well, several of the 12 tunes here (11 written or co-written by Austin) will have you tapping your foot - but then you'll be scratching your head wondering how the heck they can call that country.

This is an enhanced CD, if you call a bare-bones bio that yields nothing but more fluff and one video clip that plays either sound or video but not both at the same time enhanced.