Rissi Palmer - Rissi Palmer

Although she isn't the product of American Idol or Nashville Star, Rissi Palmer has made her way through some of the talent shows that have taken an increased role in identifying young performers. She competed in Hal Jackson's Talented Teens (formerly known as the Miss Black America pageant) and made the finals on Star Search. It is not surprising, therefore, that as a singer she exhibits both the pipes and the somewhat artificial style of successful contestants. The songs on her self-titled debut album, three-quarters of which she had a hand in co-writing with Nashville pros, are the typical collection of romantic clichés that might have been expected. Her debut single, "Country Girl," which somehow took five people to write, attempts to be a crowd-pleasing anthem in the tradition of "Redneck Woman," but also to subtly address the issue that cuts both ways in her career, that she's an African-American from St. Louis trying to make it as a country singer in Nashville. The question of whether the novelty of that will help or hurt her is actually less pressing than whether she will develop from a good singer with a repertoire of second-hand vocal effects and second-rate songs into a sufficiently distinctive artist to matter. Rissi Palmer gets her over the first hump, which is establishing credibility. As the judges on those contests could tell, the sheer vocal talent is there. The debut album does no more than confirm that; now the real work begins. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide