Thanks to studio wizardry these days, pretty much anyone can put out a hit single. All it takes is a little vocal ability, some self confidence and good producers to tweak the product until it sounds just right. And so any new R&B singer coming out these days is bound to face questions about whether they can really sing. Well, on her debut album, The Bridge, which was released via iTunes on Oct. 20, 2009 and will be available everywhere else Nov. 10, Toronto singer Melanie Fiona shows us that although her first hit single, "Give it to Me Right" benefits from great production, her voice is the true star of the show.
Like a Veteran
"Give it to Me Right," a highly addictive song about a woman needing a man who who knows how to properly handle his business in the bedroom, is driven by a sample of "Time of the Season" by '60s psychedelic pop group The Zombies. The song, which is sexy without being too sexual and gets a point across without being crass or vulgar, is definitely the album's main event, but is also just one of several quality tracks on The Bridge. In addition to "Give it to Me Right," other highlights include the sexy "Bang Bang," the catchy doo-wop sound of "Please Don't Go (Cry Baby)" and the Caribbean-influenced "Ay Yo." Impressively, despite this being her debut release, Melanie displays the confidence and vocal talent of a veteran on many of the album's 12 tracks.
But despite all that's good with the album, it's not flawless. Although Melanie has a strong voice, she sounds a little too much like a Canadian version of Keyshia Cole on some tracks, particularly "Ay Yo." The main difference between the two singers, though, is Keyshia's brand of R&B is more Hip-Hop influenced, while Melanie's is rooted in Soul.
Bold, Sassy
Another problem is that a few tracks on the album are just sort of ... there. Her voice is somewhat flat on "Sad Songs," a Keyshia-soundalike track that suffers from some off production choices. And "Teach Him," which pairs Melanie's strong, assertive voice with mellow acoustic guitar work, doesn't quite work as well as it should. But the main problem just might be that instead of harnessing her gift for Soul and sticking to that genre, the album's producers give her songs to work with that are out of her creative element. When she sticks to bold, sassy material like "Give it to Me Right," things go well, but her ballads and the pop material on the album just doesn't suit her rich, bold voice.
Fortunately, there's plenty of other songs that showcase her strong vocal talent and songwriting ability. On The Bridge, Melanie Fiona proves that she's the real deal when it comes to singing. Hopefully her next album will be more of a cohesive package of pop-influenced Soul music and not just a collection of pop/R&B/Soul songs that were thrown together.
