R and B songstress Alexis Jordan came to the worlds attention on the first season of America’s Got Talent back in 2006, performing Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing”, but was eliminated in the semi finals. After that her family relocated to Atlanta to be closer to the music industry, all the while submitting demos and uploading videos to Youtube of her singing. Receiving millions of hits online brought her to the attention of Norwegian production team Stargate, who along with Jay-Z eventually signed her to their label StarRoc/Roc Nation.
This is her debut, and has the hugely successful singles Happiness, which is a reworking of a Deadmau5 sample, and Good Girl, both of which did well on the UK singles charts. I don’t like Happiness at all, and couldn’t understand why it was getting so much airplay, but Good Girl is a top quality R&B tune, and at the age of only 18, this girl seems to have the world at her feet.
Listening to her debut, it is somewhat of a hit and miss affair, but hints at great potential, and a bright future. Some of the songs are really good pop/R&B numbers, but then some are a little dull and forgettable. It really is a mixed bag in all fairness. If the stars align though, and she continues to grow exponentially in terms of fanbase, she could well find herself being dubbed the “next Rihanna”, so long as some more material comes her way that is reflective of the better moments from this eponymous debut.
Highlights are the single Good Girl, How You Like Me Now, Laying Around, and especially Say That. High Road has a thumping electro beat and is a good song also, as is Hush Hush, and all in all there are some bright moments on this release.
Some of the tracks do resemble filler though, such as her reworking of Tears For Fears’ Shout (entitled, ahem, “shout shout”), and what she will need to work on next is matching the high standards of the best tracks here across the entire of her second album. That is no easy feat, but it is not impossible, and is a step she will need to take to establish herself as a superstar of the future, which could well be within her grasp. She has all the tools, the backing of a superstar in Jay-Z, and the stage could well be set for her to eventually take her place amongst the big hitters in the game in the future. At only 18, it is all still to play for, and so long as she sticks with what she is doing, and improves along the way, she could be unstoppable.
A bright prospect, and one for the future.
6.5/10
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