Style: Symphonic standards; compare to Susan Boyle, Josh Groban, Charlotte Church
Top tracks: “When You Wish Upon a Star,” “Nella Fantasia,” “Ombra Mai Fu”
Following last year’s No. 1 best-selling debut with a symphonic songbook of historic and contemporary classics, 11-year old Evancho fills each lyric with unusually mature melodic spirit. Helmed by big ballad super-producer David Foster, the prodigy’s pure soprano fits structured classical repertoire, like her breakthrough Puccini aria “O Mio Babbino Caro,” best. And though her pre-teen status renders the adult perspectives of “Angel” and “Lovers” a bit premature, innocent fare like “When You Wish Upon a Star” rings magically true. Mostly, with guest appearances by Susan Boyle and, through a bit of recording magic, the Barbra Streisand of 1985, and Evancho’s reality TV celebrity sustaining, Dream will insure some of the world’s greatest tunes remain relevant in today’s pop culture.
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