Let's be honest - you're either going to love this, or hate it more than anything you've ever heard before. Sadly, I fell into the latter category.

Verging on bubblegum pop, first track "A Public Affair" sounds like something that you might put on at a kids' party if you were having a disco-dancing competition. Complete with Jessica's laugh in the background of one of the quieter moments and a whispered, 'Hey baby' here and there, you just find yourself wishing the party would stop...

"B.O.Y." is much better - it almost reaches early-Britney heights and is something that you might put on before going out to somewhere very cheesy. "Swing With Me" is OK too - it's a fast-paced, rhumba-rhythmed track that would probably get you on the dancefloor if you'd had a few. "Fired Up" is a little bit more edgy. But its token urban sound just doesn't seem to fit at all.

Unfortunately, that's about as good as it gets. There are far too many tinkles from naff chimes and far too many husky-voiced proclamations like, 'I'm spreading my wings and beginning again,' and, 'The lover in me sees the lover in you,' to make this record remotely palatable.

Ballad "Back To You" is a chance to really listen to Jessica's voice - which, unfortunately, just doesn't cut it. It's not bad, but it's not that good either and you get the feeling that she might not even make it through the initial rounds of American Idol - she'd be one of those contestants who'd be told, 'It's OK, but it's forgettable.'

As for the final track, "Let Him Fly" - it seems pretty obvious that JS is whining about letting ex-husband Nick Lachey go for good. It's just too much. A Public Affair seems like a recorded version of the emotional rollercoaster that Jessica must have been on since her divorce, and really, it's something we shouldn't have to share with her.