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1. I Love You (8/10)
2. Sleep in the Middle (12/10)
3. Unhappy (9/10)
4. Impatient (10/10)
5. Breathe (10/)
6. Risk it All (8/10)
7. Don't Wanna Say Goodbye (12/10)
8. Happily Ever After (9/10)
9. Holding On To Love (9/10)
10. Let Her Go (10/10)
11. Make Me Wanna Scream (10/10)
12. No Place Like Home (9/10)

Overall, Blu Cantrell's sophomore album, "Bittersweet," is a great buy that you should make no hesitation about getting. You'll enjoy her album from beginning to end.


Bitter And Better   October 9, 2003
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I was a little reluctant when it came to buying this CD, because when I walked into Best Buy, I had no intentions at all when it came to getting this. I liked her first single "Breathe", and I already liked her as a singer anyway, so I just decided "Oh What the Hell" and bought it.. I was pretty impressed, and glad I had second thoughts about it. Here's my rundown on the tracklisting.

I Love You This is a nice opener for the album. It's a very positive song about love, and it's also a very true song. Her vocals fit the beat just right. [9/10]

Sleep In The Middle This album is definately a standout track. It's the second single from the album, and I definately think it would be a nice little hit if enough money would be put into a video for it. It's a very seductive ballad, speaking of heartbreak. Definately one of my favorite tracks. [9.5/10]

Unhappy This song's lyrics and Blu Cantrell's vocals save this song from being TOTALLY mediocre. The beat is very slow, the vocals very mellow, and it's a sad little track, but it is actually pulled off very nicely. [8/10]

Impatient (featuring Fat Joe & Lil Kim) Some people out there might actually be a fan of this one, but I just can't stand it. The beat just doesn't work out right with the lyrics, and everything just seems so wrong. I could have definately done without this track.. It's not her style, and Lil Kim and Fat Joe's rap don't help out one bit. [4/10]

Breathe (featuring Sean Paul) This was the first single for the album, but it originally featured Lady Saw when it was first released as a single. Things were changed a little bit before the album's release, since noone was really reacting to the original mix at all.. it never even received airplay, and I guess they figured since Sean Paul has become internationally popular, people would fall in love with the song.. but that still didn't work out a bit. I prefer the original version with Lady Saw, but both are decent. It samples an old Dr. Dre song, and it's pulled off pretty nicely. [8/10]

Risk It All This one is my personal favorite.. The vocals and the beat just flow along with eachother so well. This is a great ballad, and I even think this one would go over well with the fans if this one were to be released as another single. Another definite highlight of the CD. [10/10]

Don't Wanna Say Goodbye At the very beginning this one sounds like it has a very gorey, and a very negative beat (if that makes sense).. it just doesn't sound like anything Blu has done. However, the song turns out very nice, and is done to a pretty nice beat. It's another sad ballad, dont very nicely. [8.5/10]

Happily Ever After This used to be one of my favorite tracks.. very nice beat, and great bluesy vocals. However, I can't say much for the lyrics on this one. (Happily ever after/Let's start a story chapter).. But it's still a great listen. [7.5/10]

Holding On To Love This one is a pretty fun track. I'm loving the very original beat on this one, and her voice sounds a little different on this one, compared to the other tracks on the album. I really think it's nice, and very radio-friendly. [9/10]

Let Her Go I really LOVE the beat to this one. Just the beat alone would make me say that this is probably my second favorite, beside "Risk It All". However, this song flows nicely to the beat, with a nice concept, and it sounds very attitude-packed. Yet another highlight. [9.5/10]

Make Me Wanna Scream (featuring Ian Lewis of Inner Circle) This track is much like track #4, "Impatient", but to me this track is alot more fun. The beat is actually pretty decent, and the lyrics flow nicely with it as well. I could do without the rapper on this one, but besides that, it's pretty nice, and it's definately worth a listen. [7.5/10]

No Place Like Home Eventhough this may sound pretty corny after a few listens, this is a nice little closing track for the album. It's very true.. very lovely.. I love the beat.. I lover her vocals on this one.. I just love the track, PERIOD. Definately worth a listen! [9/10]

The CD also includes a DVD, which to me, I could have also done without, especially since it was about two dollars extra, than the copies with no DVD. It features a little biography, weblinks, pictures, the "Oops! (Hit Em' Up Style)" video, and an interview with Wendy Wallace (the one who had the pretty.. rough experience with interviewing Whitney Houston earlier this year).. In the interview, there's alot of cursing done, which is why this CD has a parental advisory sticker! Wendy looks pretty trashy in this one, and there are alot of things revealed, and annoyingly enough, alot of things NOT REVEALED. Just about all the questions regarding her personal life, and about relationships, she would tell everything that went on, but she would always keep the person she was dating confidential news, which got annoying after the first six or seven times.

All in all, the CD is worth all the money, and if you'd like to see the old "Oops (Hit Em' Up Style)" video, you should definately consider trying to get your hands on a limited edition copy with the DVD.. if not I wouldn't really waste my money on the DVD.. I would just grab the CD and buy a coke at checkout.. LOL!

Anyway, this is a nice little buy.. way better than her first album, in my opinion, and I think you'll enjoy it, and think the same.


Bittersweet by Blu Cantrell   June 28, 2003
 6 out of 10 found this review helpful

From the get go I knew that Blu Cantrell's sophomore album 'Bittersweet' wasn't going to be as good as her flawless debut, 2000's 'So Blu'. While the vocals are still strong and the writing is decent, the album couldn't compare to her astonishing debut, filled with lush ballads and early jazz influenced dance numbers.

When "Breathe" first hit urban radio, I knew it was a guaranteed hit, however Arista inexplicably pushed back the release of the album and withdrew it from radio playlists. However, the song resurfaced, unfortunatley with a guest appearence by reggae/hip hop pioneer Sean Paul, who by now has become extremely annoying. And thats not the only disappointment, for some reason Cantrell has flipped the script and has gotten sexually explicit & downright raunchy, evident on tracks such as "Sleep in the Middle".

The album's sole highlight is "Impatient" a smooth early 90's style RnB track with strong guest appearences by Lil Kim & Fat Joe. Songs such as "I Love You" & "Holding on to Love" make you yurn for the days of her debut LP, where her material was tasteful instead of trashy and at times inappropriate.

I've never been a fan of the 'explicit content' female RnB diva's which is probably why I'm so disappointed with Cantrell's follow up album. I will tell fans to skip this release only because of the awful material, and not because of Cantrell's pipes, because while it may not be the best music, she still sounds magnificent. Everybody deserves a mistake here and there so when she gets back on her feet I'm expecting her to knock me out of the box.


Taking the Bitter With the Sweet.   June 29, 2003
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

In 2001, Blu Cantrell hopped on the trifiling men-bashing bandwagon with the summer single "Hit Em Up Style (Oops)." Produced by Dallas Austin, it's a tale about a scorned woman who gets back at an unfaithful lover by maxing out his cards at Neiman's. It went Top Ten, got mucho play at the clubs, and helped make her debut "So Blu" go gold. But Blu's popularity ended as quickly as the single disappeared from the charts, and it seemed that she was heading for One Hit Wonderland. Fortunately, Blu returns with her solid album, appropriately titled "Bittersweet." First off, anybody looking for a song similar to "Hit Em Up Style" will be out of luck. Not content on repeating herself, Cantrell has grown and moved on from that single. The album's better cuts are the ballads which make the best use of Blu's supple voice. I really dug "Unhappy," as well as "Sleep in the Middle," which finds Cantrell trying to move forward from a relationship that didn't work. "Risk It All" shows how far out of her way Blu will go for her man, while "Impatient" is a cute upbeat jam with Fat Joe and LIl' Kim. "Bittersweet" comes with a bonus DVD with the video to "Hit Em Up Style" as well as a 3-part interview with NY-based DJ Wendy Williams, who was responsible for that horrific interview with Whitney Houston in early 2003. The interview is pretty much what we've come to expect from Wendy Williams: raunchy, gossipy, and wonderfully trashy. It's not quite as revealing as I'd want it to be, but it's still entertaining and it nicely compliments this CD which overall beats the sophomore slump.


Arista records should be ashamed..   July 27, 2006
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Blu Cantrell has one of the best voices in the industry. "Sleep In The Middle" had the potential to be a huge hit. So why didn't Arista records promote it?? The only single released was "Breathe" which was not well promoted. If you want people to buy your products you need to PROMOTE them!!!! Maybe they should go back to college and take marketing/business classes over again. This underrated cd has some great cuts on it. "Don't Wanna Say Goodbye" and "Holding On To Love" are two more of my favorites. If you like r+b/soul music check this cd out.