It was in America, home of her musical heroes (Mariah, Whitney, Michael) where Australia-bred R&B singer Jessica Mauboy discovered not only the sounds that would make up her second album Get Em Girls, but by and large, finding herself as well.

Get Em Girls is Jessica as she is - as she wants us to know her. "I wanted to give it all that I had." she says defiantly. "I really wanted to challenge myself to take a step up from the last album."

This is an album made for the dancefloor. It's the sound of an artist more comfortable in her own musical skin, one who's now ready to call her own musical shots. It's more sophisticated in sound and style, the lyrics certainly more worldly. Indeed, the shy girl who first appeared on Australian Idol as a 16 year old back in 2006 has grown - in more ways than one.

Sure, she'd known massive success at home in Australia (her debut album, Been Waiting, achieved double platinum sales, garnered seven ARIA award nominations and spawned six hit singles, plus in 2009 Jessica starred in her first feature film, Bran Nue Dae), but she wanted something more. America marked something of an independence, both musically and personally for the 21-year-old. "I'd never been away from home for so long before - just dealing with being on my own, and being away from my family and from Australia was challenging."

What is interesting about Jessica's stateside debut is how much her image has changed from one album to the next. Check out the Youtube links below for "Let Me Be Me" (from her debut album) and "Get Em Girls" (from her new sophomore album). It's an odd scenario of before-n-after. In "Let Me Be Me," Jessica looks like a sweet and innocent girl with a natural star quality not seen in many young American pop stars these days. On the other hand, "Get Em Girls" finds Jessica in a much more mature situation. The Hype Williams-directed music video seems to cheapen her. The wardrobe choices are ridiculous and that constant fan blowing is a bit obnoxious. Could this be yet another case of the label overstepping boundaries and giving the American people what they think we want? Or is this new image within Jessica's control (which means she is sadly out-of-touch with her American supporters)?

In spite of the image issues, Jessica is without a doubt an extremely talented singer and songwriter. Her music speaks for itself. It's very original and also personal. Take a listen to the album sampler below and let's hope Sony will do a better job on the album's 2nd single...

Get Em Girls in stores this Friday November 5th

SUPPORT TRUE TALENT!

"Let Me Be Me"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY_I8ivb_qI&feature=related

"Get Em Girls"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RlJuCkYajY&feature=related

- uhkeem