Time for the Show

Recording information: Little Big Sound, Nashville, TN; The Graveyard, Franklin, TN.
Photographer: Joseph Anthony Baker.
Big-voiced songstress Kerrie Roberts is CCM's answer to Leona Lewis and Kelly Clarkson: she soars like very few can in Time for the Show, a sophomore recording large on huge choruses and a spirit that's rarely heard from singers with pipes this serious. Unlike her icy and at times overly somber self-titled debut, Roberts lets her hair down this time around, singing sunny pop anthems about identity, faith, and her walk with God, tempered with enough ballads to keep the disc balanced. Of these, the standout is the first single, "Finally Home," the best song OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder never wrote: a hopeful reminder that there is more to this life than meets the eye. What makes Time for the Show a breath of fresh air in Christian pop is that it doesn't sound like Christian pop; this is diva pop through and through, yet with heart and soul that only a singer the caliber of Roberts -- who is professionally trained yet grew up singing in church -- can pull off. She's definitely one to watch. ~ Andree Farias