The collection garnered a mixed reception from American music critics, who felt that the "tracks work because they're qualified by their Europop context.

Connor is Germany's biggest-selling female pop star, but despite singing in English she never seriously attempted to take her music outside of German-speaking countries (she released "Bounce" in England in 2003 with little promotion though as in America it reached the top 20).

Elysa Gardner, writing for USA Today, found that "Connor may not have the technical prowess of, say, Christina Aguilera or Kelly Clarkson, but her vocal approach, which veers from breathy ostentation to bombastic belting, will sound painfully familiar.

So will helium-fueled hip-hop workouts such as the hit "Bounce" and maudlin ballads such as "Music Is the Key," one of several predictable collaborations with male rap and R&B artists.

Connor fares better on the relatively crisp, breezy He's Unbelievable and the blithely funky Mary Jane Girls cover "In My House," but in general, her green-eyed soul is a pale facsimile of the real thing.