Vanessa Hudgens: 'Identified'

She's the female lead in the High School Musical movies, the girlfriend of the world's favourite teen heart-throb and the victim of a gloriously unlikely nude photo scandal. Shouldn't Vanessa Hudgens be a bigger star than she actually is? To that end comes Identified, the album that's supposed to kick-start her transition from Disney Channel favourite to proper, chart-conquering popstar.

It's certainly not lacking in songwriting and production talent. A palette of established hitmakers, including Cathy Dennis and Max Martin, steer Hudgens from Britney-esque electropop ('First Bad Habit', 'Identified') to self-empowerment balladry ('Gone With The Wind') to midtempo R&B tunes ('Paper Cut', 'Don't Leave'). The biggest surprise is the trancey 'Hook It Up', which sounds like the sort of thing Lady GaGa might have recorded as a teenager. The good news? Though no Leona, Hudgens can certainly hold a note. The bad? She shows only occasional glimmers of personality and most of these songs are solid rather than sizzling.

In fact, only two or three tracks stick in your mind after they've finished playing. 'Sneakernight', which sounds like an outtake from Christina Aguilera's Back To Basics album, is a sassy ode to dancing the night away, while 'Committed' is the sort of jazzy romp Kylie could work wonders with. Then there's 'Party On The Moon', an embarrassing attempt to mimic Britney's robopop sound that actually features the couplet: "I see Milky Way hotties, so beam me up Scotty." Horrible as it is, it's a welcome break from the characterless competence that defines this album.

It would have been nice to report that Hudgens had crafted an unexpected pop gem to rival Miley Cyrus's recent Breakout set. Sadly, this album never comes close. Whereas Breakout showed Cyrus to be a charismatic performer with an embryonic songwriting talent - who can forget that line about her best friend Lesley? - Identified does little to further Hudgens' cause. After listening you're left with much the same impression of her as before. Vanessa who? Oh yeah, she's that pretty girl from High School Musical we saw naked on the net last year.