Breaking up is hard to do. Breaking up in front of millions is even more burdensome, especially if you have to read the details of your personal life in the aisle of a grocery store.
For Christina Milian and Nick Lachey, surviving heartache proved to not only make them stronger in the public eye, but it provided a major push in the promotion of their respective post-breakup albums.
Milian and Lachey take rather different approaches in confronting their public heartache.
Milian, who previously wrote chart-topping hits for Jennifer Lopez, chooses the scorned lover approach. On her disc, “So Amazin’,” Milian does all but chop off Nick Cannon’s manhood, even though she does call him a bitch on the revenge-esque “Who’s Gonna Ride.” Although the song is dismal to say the least, it was a noble effort in showing that she is over the man with whom she shared a relationship both on and off the screen.
Milian focuses her heartbreak more poignantly on “Gonna Tell Everybody.” She sings, “I don’t wanna say I still loved you, it hurts me everyday thinkin’ about, who you were kissin not me.”
What’s important on this disc, her third effort, is how she manages to balance her tribulations. The disc is standard R&B and pop, going from up-tempo grooves to ballads.
“So Amazin'” shows relative maturation for the Cuban-American siren. She tries desperately to distance herself from the easily comparable images of Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez or Aaliyah. Tracks like the effervescent “Twisted” and “Foolin'” shows that Milian is at a far better place than her previous effort, “It’s About Time.” However, there isn’t anything “So Amazin” about this disc.
The Nick Lachey-Jessica Simpson breakup was heard around the world. The speculation came months before the official announcement, but let’s face it, it was sad to see America’s “Newlyweds” crumble to pieces.
Lachey attempts to take us on the emotional journey of his life on the aptly titled “What’s Left Of Me.”
Honestly, the entire disc is depressing. No other sentence can appropriately sum up the theme of the disc. Lachey relies heavily on the public’s pity and empathy, choosing to not discuss the marriage until a few weeks prior to the album’s release, a smart move for Lachey.
Before “Newlyweds” he was, without a doubt, the larger star thanks to his stint in the successful group 98 Degrees.
Yet, over the course of the show, he stood in the shadows of Simpson and her “assets.” Lachey failed in his solo debut, “SoulO.” There is more at stake on this disc. He has to assert himself as a credible singer and show that he is moving on, which he does.
On the title track, also the lead single, Lachey sings, “Cause I want you and I feel you crawling underneath my skin, like a hunger, like a burnin’ to find a place I’ve never been, now I’m broken, and I’m faded, I’m half the man I thought I would be.”
Lachey trades in his catchy pop and R&B image for a more adult pop-rock image, and it works. It’s easy to take Lachey seriously considering he has the voice to carry himself through the sorrow-ridden tracks.
“What’s Left Of Me” shows a leap in Lachey’s maturity and career. Although the subject matter is a stark contrast to his previous work, Lachey remains captivating on “Resolution” and “I Don’t Hate You Anymore.”
Whether it is the scorned lover or the vulnerable victim, both discs prove tremendous progress for two artists at very different stages in their careers.
