With his first pop-oriented release,
One Day,
David Burnham -- best known for his role as Fiyero in the hit musical Wicked -- becomes the latest in a long line of Broadway stars keen to show that their talents extend beyond treading the boards. Produced by film/TV composer
Mark Vogel, the seven original compositions (four of which are co-writes) and four cover versions may only contain one track from the show tune genre that dominated his self-titled debut (Carousel's "If I Loved You"), but the album is far from the radical departure its airbrushed boy band-style pinup cover would have you believe. The title track is a soaring showstopping ballad that could quite easily fit into one of the many
Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals he's appeared in, "I Can Fly" (which also appears here in a version with teenage summer project Camp Sing) and "If We Believe" are the kind of fist-pumping faux-inspirational anthems usually reserved for Idol winner's singles, and even the most innovative of pop mavericks would find it hard to inject new life into the utterly lazy selections of "Unchained Melody" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water." There are a few signs that
Burnham is capable of transcending his musical theater background, such as the jaunty
Michael Bublé-esque jazz-pop of "Already Gone "and "Three Little Words," and an emotive rendition of Christian vocalist
David Phelps' "Fly Again (Mom's Song)," dedicated to his late mother, but these brief moments of inspiration are few and far between. He may have been part of the six-time Tony Award-winning The Light in the Piazza, but
One Day's play-it-safe nature ensures that any similar success at the Grammys is highly unlikely. ~ Jon O'Brien