A story has gone around the traps that the recently dropped Milian, a modern r ‘n b songstress, rejected Clive Davis’ suggestion that she take “SOS” as her breakthrough single. In part, you can understand why someone who rejects a doyen of Davis’ distinction gets dropped…but the real question is why would she say no to such a fabulous song?

Built off the back of Soft Cell’s version of “Tainted Love”, it’s the sort of single that any aspiring pop star should jump on – and so it’s understandable that Jay-Z protégé Rihanna, the beauty from Barbados, took it and ran with it. Where her debut single from last album “Pon de Replay” set her up nicely and built strong dancefloor word of mouth, “SOS” is the slam dunk mega-hit that’s going to see Rihanna become a global superstar.

Unfortunately, the album can’t possibly match the incredible highs of this opening cut. At her best on the reggae dancehall pop numbers like “Kisses Don’t Like” and “Dem Haters”, the soppy ballads like follow-up single “Beautiful” and “Final Goodbye” ain’t no Xtina, simply because Rihanna doesn’t have the pipes to carry it off in the same way that Aguilera does.

So of course A Girl Like Me is frustratingly inconsistent. But on the highs – “SOS and “Break It Off”, which features fellow West Indian native Sean Paul – the pop confection is at a premium. The album gets stronger in the latter with the likes of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Selfish Girl” doing the bouncy dancehall well, but A Girl Like Me isn’t a complete album as its simply too inconsistent. Rihanna still has it in her though to deliver something magnificent next time around.