One of my favorite pop albums of the last decade is from Romanian stunner Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu, stage name INNA, that album though is not her 2010 debut Hot (or this limited edition French pressing Very Hot).  Unfortunately Hot is a pretty lukewarm album.

If you live in the United States, most likely you're not familiar with INNA, abroad she's a pretty big deal and some of her music videos have garnered 100 million plus views on YouTube, why she hasn't caught on in the states is a mystery to me.  Her debut album Hot definitely gets one thing right, she is HOT, but sadly the album failed to excite me as someone who plays her later music on constant repeat.  

While INNA's music has always incorporated some house styles in it, Hot is basically a full blown house album.  I have nothing against house music, it's perfect for "the club" scene but on its own it grows old pretty fast.  All the tracks on this album sound pretty much the same, very similar tempo and beat, with a couple exceptions that are 180 degree flips and almost too low key in comparison.  After a while Hot becomes a little bland and simply forgettable, with only a song or two (like 10 Minutes) really being that interesting.  With that said I don't hate the album it's good background music but simply doesn't compare to the quality she eventually attains.

I'm sure there's some hardcore fans out there who love this album, and probably a small group of people who wish she's go back to doing this kind of music, ultimately I think that's who this album is for.  Still I can appreciate Hot as a testament to how far INNA's music has evolved in nine years, because this album is completely different from what will skyrocket her to international success a few years later. 

In terms of this Very Hot edition, it was an exclusive limited edition release in France, aside from the track I Need You For Christmas there's not a lot different here from the standard Romania release.  What is exclusive is the bonus DVD with the seven music videos she released and some different cover and liner images, for a fan that's probably worth the hunt for this release. 

Overall, if you're interested in expanding your horizons in pop music, Romania has a slew of very talented artists, INNA being at the top of that list, followed by Alexandra Stan.  What I like most about INNA is she's willing to mix things up, she'll take on a lot of different styles album to album, some of them don't work so well, but she's not afraid to try.  Unfortunately I think she may have peaked musically a few years back, but that's for another review...

3.33 / 5