Love has the power to lift and affirm in times of trouble (“Amazed”). Hudgens apologizes for hurting someone during a season of misplaced priorities (“Don’t Leave”). On “Gone With the Wind” she asserts that she’s comfortable with herself and won’t be bullied into following the crowd (“Now I’m standing my ground/Am who I am, and for that I’m proud”). A girl can see that a relationship isn’t healthy for her, however …
Against her better judgment she keeps going back for more (“First Bad Habit”). Similar dysfunction creeps into “Last Night,” on which the singer excuses a partner’s extracurricular activities as long as she doesn’t have to hear about them. Hudgens toys with dating a guy she’s been warned is only after “one thing” (“Identified”). The party anthem “Hook It Up” says friends will be “hookin’ up with someone” in the context of dancing. That song also uses a mild profanity, and it respects a guy for having cash and a woman for her “hottie body.” The line “I gave you everything; body, mind, heart and soul” could imply a sexual history on the lovelorn “Don’t Leave.”
When it comes to sensuality, the singer/actress best known as High School Musical‘s Gabriella Montez is no Janet Jackson. Still, mildly suggestive lyrics and squishy morality make her latest solo disc inappropriate for tween fans of those doe-eyed duets with Zac Efron.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
