Artist: Kelly Rowland
Album: Here I Am
Release Date: 7.26.11
So it’s her third solo album and like many fans of Kelly Rowland, I’ve expected each album to be her breakout: something to really show the world what an underrated talent she truly is. And every time, I’ve been disappointed. Here I Am is an album plagued with elementary lyrics and, moreover, and that typical urban female sound, a boring characteristic I didn’t expect this time around due to Kelly’s previous success in the realm of pop/dance (i.e. When Love Takes Over, Forever & A Day, Commander). Why were previously released tracks like Rose Colored Glasses and Forever’s Just A Minute Away left off? It’s a touch of irony that the album titled Here I Am leaves listeners still searching for Kelly amongst a sea of female singers that float aimlessly between hip-hop & R&B, and require the validity of a chart-topping rapper for confidence in their own singles. Yeah, I said it. Of the album’s 10 tracks, I’d only keep about half of them in rotation.
I miss hearing a focus on Kelly’s rich alto tone, but this album seems to focus more on the production (the beats). Rico Love ruins what could be a perfect song in All of the Night, where the producer decides to drop a lackluster verse with metaphors so bad I literally cringed. Rico should take a few notes on wordplay from Big Sean, who appears on one of the album’s highlights Lay It On Me with a monstrous double-up on the verses – a nice summer jam. I’d also recommend the sensual Keep It Between Us and Turn It Up. I did say half, right? The other two songs I’m feelin’ are the singles Motivation and Commander. Everything is poorly written (Feelin Me Right Now and Down For Whatever), or sounds like it was written for any garden variety R&B starlet – and I’ve heard music by Kelly that puts her far beyond garden variety, but it didn’t seem to make this album. I can’t imagine why she went so far urban with this album when that lane has shown her mediocre success before, but Here I Am doesn’t do much to locate the real Kelly Rowland…
Sound=Savvy rates Here I Am with 2.5 out of 5 platinum headphones.
Aw! I actually like the album. I think it’s kinda spunky for her in terms of what we’re used to hearing.
I actually love the song Feeling Me Right Now. It’s a girls anthem. I just want Kelly to do good but ppl will still compare her to you know who and she’ll still remain the underdog. I agree, she doesn’t have a distinctive sound but she’s getting there.