When Billy Bob Thornton and his Boxmasters visited, that was one thing. But seeing a star of the “Hannah Montana” show take a stage occupied by such luminaries as Gwar and Insane Clown Posse is something different.
Not that there’s likely going to be a great deal of audience crossover. For one thing, her TV role as Montana pal Lilly Truscott (and her big-screen appearances in two of the “Spy Kids” films) exposed her to a generally much younger audience.
It’s not just a stylistic shift for the venue: It’s one for her as well. In 2009 she released “All the Right Wrongs,” an EP of alternative rock. Her leap to the dance floor with “Fight or Flight” created considerable confusion among reviewers about just what she wanted to be.
The album itself, however, is a credible collection of dance pop in the vein of artists such as Kylie Minogue. The songs themselves are credited to Osment and a stable of professional pop-makers such as Adam Schlesinger, Toby Gad and David Gamson.
There’s nothing that stands out as particularly groundbreaking about it, other than some PG-13 sexiness suitable to help anyone loosen up the straightjacket of child-star wholesomeness. At the same time, there’s also nothing particularly embarrassing, no easy ammunition for attempts to dismiss Osment as a pop-star wannabe. Her voice isn’t half-bad, and more importantly, she and her producers were savvy about not stretching past the limits of her abilities.
