The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson is, by her own admission, just the beginning of all that she has to share with us. To that, I would say that I enjoy what she’s shared so far, but I’m also eager to hear more.

The project opens with “Sunday Best Medley 1,” which includes her on-air rendition of “God Is Trying To Tell You Something” and Commissioned’s “Running Back To You,” before transitioning into “Cast the First Stone,” an incredibly solid urban soul cut with tight background vocals and Le’Andria’s unmistakeable lead. On this tune, her vocals are playful and bouncy, but focused and tasteful.

What follows is probably my favorite track on the album– ”Make Him Like You.” It’s a prayer that God will make the man He’s prepared for Le’Andria like her Heavenly Father. It’s led by a driving bass and soulful chords and reminds me of a great throwback to some good 80′s or 90′s soul R&B– maybe Miki Howard-ish.

“New Reasons” is also a very well-done tune, styled like something the Staples Singers may have done– just flat-foot folky singing with soulful accents from the background singers. Up next is Le’Andria’s current single, “Jesus,” an in-the-pocket outcry for God’s help, with vocals that make you run it back a few times just to re-live it all.

The project closes out with “Struggle Not,” which is probably the weaker of the tunes on the album for me, and “Sunday Best Medley 2.” I almost wish they had included her live performance of “He Was There,” from The Mo’Nique Show some months ago– it was perfection!

My chief issue with the project was immediate and apparent from the moment I got it in the mail– it’s only 7 tracks in length, two of which are “medleys” of LeAndria’s performances on Sunday Best. The album is really more of an EP than an LP and, though albums from Sunday Best finalists are notorious for taking a while to hit stores, I wouldn’t have minded waiting another two months to get 3 to 5 more tracks. However, I also understand taking advantage of this season’s Sunday Best momentum (had there not been a voting glitch, Le’Andria would’ve been featured singing on the finale this past Sunday, with her album hitting the market today– timing couldn’t have been better).

In the end, this project highlights why she won Sunday Best, then goes a step further by showing us the type of music Le’Andria really wants to do– and it’s some REALLY good music. I’d recommend it.

Check out snippets of the tracks and buy it– either from Amazon.com (just $5.99 digitally) or via the iTunes widget below:

And if you missed our interview with her, check it out right here!