After winning the Pulitzer Prize in Music for Omar, her opera based on Omar ibn Said's 1831 autobiography A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar ibn Said, who could blame Rhiannon Giddens for wanting to loosen up a bit with You're the One, an album she recorded after the production's 2022 debut? After focusing on such a serious project, it makes sense that Giddens would want to shift gears with You're the One, an album that bears many musical connections to the former Carolina Chocolate Drops leader's body of work yet feels entirely different. Working with Jack Splash -- a producer whose resume includes recordings by Alicia Keys, Solange Knowles, Jazmine Sullivan, Mayer Hawthorne, and Kendrick Lamar -- Giddens creates what is effectively her crossover album, touching upon pop and soul without ever losing sight of either her roots or her impeccable taste. Occasionally, Giddens focuses her attention on a specific sound, such as the folky "Way Over Yonder," but such streamlined excursions go against her very aesthetic: she thrives where cultures intersect, maybe even clash. You're the One is filled with such moments. "Too Little, Too Late, Too Bad" is a country-funk number, she steers the folk of the title track toward pop territory, the righteous anger of "Another Wasted Life" is wrapped in a lush, cinematic arrangement, the rural imagery of "Hen in the Foxhouse" is given a decidedly urbane treatment. It's remarkable how these fusions feel bright and lively and every bit as sharp as the Americana-leaning Freedom Highway. Giddens may be emphasizing a different side of her personality -- and perhaps courting a different audience -- but she's made no compromises. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine