[ POP ]

Clay Aiken

"On My Way Here," RCA

In the Broadway show that is Clay Aiken's public life, he is, of course, the leading man. His fourth full-length progresses just like the Original Cast Recording, with character development songs early ("On My Way Here"), beatific love songs in the middle ("Something About Us"), and a dénouement of regret and lessons learned ("Lover All Alone"). Aiken, who debuted on the Great White Way this year in "Spamalot," sings like a theater veteran: almost too perfectly, with a self-aware showmanship. But that doesn't make pop-rock nuggets like "Ashes" any less catchy, or the ballads — on which Aiken's breathy tenor could break housewife hearts — ring any less true. With big American melodies, stock AC production and general inoffensiveness throughout, this should satisfy his army of self-dubbed Claymates.

[ acoustic POP ]

Neil Diamond

"Home Before Dark," Sony

Though Neil Diamond is riding the good will created by 2005's Rick Rubin-produced "12 Songs," there is a song on "Home Before Dark" called "Don't Go There," and the danger of overemotive "Heartlight"-ness always looms. While not quite as revealing and rewarding as its 2005 cousin, the new album will certainly please fans of Rubin and Diamond's stark-yet-comfy acoustic direction. The sprawling opener "If I Don't See You Again" has the right sprinkling of epic; "Another Day (That Time Forgot)" is a gorgeous duet with Natalie Maines. It's hard to shake the feeling that "Home" sounds like the younger brother of "12 Songs," but it's a warm, supremely confident next step in Diamond's unlikely renaissance. Best of all, there's not a sea gull to be found.

[ POP ]

Josh Groban

"Awake Live," Warner Bros.

Josh Groban's third live DVD chronicles one stop during his 2007 tour in support of 2006 set "Awake," with a host of creatively retouched arrangements, world music instruments and towering vocals, testifying again that the tenor is far from your average pop star. "Awake Live" features 20 visual performances, with an accompanying audio CD sampling nine of them. The CD tracks demonstrate Groban's far-reaching versatility: "Machine" verges on raucous with its driving jazzy template, anti-apartheid anthem "Weeping" makes a dramatic call for global peace, and an extended version of latest hit "Awake" turns lyrical morning dew into a pounding thunderstorm of emotion. The album's highlight, a five-minute take on 2007's "February Song," somersaults with one soaring build after another — as frenzied as a ballad could ever be. A dazzling display.

[ ROCK/POP ]

Gavin DeGraw

"Gavin DeGraw," RCA

On his sophomore album, the follow-up to 2003's slow-building platinum smash "Chariot," Gavin DeGraw deftly weaves together rock, pop and soul influences without letting the seams show. Courtesy of producer Howard Benson (Daughtry, P.O.D., My Chemical Romance), this 12-song set leans more on its rock muscle than anything else, with biting guitar chords punctuating DeGraw's taut and tuneful melodies in the opening track and first single, "In Love With a Girl," to such classic rock-aping pieces as "Relative." DeGraw's soulful vocal swoops stand out on "I Have You to Thank," while his balladeer side emotes on "Young Love" and "Let It Go." "We Belong Together" moves from an anthemic start into a delicate dynamic build that provides a master class in DeGraw's deft straddle between craft and passion.

[ EURO-GLAM ]

Tokio Hotel

"Scream," CherryTree

Europe's answer to emo, Tokio Hotel is a platinum-selling teen-pop band from Germany with a penchant for heavy guitars, big choruses and spectacular hair. Now the youthful foursome, led by the wildly androgynous 18-year-old Bill Kaulitz, takes on America with "Scream," which features English versions of material from their two studio albums, "Schrei" and "Zimmer 483." Tokio Hotel's forte are über-anthemic power ballads, delivered in a Teutonic accent with heartbreaking sincerity ("Rescue Me," "Sacred"). Kaulitz's gender-bending vocals make "On the Edge" sound like Nena covering Nirvana, and the soaring slow dance "By Your Side," from the movie "Prom Night," couldn't be more arena-ready. Emo kids will flock to German class when they hear the original version of "Monsoon," the band's biggest hit, which closes this strangely fascinating Euro-glam effort.

— Billboard