It's a little early in the game for Fantasia Barrino to be making emancipatory gestures -- like an eponymous album title to imply a fresh start. But "Fantasia," the High Point "American Idol" winner's second album, strains mightily to be just that, with less pop and more grit than her 2004 debut album. Although she's not quite there yet, "Fantasia" sets her up as a worthy contender for Mary J. Blige's queen-of-hip-hop-soul crown.

Fantasia wastes no time setting up this album as a reinvention. She comes blazing out of the gate with the first song and single "Hood Boy," which is just the sort of uptempo club-banger her ballad-heavy debut could have used more of. Powered by a well-placed Supremes sample (payback for her not getting that part in the "Dreamgirls" movie, perhaps?) and a so-casual-it's-cool cameo verse from Outkast's Antwan "Big Boi" Patton, "Hood Boy" will get crowds up and moving. They might not notice that the sentiments expressed in the lyrics are, well, puzzling -- does she really want a thug for a boyfriend?

You can say the same for "Baby Makin' Hips," which also cooks up a good retro sample (the horn riff to Al Green's "I Tried To Tell Myself"). Possibly destined to be the next "Milkshake" or "Hollaback Girl," it's the sort of enjoyably stupid novelty you'll like up until the moment the cellphone ringtone becomes inescapable. And it's all about someone who has "got them baby-makin' hips."

Even though Fantasia escaped the clutches of the "American Idol" management empire this year, some formulaic elements still linger. There's the inevitable Diane Warren-penned empowerment ballad ("I Feel Beautiful"), some of the Beyonce moves feel forced ("Not the Way That I Do"), and literally dozens of people are credited with writing and producing these 14 songs. Plus she shows a Princely proclivity for using the second-person abbreviation "U" in song titles (four times!).

Still, to paraphrase Jackson Browne, that gal can sing. Even on the slighter songs, her voice is right on it and a delight to listen to. And when she gets a song worthy of her voice, she's nothing less than great. Missy Elliott reprises her writing/producing role from Fantasia's debut, and her contributions are among the new album's best -- especially the sinuous Eurobeat-driven "I'm Not That Type" and the Patti LaBelle-styled "Two Weeks Notice."

All in all, a solid step forward.