Recording information: Ameraycan Studios; Atlantic Studios, Hollywood, CA; Big Noize Studio, Hollywood, CA; Chalice Studios, Hollywood, CA; Circle House Studios, Miami, FL; Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Deuce Station, Atlanta, GA; Encore Recording Studios, Burbank, CA; Encore, Los Angeles, CA; Indie-Pop Sweat Shop; Jazzanova Recording Studio, Berlin, Germany; Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood, CA; Luke's In The Boo, Malibu, CA; Paramount Studios, Hollywood, CA; Reach Studios, Burbank, CA; Red Jacket Studios, Fairfax, VA; Serenity Studios, Hollywood, CA; Serenity West Recording, Los Angeles, CA; Start From Infinity; The Compound, Los Angeles, CA; The Hit Factory Criteria, Miami, FL; The Lodge, Los Angeles, CA; The Mothership, Los Angeles, CA. Photographer: Ben Watts. Apparently, someone thought the U.S. and some other North American territories weren't ready for Jason Derulo's more "sensitive side" as his 2013 effort, Tattoos, went unreleased. American fans were only offered the EP version of the album, which whittled it down to five tracks, but now four of those numbers return on the U.S.-only album Talk Dirty, a slight repacking and total repurposing of Tattoos that trades the previous release's concept (soul-searching after breaking his neck and enduring a long recovery) for some U.S.-aimed additions and some "hubba hubba" artwork. Get over that crassness and Talk Dirty actually works a bit better than Tattoos, as the Timbaland and Tyga feature "Bubblegum" offers a chewy pop sensation with plenty of infectious aftertaste. Newcomer "Wiggle," with Snoop Dogg, gives the album a stripclub number in Ying Yang Twins style where everyone sounds like they're having the proper amount of fun, and there's the easy and somewhat indie pop of "Kama Sutra" with Kid Ink, which equals the 2 Chainz feature "Talk Dirty" when it comes to flash and swagger. "Marry Me," "The Other Side," and "Vertigo" (with girlfriend Jordan Sparks) are all carried over from Tattoos and make this the best of both worlds, but even with sequencing that's a serious step toward making the album flow well, and Talk Dirty does feel like some post-traumatic stress therapy session mixed with a banging, ultra after-party. Consider it two EPs colliding together, or a bumpy compilation with massive singles, but certainly consider the highlights, and consider the lesser Tattoos a moot point. ~ David Jeffries

• Genre: Pop
• Format: CD
• Released: 04/15/2014