An engaging screen presence -- as the legions of fans of the Disney Channel's two "High School Musical" movies and his own star vehicle "Jump In!" will eagerly attest -- the frizzy-haired, L.A.-reared, 18-year-old Bleu is also the strongest musical talent at Nextfest, as evidenced by the fact that he stole the show during the live "High School Musical" concert tour earlier this year.

On his debut album, "Another Side," Bleu powers his way through a set of unoriginal but mildly engaging hip-pop, succeeding less on the strength of his singing and rhyming than on his infectious energy and enthusiasm -- which, in this genre, can be enough to carry the day.

If it weren't for a standing, self-imposed anti-cheesiness rule that prohibits me from tacking "-palooza" onto any festival bill or big musical happening, you know what I'd be tempted to call tonight's Nextfest at the Charter One Pavilion. But by any name, there's no denying that it's the teen-pop happening of the summer.

The tour, which has been winding its way across the country since mid-July, brings together three of the biggest musical heroes and heroines of the 'tweener set -- each a model of cross-promotional synergy between recordings, television shows, marketing and merchandising -- as well as one up-and-comer who actually is a member of the demographic that this concert is aimed at.

Here is a look at the bill, starting with the headliners, and rated by their actual musical merits (with the Sun-Times' four-star scale adapted to lollipops for this occasion) as assessed by some decidedly not-in-the-demographic-group ears (which is to say my 10-year-old daughter almost certainly disagrees).

 

Touring in support of their recent third album, the oddly spelled "Insomniatic," Southern California-bred, home-schooled sisters Amanda Joy (16) and Alyson Michalka (18) also are promoting an upcoming MTV film, "Super Sweet 16," and trying to build on the breakthrough success of their platinum-selling 2005 album, "Into the Rush," and their roles on the popular Disney Channel series "Phil of the Future."

The girls got their start singing in church -- their mother was a member of the Christian-rocking J.C. Band -- and they've been enthusiastically embraced by fans of that genre. Although they're hesitant to be labeled as Christian musicians themselves, they've been outspoken about their beliefs. Asked about evolution during a recent interview with Blender magazine, Aly said, "I think people should be able to pray in school." Added AJ: "Evolution is silly. Monkeys? Um, no."

Despite their faith, Aly & AJ haven't shied away from touring with the former strippers who comprise the Cheetah Girls, or from peddling a just-slightly-more-chaste version of the infamous Lolita act perfected by teen-pop predecessors such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. "You're not livin' till you're livin' with me / You're not winnin' till you're winnin' me / You're not getting' till you're getting' to me / You're not livin' till you're livin' for me," the duo flirtatiously chirps in an electronically altered warble over the generic rock-disco thump of the new album's thoroughly dreadful first single, "Potential Breakup Song."

In the past, the girls' tuneless squawking also managed to slaughter covers both great (Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine") and minor (the Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe in Magic"). But even more insidious is the news from the Nextfest press release telling us "an Aly & AJ book series, video games, a doll series and lines of apparel, accessories and cosmetics" are also in the works, and that "the sisters also currently grace millions of Post Honeycomb cereal boxes."

Remember, kids: Nothing rots your teeth quicker than too much sugar.

 

Kicking things off at Nextfest is this soon-to-be 13-year-old resident of Philadelphia, who won the debut season of the NBC reality show "America's Got Talent."

Released last November by Simon Cowell's SYCOmusic, Ryan's self-titled debut album is marred by saccharine originals and some very poorly chosen covers. Still, you've got to hand it to her: The girl does have talent, and she could establish herself as a great pop singer given the right material.

 

Born Jared Drake Bell in Orange County, Calif., the 21-year-old actor probably always will be best known among his fans as one of the two title characters in the Nickelodeon TV show "Drake and Josh," though he seems to be especially eager to establish his bona fides as a serious rocker. He boasts of having taken guitar lessons from Roger Daltrey as a kid and tells us that the last four songs on his second album, "It's Only Time" (2006), form "a narrative about the ups and downs in three different relationships" -- an attempted homage to side two of the Beatles' "Abbey Road."

Listen, Drake, I've heard Lennon and McCartney, and you're barely a Ringo. Your music is basically the sort of innocuous jingle-jangle permeating the soundtrack of "One Tree Hill" every week, and I'm going to have to dock you a notch for not being self-aware enough to admit that, and for artistic pretensions completely out of scale with your actual accomplishments.

 

If it weren't for a standing, self-imposed anti-cheesiness rule that prohibits me from tacking "-palooza" onto any festival bill or big musical happening, you know what I'd be tempted to call tonight's Nextfest at the Charter One Pavilion. But by any name, there's no denying that it's the teen-pop happening of the summer.

The tour, which has been winding its way across the country since mid-July, brings together three of the biggest musical heroes and heroines of the 'tweener set -- each a model of cross-promotional synergy between recordings, television shows, marketing and merchandising -- as well as one up-and-comer who actually is a member of the demographic that this concert is aimed at.

Here is a look at the bill, starting with the headliners, and rated by their actual musical merits (with the Sun-Times' four-star scale adapted to lollipops for this occasion) as assessed by some decidedly not-in-the-demographic-group ears (which is to say my 10-year-old daughter almost certainly disagrees).

 

Touring in support of their recent third album, the oddly spelled "Insomniatic," Southern California-bred, home-schooled sisters Amanda Joy (16) and Alyson Michalka (18) also are promoting an upcoming MTV film, "Super Sweet 16," and trying to build on the breakthrough success of their platinum-selling 2005 album, "Into the Rush," and their roles on the popular Disney Channel series "Phil of the Future."

The girls got their start singing in church -- their mother was a member of the Christian-rocking J.C. Band -- and they've been enthusiastically embraced by fans of that genre. Although they're hesitant to be labeled as Christian musicians themselves, they've been outspoken about their beliefs. Asked about evolution during a recent interview with Blender magazine, Aly said, "I think people should be able to pray in school." Added AJ: "Evolution is silly. Monkeys? Um, no."

Despite their faith, Aly & AJ haven't shied away from touring with the former strippers who comprise the Cheetah Girls, or from peddling a just-slightly-more-chaste version of the infamous Lolita act perfected by teen-pop predecessors such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. "You're not livin' 'til you're livin' with me / You're not winnin' 'til you're winnin' me / You're not getting' 'til you're getting' to me / You're not livin' 'til you're livin' for me," the duo flirtatiously chirps in an electronically altered warble over the generic rock-disco thump of the new album's thoroughly dreadful first single, "Potential Breakup Song."

In the past, the girls' tuneless squawking also managed to slaughter covers both great (Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine") and minor (the Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe in Magic"). But even more insidious is the news from the Nextfest press release telling us "an Aly & AJ book series, video games, a doll series and lines of apparel, accessories and cosmetics" are also in the works, and that "the sisters also currently grace millions of Post Honeycomb cereal boxes."

Remember, kids: Nothing rots your teeth quicker than too much sugar.

My rating: 1 LOLLIPOP.

 

An engaging screen presence -- as the legions of fans of the Disney Channel's two "High School Musical" movies and his own star vehicle "Jump In!" will eagerly attest -- the frizzy-haired, L.A.-reared, 18-year-old Bleu is also the strongest musical talent at Nextfest, as evidenced by the fact that he stole the show during the live "High School Musical" concert tour earlier this year.

On his debut album, "Another Side," Bleu powers his way through a set of unoriginal but mildly engaging hip-pop, succeeding less on the strength of his singing and rhyming than on his infectious energy and enthusiasm -- which, in this genre, can be enough to carry the day.

My rating: 3 LOLLIPOPS.

 

Born Jared Drake Bell in Orange County, Calif., the 21-year-old actor probably always will be best known among his fans as one of the two title characters in the Nickelodeon TV show "Drake and Josh," though he seems to be especially eager to establish his bona fides as a serious rocker. He boasts of having taken guitar lessons from Roger Daltrey as a kid and tells us that the last four songs on his second album, "It's Only Time" (2006), form "a narrative about the ups and downs in three different relationships" -- an attempted homage to side two of the Beatles' "Abbey Road."

Listen, Drake, I've heard Lennon and McCartney, and you're barely a Ringo. Your music is basically the sort of innocuous jingle-jangle permeating the soundtrack of "One Tree Hill" every week, and I'm going to have to dock you a notch for not being self-aware enough to admit that, and for artistic pretensions completely out of scale with your actual accomplishments.

My rating: 1.5 LOLLIPOPS.

Kicking things off at Nextfest is this soon-to-be 13-year-old resident of Philadelphia, who won the debut season of the NBC reality show "America's Got Talent" with a bravura performance of the "Dreamgirls" show-stopper "I Am Changing," which prompted one of the judges, former child star Brandy, to declare, "You make me want to go practice -- that's how good you are!"

Released last November by Simon Cowell's SYCOmusic, Ryan's self-titled debut album is marred by saccharine originals ("I Wish That" and "Pray for a Better Day") and some very poorly chosen covers ("The Rose," which fails to channel Bette Midler, much less Janis Joplin, and R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly," which teenage female singers should probably avoid until those nasty criminal charges against the Chicago artist are resolved).

Still, you've got to hand it to her: The girl does have talent, and she could establish herself as a great pop singer given the right material, tasteful production and lot less Simon interference.

My rating: 2.5 LOLLIPOPS.