Singer-songwriter Kina seems well past waiting for stardom to come her way; three of the first four tracks on her self-titled debut album concern themselves with the subject either in full or in passing. One of them, "Girl from the Gutter," began to win her fans through video and radio even before this disc"s release, so at some point she might be able to stop wishing. If Kina indeed ends up a hit, however, it won"t be because of anything particularly special about its contents. Although blessed with a strong, soulful voice, Kina displays little knack for saying anything interesting; aside from her dreams of fame, she fills these songs with pedestrian declarations of love and (on "U Don"t Know") claims of her unpredictability. Finally, Kina"s straight-down-the-middle production sets the artist down in tracks that sound like an unholy meld of Sting"s empty lushness and Melissa Etheridge"s bland heartland rock. Come to think of it, the narcissism of tunes like "Stop" and "Me" makes that the perfect sonic blend for her. --Rickey Wright