Willa Ford: Willa Was Here : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

It's not every aspiring dance-pop sensation whose reputation precedes the release of her debut album. But Willa Ford earned her distinction as Most Likely to be Hated by dating Backstreet Boy Nick Carter for two years. Teenage girls flooded the Internet with diatribes and showed up at concerts with "Die Willa" signs. Now that Nick and Willa's romance is history, she's having some fun with her bad-girl rep on Willa Was Here. On "Tired," she even answers detractors who accuse her of copying the style of another teen pop princess: "Tired of the girls who look like me . . . tired of the people saying 'Britney.'" "I Wanna Be Bad,' co-written with Big Pun collaborator KNS, features a vocal by Eminem protégé Royce da 5'9". Infectious hooks and R&B grooves are earning it a well-deserved ride on the airwaves, even if it never wins over those diehard Backstreet fans.

SUE CUMMINGS
(July 16, 2001)