Diva outlaw Jessie James first caught a flash of attention with the hoedown-meets-crunk-jam “Blue Jeans.” The call-and-response ode to the apparel’s curves featured prominently in the 2009 summer movie Confessions of a Shopaholic, and its offbeat sensual drive and girl-power themes stirred a minor buzz. Her self-titled debut, released later that same year and featuring said track, continues to frolic in the gulf between sultry-sweet pop strut and country-girl coyness. However, while James is not averse to basking in a classic Nashville theme, as on “My Cowboy” or the Katy Perry co-penned “Bullet,” or throw in a sizzling banjo, she is at heart a pop singer. Tracks like the opening single “Wanted” and “Girl Next Door,” bask in gigantic hooks as James hurls her soul into the simple, seductive rockers. – Jason Thurston
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