Review: Adina Howard - 'Private Show'

Back when Adina Howard had her first and biggest radio hit, the anthemic "Freak Like Me," in 1995, it was pretty obvious to almost everyone not named Adina Howard that she was going to be a one-hit wonder. But despite a career that has steadily sunk for a dozen years, Adina has persevered and managed to somehow stay afloat. But on her latest album, Private Show, she puts on full display the exact reasons why she hasn't been successful since the mid-90s: a mediocre singing voice, a played-out sexual gimmick, a lack of charisma and a stunning dearth of originality.

Throughout her career, Adina Howard has literally played the 'ho role: on songs like "T-Shirt & Panties," "Nasty Grind," and "My Up and Down," Adina has been about as unambiguous about her sexual nature as a female singer can get. But, like an aging prostitute, Adina's act now seems more sad than sexy. And since sexuality is what her entire career has been based on, this is indeed bad, bad news for her.

If she actually had singing talent, then Adina might actually be still relevant in the music game, but her wafer-thin vocal range, inability to emote and lack of charisma - three things that any true singer needs - completely derail her music.

On "Adjust Your Mental," the spoken-word intro that kicks off Private Show, Adina promises to "seduce your ears, arouse your curiosity and stimulate your senses" on the album. Then on the next song, "Picture This," she begins failing to live up to her word by singing shallow, uninspired lyrics like "Picture this, me on top, riding, riding, riding," over and over again. She continues this theme on songs like the soon-to-be strippers' anthem "Tease," and the album's two solid, catchy tracks, the energetic "Phone Sex" and "L.O.V.A."

On a few songs, Adina deviates from all her usual hyper-sexuality to explore other themes, such as on "Stole On," which is a ridiculous tough-girl tale reminiscent of Brooke Valentine's "Girlfight;" and "Doin' 80," a song about a cheating' boyfriend that's a direct swaggerjack of Usher circa his 2004 Confessions album. And in fact, the production on many of the album's song is dated; it's clear by listening to it that Adina recorded some of these songs at least a few years ago.

So the bottom line is: Adina Howard is a barely-talented singer with a played-out sex gimmick. And Private Show exposes - or rather, further reinforces - what she truly is.