Two years after the original
Cheetah Girls movie, Galleria, Chanel, Aquanette, and Dorinda return with The Cheetah Girls 2, a sequel and a full-length
soundtrack. The film's subtitle is "When in Spain," and exotic flourishes such as Spanish guitar and sweeping pianos color many of the album's tracks. While the entirely
en español songs feel a little forced, hints of this sound give songs like "Strut" and "Amigas Cheetahs" the feeling of being the great-great-granddaughters of
Madonna's "La Isla Bonita" or
the Spice Girls' "Spice Up Your Life." As expected,
Raven-Symoné dominates
the Cheetah Girls, both in character as
Cheetah Girl Galleria and as herself. Despite the odd "Everyone's a Star" -- which shouts out to everyone from mailmen to lawyers to hairdressers and bouncers ("Bounce on with your bad selves!"), her solo tracks and
the Cheetah Girls' material sound a little more sophisticated this time around:
the Girls' "The Party's Just Begun" and
Symoné's "Do Your Own Thing" have sleeker productions and harder-hitting beats, while "It's Over" shows off
the Girls' more mature pipes. Of course, this is all relative -- several tracks still suffer from the facelessness that plagues too many Disney
teen pop productions. But, even if
the Cheetah Girls won't be giving
the Pussycat Dolls or the revamped
Nelly Furtado a run for their money anytime soon, The Cheetah Girls 2 at least acknowledges that there's a more grown-up world of
pop music out there. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
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