By the time of
Kidz Bop, Vol. 22's release, the series' singalong versions of pop hits were arriving so quickly after the originals that this set of songs could double as a chart of mid-2012's biggest hits. The collection includes versions of two of the year's smash hits:
Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," which was already so fresh-faced that it didn't need to be made more innocent through the power of children's voices, and
Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know," which was so lovesick and world-weary that not even
the Kidz Bop Kids could make it sound otherwise. Elsewhere, the album nods to some of the year's other big pop sensations, including U.K. stars
Jessie J's "Domino,"
the Wanted's "Glad You Came," and
One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful." As with
Jepsen's hit, the feel-good vibe of the aforementioned songs, "Wild Ones," and "Feel So Close" make the
Kidz Bop versions less than necessary, but it also makes this one of the more kid-appropriate volumes in the series. ~ Heather Phares