This Christmas

This Christmas by 98º

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Attention teenage girls: As vocal guy bands go, 98 Degrees sing and snap their fingers with the best in contemporary pop. And while This Christmas is not as engaging or musically adventurous as other holiday albums from vocal tour de forces such as the Persuasions, Take 6, or the Blenders, it is a respectable, if predictable, seasonal effort targeted to their teen audience, chock full of standards and three radio-friendly originals. Those include two versions of "This Gift," a Christmas version that merely adds some sleigh bells and a pop version, sans bells. Their a cappella reading of "Ave Maria" shines above all else, with soaring four-part harmonies in a stirring, awesome arrangement. But just when you think these adolescent heartthrobs have climbed the stairway to heaven, they follow up "Maria" with that cliché-riddled lyrical and musical toss off called "This Gift" (the pop version). Talk about not having your (sequencing) priorities straight. --Martin Keller