The debut album from Khadija has been long anticipated on by fans of the Pakistani songstress for over three months, however it has finally arrived and hopefully her fans won't be disappointed. Khadija has been all the rave this past year with her smash-hit single "O Dilbar Mere" making its rounds throughout the desi market. Not to mention the D-Classified album, which was basically a showcase of her amazing vocals, in addition to RDB collaborations. People have truly loved the voice of the young singer, who has already been compared to other Pakistani divas like Shazia Manzoor and Noor Jehan. Khadija has worked alongside the ever-great lyricist Akhtar Hussain and producer JKD on the songs for this album. The album features a lot of the sounds that are popular in mainstream desi music, including pop, dance, and the odd reggae emcee.

What can I say about the album cover, besides that it's PINK, really really PINK. Not the greatest album cover a guy would want to keep in his collection of UK bhangra albums, but it still works as it represents the youthful and innocent Khadija image. Even the title of the album, "My First Time"; simply subtle and sincere.

The first track "Punjabi Dil Jaaniya" has a catchy chorus and a very pop appeal to it, which may work for a lot of people, but it's unlikely to appeal to the people who have enjoyed a lot of her previous work. Her vocals are outstanding, but the production could've been improved, and though the emcee adds a bit to it, it seems a little out of place at times, as if it is trying to appeal to the urban audience.

The following track "Akhan Jado Diya" has another mainstream poppy feel to it, which may work in markets in Pakistan and India, but fail to please the fusionist listeners. Just as the first track featured awesome vocals with production that could've have been slightly reworked, the same applies for this track.

Track number three, titled "Pyar Yahi Hai Kya" has an extremely catchy chorus that yet again features some outstanding vocals on the part of Khadija. The production on this one isn't pretty good and the track definitely does work with a few minor production faults that can be ignored. Most of the tracks on this album so far seem fit for an audience back home, but won't find a home in the wild wild west.

Kicking off like a very desi rock tune (not in the Swami-style) with some out of place emceeing is "Boliyan." The track opens with a gentle bhangra beat and then explodes into deep, heavy guitar riffs giving the song a heavy metal sound. The production is executed a little better than on most of the other tracks, but is really not working for me. Not sure I like the style, but the concept seems interesting. Overall, not a track I would spin on my playlists.

Now for the track I've actually been enjoying a bit on this album, "Aja ve Aja" is just another testament to Khadija's crazy vocal talent and the fact that the production does absolutely no justice to the woman. A very catchy chorus grips the listener, including some high-pitch notes which Khadija pulls off with simplicity; no test for her talent. Unfortunately, the emcee on this one doesn't really do much for the track either. This is a track that could go miles if a remix were done by some renowned producer.

"Chand Ho" has a very laid-back and feel-good vibe associated with it and the production achieves just that mood too. More of a slow-jam for those who appreciate them. The only production error here is the sampling of the old Kenny G tune that isn't done too well, as we take a break from Khadija to focus on it. If anything, focus more on Khadija as the point is to highlight her. The track does work nonetheless.

To start off the next track "Ranjhna", we hear a synthesized instrument very popular in the 80's. It's that spacey-jazz high-pitched piano thing, but anyway, it's dead and for a reason too. The song is very reminiscent of a typical old school Pakistani pop song. It even includes a little instrumental of "Aja ve Aja" which is great, because I'm sure most people listening to the album were enjoying that song most, so far. The song is alright, but nothing special or over-the-top.

The final track, "Karde Dil Da Sauda" is full of energy, complete with almost all of the production elements used in the other tracks. This is another track that will make a lot of noise in the Pakistani mainstream, but might not be picked up as much in the west. Besides the ecstatic chorus the song won't do much for listeners, and fails to be too great.

The name Khadija truly has been all the rave, with some outstanding tracks, including "O Dilbar Mere", which I really wish was on this album, just for the sake of being on her debut. But the album is just desi-pop mixed in with an emcee or two, which might work well in the old des, but the pardesi audience might not find it as moving. The traditionalist may claim that some tracks contain too much east-west fusion, and the fusionist may claim that the tracks don't nearly reach the level of fusion that they would've liked. It's difficult to see which market they are trying to please; in the end it's probably fair to say that it sounds like it's meant to be for the folk back home. The story of the album is that the productions could have been much improved to do some justice to Khadija's amazing vocals. There is no doubt that she has an incredible voice, but where is her Bally Sagoo? Despite a few decent tracks, the album fails to be anything extraordinarily promising. Sadly, most vocalists are not remembered for stand-out albums, but for stand-out tracks. Overall I'd rate it at 6 out of 10.