Chris Young’s Nashville Star victory last season seemed inevitable, especially when he delivered his original “Drinkin’ Me Lonely”—an instant-classic drinking song from a guy who was then too young to legally drink.

That tune is, of course, included on his self-titled debut, and it’s still a stunner—too bad it’s surrounded on all sides by radio-ready fare so lightweight it practically floats off the CD. Nothing on Chris Young suggests that its maker doesn’t deserve to be a full-fledged Nashville star, but a few more songs up to the standards of “Drinkin’ Me Lonely” would have sealed the deal.