When she debuted in 2001, Rhode Island native Blu Cantrell carved out a distinct place for herself among her peers, shrouding formulaic R&B behind an elegant jazz smokescreen. But the jazz is mostly gone on the follow-up, and so is the mystery, revealing Blu bland: another MOR chanteuse without the songs to support her intentions. The dominant sound on Bittersweet is balladry like "Sleep in the Middle," which relies on the sort of polite over-emoting labelmate Whitney Houston has all but patented. Plan B seems to be an attempt to jump on the Jamaican bandwagon, but considering the proliferation of authentic dancehall now washing ashore in the U.S., the faux-island vibes of "Make Me Wanna Scream" and "Breathe" just aren't that exciting, despite the presence of Sean Paul on the latter. Neither bitter nor sweet enough to remark upon, Blu's second outing squanders a once-singular voice, and ends up tastefully tasteless instead.