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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: R. Kelly

  • Review – Whitney Houston Looks To You To Reinvigorate Her Music Career

    It took her seven years, but Whitney Houston is back, and if you believe the themes of her new album, I Look To You, she’s put her problems in her rear view mirror.

    The first thing that should be talked about is her legendary voice. It’s not the same Whitney voice that you remember, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s consistent and while it doesn’t seem that she can hit those crazy notes of yesteryear, it’s still good and in this case, less can be more.

    Whitty Hutton Wuld Tour
    Back in the mid 90s on Martin Lawrence’s hit TV show, there was a story line in which he was jobless and decided to sell bootleg Whitney Houston t-shirts outside of her concert. His partner Brother Man couldn’t spell very well, so instead of saying, “Whitney Houston World Tour”, the shirt said, “Whitty Hutton Wuld Tour”. When Whitney Houston became the “crack is wack” Whitney, I just started calling her Whitty Hutton. It fit. The once singer of golden songs became a joke.

    Whitney Houston's I Look To You
    Whitney Houston’s I Look To You
    But if you believe the songs on her new album, that past is behind her. With songs like Nothin’ But Love, she forgives the haters, and even the people who tried to break her. The theme behind the song is that she’s so beyond her problems and thus, she has nothin’ but love for everyone. It’s not a very strong song and is plodding, but it provides a key point, and it’s that Whitney is trying to move forward. If only she tapped Heavy D for a fun sixteen bars.

    On Salute, which is written and produced by R. Kelly, she even borrows from Todd Smith’s classic line. Over a piano bed, she calls herself a soldier girl for standing strong.

    Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.

    Who is she saluting? She’s trying to be the bigger person in saluting who you have to believe is Bobby Brown, as a way to get over her past issues and struggles in life.

    Is She Still Our Baby Tonight?
    Back in the mid to late 80s, Whitney Houston was so charming. I remember seeing her on the Arsenio Hall show and she had swagger before I knew what swagger was. She could’ve been Miss America, a great actress, and the world’s biggest pop star all in one, and I wouldn’t have been surprised. She played nicely, and while you could tell she had a little bit of a chip on her shoulder, but she gave you that wink and nod and simply owned the stage. Bill Cosby even wanted her to play his oldest daughter Sondra on The Cosby Show. But during the 90s, she wasn’t that Whitney anymore.

    Fast forward some 20 years and she’ll never be able to be America’s Sweetheart again. But can she get back some of what she lost?

    Lead single Million Dollar Bill has the team of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz behind it, yet it’s slightly underwhelming. It does put Whitney immediately in a positive light as there are only so many songs she can do with the comeback theme before people start rolling their eyes. It’s not as strong as the Akon flavored Like I Never Left, which except for the fact that it starts off annoyingly with Akon making sure we understand that it’s a Konvict record, is sweet and light. Call You Tonight is signature Starlight, the Spotlight (Jennifer Hudson), of the album.

    Whitney performs Million Dollar Bill on Good Morning American


    What’s The Big “Whitney” Song That We’ll All Remember This Album By?
    Sadly, there isn’t one. My favorite song on the album is the aforementioned Akon duet. But I think she and Clive Davis meant for it to be the title track. I Look To You is the second single on the album and is written by R. Kelly. It’s a slowly laced piano ballad in which she continues with the comeback theme. However, the stronger ballad in my opinion is the Diane Warren/David Foster helmed I Didn’t Know My Own Strength. It showcases Whitney’s voice in a very vulnerable place. The song builds up dramatically and is fulfilling by the end.

    Save for the terrible Euro-dance version of A Song For You, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Whitney’s comeback album. But there’s nothing on here that’s going to shock the world either. It should appease her current fanbase, which I guess is the goal. It’s a nice album, but one in which most music fans will be able to do without.

  • Epic Fail (or Not…): Chris Brown

    cbrownIn light of the events of the past couple of days, Chris Brown must be wondering what the hell caused him to be so stupid as to put his freedom and career in peril. In the barely 72 hours since his arrest on charges of domestic abuse and making a criminal threat, the cherub-faced R&B singer has already had his endorsement deal with Wrigley’s suspended, and one must assume that he’s lost a fair amount of fans, especially if the rumors are true and the woman he assaulted is his girlfriend, pop sensation Rihanna.

    In one fell swoop, Brown has gone from a teen dream pinup (albeit a tattooed teen dream pinup with a hint of bad boy) to a criminal. However, it can be argued that this incident might actually HELP his career, especially if Brown takes the usual celebrity scandal perp walk-making the rounds of the talk shows, doing candid interviews, reviewing his past as a victim of domestic violence himself. A few flashes of that mega-watt smile and all will most likely be forgiven. But should it?

    Let’s be real here. If you’re a celebrity, there’s not much you can do to lose your fanbase if your product is still saleable. All you have to do is look at R. Kelly, whose Platinum career has continued virtually unscathed in light of his child abuse allegations (and subsequent acquittal). One could conversely argue that Michael Jackson’s career has suffered in light of similar allegations, but MJ’s career was on a decline before even the first molestation allegations hit. That’s not to mention his pre-established image as a weirdo of the first order. For better or for worse, the public has proven that they’ll turn a blind eye to all manner of indiscretion as long as the artist comes back with a hot single.

    And what about Rihanna? Questions about the incident will inevitably come up next time Rihanna has a project to promote. How will she handle the questions? Will she have to defend herself against Chris Brown fans who will accuse Rihanna of “snitching” or “provoking” Chris and will see the abuser as the actual victim? How will this affect the songwriters, producers and guest artists that will appear on future projects?

    Of course, this is America. Everyone’s innocent until proven guilty. Until proven in a court of law, Brown should have no sanctions against him. However, it’s hard to imagine that even if he is convicted, there will be any fallout from either his record label (who tend to turn a blind eye to their artists’ indiscretions) or his fan base.

    Jerry Lee Lewis, who famously flushed his pop career down the toilet when he married his 14-year old cousin back in the Sixties, must be kicking himself for not being popular forty years later.

  • Not Necessarily The News – Dr. Dre, Eminem, Lil’ Kim, And (You Guessed It) Kanye West

    I’m back with more musical gossip newsy goodness.

    At Least We Know Detox Is For Real
    A leaked track from Detox? According to MTV.com, the good doctor was none too happy that a track that could’ve been (and might still be) on his heavily delayed album hit the web. I’m all for whatever Dr. Dre has in store, but with R. Kelly on the hook, I think it makes it an automatic dislike for me.

    Eminem Gets Leaked Too
    Money Mike wrote about this yesterday, but I just found it funny that both Dre and Eminem are working on their albums so closely together and songs get leaked days apart. They should put their albums out at the same time to see who sells more.

    Lil’ Kim Feels Left Out
    Kim is upset about how she’s depicted in the new Biggie movie Notorious. I’m not exactly sure what she expected her role to be. She wasn’t the wife. She wasn’t the baby mama. She was one of two known mistresses. Did she expect to be seen as Biggie’s main inspiration?

    She’s also a bit paranoid.

    “I knew something was fishy about them having the writer call me. When I spoke to the writer I felt like he was trying to play me, so I wouldn’t give up anything,” Kim explained to the magazine (Hip Hop Weekly). “I knew I wouldn’t have control of how I was depicted. I did correct the writer about Biggie’s nickname for me. He had written that Biggie called me Big Momma. Biggie never called me Big Momma. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even like that name for me. He used to call me Mookie.”

    And what would this column be without a little Kanye.

    Kanye West Needs Two Months To Work Out So He Can Pose Naked
    For reals Kanye? I understand that the man has layers like ogres. I understand that he had a rough year. But I think this guy is going to flame out. He says he wants to break the rules of hip hop. I’m fine with that. But when he says that he wants to be more popular but have less fans, it shows that he’s far too worried about what people think. You can’t make pop music, sell millions of records, and then be so sensitive.

    Kanye clarified that by “less fans” he meant having a core of 20,000 devotees who understand him, rather than a swell of 100,000 “fly-by-night” followers who just favor him because he’s the hot thing out.

    He should ask Common if having less fans works out for you.

    Photo by Photocology and shared via creative commons