Ingrid Michaelson, Be OK
Featured Album
Singer-songwriter nails poignancy, and does perky even better
Staten Island singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson is great at poignant. She nails poignant. "I just wanna be ok, be ok, be ok, today," she sighs over and over again. And you feel for her, you really do. And her cover of "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" is so pristine, pretty and gut-wrenching, you actually pay attention to lyrics for the first time in years. But, her finest moments are these upbeat-ish little pop tunes, like "Giving Up" and "Lady in Spain," ones tireless enough to drag and drop onto your road-trip playlist. Be OK, with all its covers, rarities and live tracks — including a charming re-up of the 2007 hit-via-Old-Navy-commercial "The Way I Am" — was probably intended merely to stoke the fires until a proper follow-up to Girls and Boys could be conjured. But thanks to some memorable choruses and Michaelson's twinkling chandelier voice, Be OK (which benefits Stand Up to Cancer) manages to overcome its odds-and-ends origins to strive for something more essential."You And I," a catchy-as-cooties duet with producer Dan Romer is simple and sweet. "Maybe I think you're cute and funny," she croons over a polite ukulele."Maybe I wanna do what bunnies do/ with you." There are more poignant ways to say I love you (all over this album), but it's hot when the wallflower steps out onto the dance floor like that.
