Kidz Bop 18

Personnel: Todd Haberman, Gary Philips (guitar, keyboards, drum programming); John Deley (piano, keyboards); John Deaderick (piano); Alexander Almgren (keyboards, drum programming).
Audio Mixer: Gary Philips.
Like clockwork, Kidz Bop 18 arrived in mid-2010, chronicling some of the year's biggest pop hits by reworking them into kid-friendly versions featuring the Kidz Bop Kids. This volume boasts not one but two Lady Gaga smashes, the cheeky "Telephone" and the Madonna and Ace of Base-channeling "Alejandro." Like other later volumes in the Kidz Bop series, 18 focuses on the Kidz' vocals instead of trying to replicate the originals (with the addition of the Kidz chorus) as closely as possible. It's a step in the right direction, making the kids singing and listening to these songs feel more involved in these tracks. Katy Perry's "California Gurls," Train's "Hey, Soul Sister," and Beyonce's "Single Ladies" are some of the other chart-toppers that get the Kidz Bop treatment here. ~ Heather Phares