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Cheryl Cole

`3 Words'

(Universal Music Korea)

Pop sweetheart Cheryl Cole first made waves in the U.K. as a member of Girls Aloud, then as the wronged wife of footballer Ashley Cole (their separation made tabloid headlines last week), and as a judge on X-Factor. Now, it's her debut solo album, ``3 Words,'' that's creating a buzz.

With the Black Eyed Peas (BEP) front man Will.I.Am as executive producer, Cole has come up with an enjoyable album of hip-hop-influenced pop songs. He is even featured on three tracks ― ``3 Words,'' ``Boy Like You'' and ``Heaven'' ― which have a distinctive BEP sound. Cole does well on catchy numbers like ``Stand Up'' and ``Parachute.'' If Cole's voice sounds familiar, she was briefly featured in Will.I.Am's solo hit ``Heartbreaker.''

/ Cathy Rose A. Garcia

Owl City

`Ocean Eyes'

Owl City is one of the many musical acts that have landed record deals, after attracting fans on the Internet. The band's name is the pseudonym for young American musician Adam Young. Young posted his music on his MySpace page, released two independent albums, and now, he's signed to Universal.

Listening to ``Ocean Eyes,'' it's easy to see why Owl City's music has connected with so many fans. It's an album filled with electronic pop melodies with an almost unfailingly cheerful and positive vibe, as exemplified by ``Hello Seattle,'' ``Hot Air Balloon'' and ``Vanilla Twilight.'' The breakout hit is ``Fireflies,'' with its fanciful beats and hopeful lyrics, which topped the charts in the U.S. and the U.K. last year.

George Winston

`Love Will Come: The Music of Vince Guaraldi: Vol. 2'

(SonyBMG)

New Age pianist George Winston's new album of piano solos features compositions by Vince Guaraldi (1928-1976), a San Francisco-based jazz pianist. Guaraldi is most famous for composing the scores for the animated "Peanuts" specials. Winston was a fan of the Peanuts cartoons, and wanted to pay tribute to Guaraldi through this album.

``Love Will Come'' is the follow-up to Winston's first album devoted to Guaraldi, ``Linus and Lucy'' (1996). Winston ably reinterprets not just "Peanuts" tunes like ``Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown'' and ``You're Elected, Charlie Brown,'' but also lesser known Guaraldi works like the samba-flavored ``Brasilia'' and the jazzy ``Air Music.''