“I’m your desire, I’m your supplier,” Donnie seductively coos as he attempts to channel his inner Prince on the vocally mediocre debut single, “Take You There” off his album Just a Rolling Stone. The performance is interesting, considering that Diddy swears up and down he picks artists on vocal merit. Even Diddy’s featured rap shows his world is nowhere near any world where records or MP3’s are purchased. In the long run, this might be a problem for over indulgent new comers to the music business by way of a reality show. “Take You There” is perfect for the drunk Aubrey O’Day types still dancing at the end of the night and Just A Rolling Stone is packed with music for those drunken girls that Donnie might be tempting to panty drop. Take “Dr. Love” – besides the repetitious “I’m Dr. Love” and semi-contagious beat – it’s got nothing. It sounds like a B-Side from the O-Town recording sessions where Donnie nasally prescribes, “take a dose of me and I’ll see you in the morning.” There are a few shining moments – they have no hint of originality, but they’re shining moments nonetheless. “My Idol” has him channeling Chris Brown, “Pretty Girls Cry” guided by Ryan Leslie pushes Donnie to hit notes that challenge his register, and “Hollywood Girl” shows the vulnerable side of this Bad Boy with the help of Danja. On the other hand, tracks like “Hurt That Body” invoke a cheesy boy-band doing Hip-Hop moves on stage while they rub their abs and doing a slow hip-pump. Donnie personifies what could have gone wrong with a white singer breaking into an urban market – what it’d be like if Justin Timberlake had played his cards all wrong. All that doesn’t matter because he’s got the Making The Band backing, so his persona works in context. Just A Rolling Stone stays within the parameters of a reality show album and that’s fine, but once Making The Band runs it’s course, unless Donnie connects with audiences in more ways than hooking up with women on TV, he’ll have nothing else to offer. Just A Rolling Stone would prove more lucrative as a demo tape for the album of Europe’s next big boy band.
