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Entertainment Weekly

As always, her vocal ability is beyond reproach; a crack in the immaculately polished veneer, however, would be welcome too.

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Boston Globe

The earnest ballads outnumber the uptempo stuff with a lower hit-to-miss ratio and feel a lot more generic in terms of who is/could be singing them.

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The New York Times

No amount of hackneyed songwriting can undermine Ms. Underwood’s voice, which is consistently impressive, capable of pneumatic thrusts. It enlivens plenty of moments here.

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Paste Magazine

On Play On her approach results in a scattershot collection that too often mistakes bombast for sincerity ('Unapologize') and sap for sentiment ('Temporary Home').

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All Music Guide

Carrie takes a much stronger presence as a writer here, co-authoring seven of the 13 songs, and she's attracted to hookless showstoppers designed to showcase her powerful voice, all glory notes with no glory. When she sticks to tunes written solely by the professionals, Play On does have some slick pleasures.

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Slant Magazine

She still lacks the grit and the distinctive, intuitive phrasing of the best country singers, but the better moments of Play On suggest that she's capable of developing into more than a technically proficient cipher.

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Los Angeles Times

Play On exhibits a distressing lack of dimension for a singer with Underwood's obvious abilities.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 49 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Esteban O. gave it a10:
Carrie made a great album...but not excellent! lyrics are so good!!

Christian H. gave it a10:
Did this album really get a 58 rating? Wow, this is an amazing cd. The songs and that voice are just untouchable.

Ward B. gave it a10:
Anyone who thinks that this isn't one fantastic album needs their head and ears examined. She just keeps getting better and better. I love it.

Michael W. gave it a10:
Fantastic album Ms. Underwood. Do not listen to the haters! The critics have had it in for you since you Won American Idol because they are elitist snobs who don't consider Idol winners real artists. Tell that to your 4 grammys, Carrie, and laugh them all the way to the bank when you go 3x platinum once more. Congrats Carrie! Great album!

Taryn gave it a10:
Absolutely amazing album! Carrie's best album to date. Her vocals are just superb - best female country singer EVER!!

Gigi S. gave it a10:
I love this album, Some Hearts is my least favorite of her cds, when i listen to the album i dont go all the way. I do like Before He Cheats and Some hearts and other tracks. Carnival Ride i can listen through the whole album because to me their was more variety and i loved the range in her voice in some songs. On Play On, Carrie doesnt seem like shes attempting to reach those high notes that we all know she can and do very well. I only LOVE a few songs of this album that i can listen to over and over again like Cowboy Casanova, Songs Like This, What Can I Say, Temporary Home, and Undo It. So i would have to rate this album at 7 out of 10. BUT its still worth buying it.

Lou S. gave it a6:
A decent album though, but not better than Carnival Ride.

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