Every year or two somebody from the classical world gets the bright idea to record a classical album with a little something extra for the groundlings: some percussion, some sound effects, maybe some strings. Sometimes the result is insulting, sometimes it's just gilding the lily, and sometimes it works. Carmine Meo, however, sidesteps this problematic phenomenon altogether by making up its own classical music and then turning it into pop. That's right, most of the numbers on the album, even though they sound like lush, romantic arias, are originals.

If American Josh Groban can make a killing singing Italian opera so convincingly, why not this operatically trained French singer – who has actually been a huge success in Europe while steadily building a name for herself stateside. While Groban is pop-minded, however, Emma Shapplin – like newcomer Laura Turner – seems content to emote powerfully over beds of nature-enhanced ambience and soulful grooves, finding a classical crossover niche with new age crossover potential. With the help of producer Graeme Revell (a noted film scorer and orchestrator for Evanescence), who provides these soaring textures with the London Symphony Orchestra, she blends dramatic solo arias – all original compositions – with passages where she interacts with the Symphony's great choir.