Stay In CD: Craig David

CRAIG DAVID

"Trust Me" (Warner Bros.)

The 26-year-old Englishman, who made a splash in the United States in 2001, but then fell off the radar here, exudes soul. But creatively, David isn't so easily labeled. His voice is sweet and sincere on the delicate, slow-moving track "Awkward," with its earthy mix of guitar and organ. Perhaps it's because he escapes the usual boundaries of those in his musical genre. The tempo, the drums and the electrifying horns on "6 of 1 Thing" and "Don't Play With Our Love" boast Cuban influence. The lead single "Hot Stuff (Let's Dance)" starts with a '50s-era drumbeat and ends with a sound culled from the days of disco. DOWNLOAD: "She's on Fire"

-- The Associated Press