Jordan Pruitt - Permission to Fly (2008)

When picking songs for a new album, Jordan Pruitt invokes her "5-second rule." If the track doesn't grab her in five seconds, forget it. No way that the song is right for her. If it passes the test, then Jordan goes with her instincts. And they haven't failed her yet. Jordan has reaped great success since the release of her 2006 Hollywood Records debut, "No Ordinary Girl." But cross-country tours and a string of hit singles were only the beginning for this gifted 17-year-old. Now a little older and a lot wiser, Jordan Pruitt returns with "Permission to Fly," her irresistible new Hollywood Records Album.

Working with a team of top songwriter/producers - including Shelly Peiken (Christina Aguilera, Michelle Branch, Keith Urban), Arnthor Birgisson (Enrique Iglesias, Celine Dion), Tim James & Antonina Armato (Miley Cyrus, Aly & AJ, Vanessa Hudgens), Adam Watts & Andy Dodd (Jesse McCartney) - Jordan injected a renewed self-awareness into the Album's 12 tracks, several of which she co-wrote. She still sings about the purer pleasures of being a teen, but between the lines, it's clear: Jordan isn't a kid anymore. "I kind of grew up after the first record was done," she says. "I became more of myself. I really found out who I was and what I wanted to be."

The album kicks off with "My Shoes," a fun hyper-syncopated song about seeking a little empathy, punctuated with Jordan's own layered harmonies. In straight-up pop songs like "I Was In Love for a Day," "I'm Gone," and her sensational remake of the Temptations' classic "The Way You Do The Things You Do," Jordan let her fun side run wild. She shows a flash of old school R&B in "Simple Things," and goes back further with the be-bop-flavored harmonies in "Secrets." But Jordan has had her share of life lessons, which she shares in tracks like "I Wanna Go Back" and the title track, "Permission to Fly," which she calls "an empowerment song, about spreading your wings and becoming a young woman."

In "Unconditional," she sings of the abiding faith that carries through the rough patches. "Always," co-written by Jordan is about the difficulties of keeping a relationship going. Perhaps the Album's biggest surprise is "One Love," a bright reggae-influenced song filled with boundless humanity and loving spirit.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Jordan Pruitt Album without an abundance of spirit. Though still young, Jordan takes seriously her responsibility to try to heal the world, even just a little bit, through music.