Kidz Bop 22

Personnel: Gary Phillips (guitar, piano, drum programming); Alexander Almgren (guitar, drum programming); Mark Piro, John Deaderick (piano, organ).
Audio Mixer: Gary Phillips.
By the time of Kidz Bop, Vol. 22's release, the series' singalong versions of pop hits were arriving so quickly after the originals that this set of songs could double as a chart of mid-2012's biggest hits. The collection includes versions of two of the year's smash hits: Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," which was already so fresh-faced that it didn't need to be made more innocent through the power of children's voices, and Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know," which was so lovesick and world-weary that not even the Kidz Bop Kids could make it sound otherwise. Elsewhere, the album nods to some of the year's other big pop sensations, including U.K. stars Jessie J's "Domino," the Wanted's "Glad You Came," and One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful." As with Jepsen's hit, the feel-good vibe of the aforementioned songs, "Wild Ones," and "Feel So Close" make the Kidz Bop versions less than necessary, but it also makes this one of the more kid-appropriate volumes in the series. ~ Heather Phares