21
He's got a liquidy voice, the looks to go with it and, at long last, a permanent lock on adulthood (21--get it?). But unlike another former boy-bander who hit the bigs with a well received solo disc, he's not hell-bent on bringing sexy back:21,likeObefore it, traffics in funk-ribboned, vaguely Michael Jackson-ish club joints ("Entourage," "Do It," "Obsession") and a handful of sincerity-dunked slow jams ("Just Can't Let You Go," "Have You Ever Been With a Star"). But its chief concern seems to be putting across its creator's gift for getting heads bobbing. That's not to suggest that the newly mature Omarion is lacking in the ladies' man department--look no further than "Midnight," "Just That Sexy," and the craftily assembled lovers-from-friends number "What Are We Doing" for pulse-raising proof--only to point out that for him, raciness takes a back seat to bumpin' beats and a vibe that's borderline playful. A choir boy he ain't, but here's betting your mother will like him more than Timbaland and Timberlake.--Tammy La Gorce