Grammy Row 08: Best R&B Female Vocal 'Nominees' Reviewed

Sunday, November 22, 2009

By Njai Joszor | Posted on 12/01/08 | Filed Under: R&B News, Rihanna

With the 51st Annual Grammy Award Nominations right around the corner we've taken a look at 2008s top R&B albums and R&B male artists, now it is time to shed some light on this year's leading ladies.

As proven over the years winning a Grammy, much less being nominated for one is not only a highlight or even defining moment for any artist, it also allows the entire world to sit up and take notice, so to speak, of today's best in R&B/soul music.

In recent years Grammy Awards have given several lesser known or overlooked artists the opportunity to shine on the basis of producing exceptional music. Artists such as Ledisi, Corrine Bailey Rae, Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Norah Jones and most recently Amy Winehouse have all benefited from Grammy moments.

With that said, let's take a look at this years leading women and stay clicked to Singersroom.com as we review Best R&B Song on Tuesday.

Best R&B Female Vocal Performance:
Noted Artists: Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Keyshia Cole, Jazmine Sullivan, Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Rihanna and Erykah Badu.

In less than a year we have been able to listen to an astounding number of R&B female artists including Mary J. Bilge, Alicia Keys, Keyshia Cole, Jazmine Sullivan, Mariah Carey and Jennifer Hudson to name a few. While it has been all in fun for us it looks to be quite a difficult year for the 'powers that be' at the Grammys, especially since there are only five nomination spots for each award.

While the number of albums released over the last year has been great one can agree that some are exceptional while others may be less desirable.

One exceptional effort is Alicia Keys' "As I Am". Released around this time last year, Alicia Keys' "As I Am" has been proclaimed by Billboard as the singer's "most personal effort to date [where] love of self, a significant other, family and life lessons are the primary themes."

With critically acclaimed songs and fan favorites like "Savior," "Superwoman," "Like You'll Never See Me Again," and "Teenage Love Affair," Keys' ode to love and experience may earn the singer her second Grammy nod for Best female two years in a row ("No One" won this very award earlier this year).

Following Keys' with plenty of 'love & experience' is Mary J. Blige. Issuing "Growing Pains" last year, Mary J. Blige quickly let the world know that she was "Just Fine" and that very statement earned her a Grammy nod.

While Blige lost to Alicia Keys' last year, the singer kept pushing through with "Stay Down," a fan favorite and second single from "Growing Pains." Even though Mary has been through some rough times the Queen of R&B/soul has had several career milestones including her 2007 wins at the Grammy's for the hit album "The Breakthorugh" and the Best R&B song winning "Be Without You". The question is can Mary do it again ?

With mixed reviews on "Growing Pains," including a less than friendly review from Blender that says: "It�s an implicit recognition that in love there�s really nothing new, just flirting and fights and make-up sex," Mary J. Blige may have some trouble at the Grammys. However, as the Queen says "Love Is All We Need," so lets hope for the best.

"Heaven Sent," "I Remember" and "Was It Really Worth It," -- if you know these songs then you know who I'm talking about -- to some she's been dubbed 'the new Mary,' but don't tell Mary we said that. Even Keyshia's given the Queen credit for providing plenty of inspiration, so with that out the way "Just Like You," Keyshia Cole's already Grammy-nominated album carried through much of 2008 with the aforementioned records, two of which became chart-topping R&B singles. So how will Ms. Cole fair at the Grammy's ?

With a well received album and near record breaking single entitled "Heaven Sent" Keyshia Cole looks well poised to attend the Grammy's with that Kodak smile.

Noted by All Music Guide as a "very good album... where Cole's voice grows from an occasionally powerful emotive device into a versatile instrument" the ASCAP Award winning singer might have the goods to snag her third Grammy nod.

Moving into 2008 releases, Mariah Carey, who reclaimed her career with the "Emancipation of Mimi" between 2005-2006 returned with "E=MC2" this spring. While the effort failed to capture the mega-success that 'Mimi' did, the "Touch My Body" songbird's follow up has been critically acclaimed by several outlets including, Billboard, MTV, and The Observer. With each outlet agreeing that Mariah sounds 'emancipated' on this effort, Jody Rosen of Blender went further by saying that Mariah "has definitely been emancipated - from her need to decorate every damn song with more octaves than Maria Callas." Carey's effort was sustained with the singles "Touch My Body," "Bye Bye," "I Stay In Love" and possibly the more upbeat and worthy single "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time".

Rounding out the top five is Def Jam recording artist Rihanna. While the singer's 2007 effort "Good Girl Gone Bad" is out of the running for Best Album, the star's reloaded edition gives her a chance to nab a 'song-related' award.

Seemingly putting out two albums worth of singles, as of November the total from "Good Girl Gone Bad" is eight, Rihanna has become one of this year's most dominant female artists. Issuing the singles "Don't Stop The Music," "Disturbia," and "Rehab" this year Rihanna's chances look strong, however, the single "Take A Bow" may just put the singer on top.

Critically acclaimed by Billboard Magazine as a "velvety ballad that ticks along with well-applied piano and strings" "Take Bow," often compared to Beyonce's Grammy-nominated "Irreplaceable," albeit "lifeless" according to About.com, is at the very least a track to review.

Up for debate this year is Beyonce's "If I Were A Boy". With the official Grammy nomination deadline in mind Beyonce's now hit single was reportedly submitted well after September 30th making it ineligible for the 51st Annual awards. There have been conflicting reports as to whether the song will make the cut, be granted an exception or be cast for next years awards. Should the single make the cut it is a worthy opponent, but possibly in another category.

After a successful Grammy run with 'B-Day' Beyonce has another chance at a Grammy nod with Justin Timberlake. While we are not reviewing the Best Collaboration field, the singer's duet with Timberlake on "Until The End Of Time," released last November, became a Billboard Hot 100 and R&B/Hip Hop songs hit.

Other major contenders, who by the way have released some of the best vocally defining records this year, for Best Female Vocal Performance include Jazmine Sullivan, Jennifer Hudson, and Erykah Badu.

Your Turn: Who is deserving of a Grammy and why ? (Even if they're not on this short list please share your thoughts in comments below)

Click Here to see the Official 2009/51st Annual Grammy Award nominees

* Please note: This editorial is purely for review purposes and is not representative of official nominations. All noted artists were reviewed based upon album releases between October 2007 and September 2008. Official nominees will be revealed Wednesday, Dec. 3

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Reader Comments (11) | Post Comment

rihanna can't even sing live f*** her

Anonymous on 5/12/2009 6:50:18 PM

I think think rihanna has got this one... even tho alicia and mary are hot ... rihanna has proven that she is worthy.

Toni on 12/14/2008 7:39:58 AM

alicia keys cant even sing she is phony keysha cole sucks live beyonce played out rihanna is the queen

tasha on 12/12/2008 4:54:58 PM

Alicia Keys is nothing more than an overhyped puppet for Clive Davis.. She did not deserve those 11 grammys she stole from more deserving artist. Mariah .. Mary J Beyonce are our QUEENS .Alicia is dirt and J Records purchased 2.5 million copies of As I Am .. YES they purchased their own product..

As I Am sux on 12/2/2008 11:07:07 PM

Alicia Keys deserves another 5 grammys in one night. She been working so damn hard. I believe she is going to dominate again. She will hold the most Grammys of mainstream artists today. And I don't doubt that she'll win as much as Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder in the future. Rihanna is pop artist and I think she will get a few Grammys too, not record-breaking about amount but some. She has been working hard also. Beyonce obviously didn't plan to part-take in the Grammys this year. She just wanted this album to be amount her art. Jennifer Hudson and Jazmine Sullivan deserve some recognition for their album too. For being two new female artists, there albums are selling like crazy. And the music is good too.

JT on 12/2/2008 10:30:47 PM

MJB ALL THE WAY

R.Dash on 12/2/2008 3:30:24 PM

I am cheering for Mary J Blige . I love her so much . Her music touch me more than anyone else . Maybe she'll win Contemporary R&B album of the year . Go Mary !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

amac on 12/1/2008 9:37:41 PM

The staff at J Records will do everything possible to make sure that Alicia Keys wins every category at the Grammys even "Best Blue Grass Insturmental" Clive Davis is our master and Alicia and the rest of us are his plantation slaves!!!

J Records on 12/1/2008 9:29:17 PM

rihana i love u so much

redman aka mississippi on 12/1/2008 1:18:52 PM

Alicia Keys will dominate the R&B field this year, and she deserves it

callie on 12/1/2008 11:56:11 AM

rihana can only sing mellow songs or edgy songs she only wins for making great singles not really about her voice but for the fact that she is pretty and has a great stylish mary j wins too much but her album was nice i would love to see jennifer hudson win it her album was actually pretty good and girl can sing better than rihana ITS TIME WE CELEBRATE TALENTED ARTIST NOT MOST DRAMA OR MOST POPULAR FOR MAKING CRAPPY MUSIC BUT PURE GENUINE TALENT

bebe on 12/1/2008 11:34:49 AM

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