Reviewed by Kelly Hargie

A compilation, out for quite awhile, to raise awareness of Girl International, the important ministry under the umbrella of The Message Trust. The upbeat and infectious sounds of The Tribe kick start this album with the track “Hey Girl” setting the scene for what is to be a roller-coaster ride through music styles and statements aimed specifically at teenage girls. The CD sleeve says that this album has been put together to “motivate, encourage, pick up and fire up girls of this generation to not only follow God but to live life to the max.” Phatfish’s contribution of “Heavenbound”, from the album of the same name, is only one of the tunes that add the sparkle to this compilation. Chicago's Superchic[k] add the ever-so-catchy track “Get Up” from their 2001 album ‘Karaoke Superstars’ while ZOEgirl paint their mark on ‘Hey Girl’ asserting a mellow reminder of how God sees us. The gentle melody and simple, yet poignant, lyrics of “Plain” declare that each one of us is wonderfully created by God and even with all of our imperfections, he still sees us as beautiful. As a girl now in my 20s, this was the one track on ‘Hey Girl’ that aided in knocking down the insecurities still lingering from those oh-so-difficult teenage years! The beautiful ballad “Ocean” from Nicki Roger’s album ‘Colour Scheme’ talks about the captivating love of God and finishes off this superb collection of contemporary contenders for mainstream appraise on a sentimental note. There is no getting away from the fact that we have heard the majority of these tracks previously. I am not sure that matters in this instance however, for the tracks featured from the likes of R&B group, Out Of Eden; gone but not forgotten Shine; US CCM star Michelle Tumes and Bristol's T-Girl compliment each other so well and the album achieves what it set out to. A different kind of girl power!

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