I have loved Sade since 1984. I have all the albums and videos. I have some bootlegs. I have seen her live. Like all her worshippers, I wait pateintly for years between her albums. They have never falied to merit the wait - until now. WhenI downloaded Soldier of Love, I though i would be playing it non stop for the mext month. Oddly enough, I find myself listening to Bria instead. I liked her album from themoment I heard it but I figured - like most of Prince's babes - it would not stick or showing any staying power with me. THen I would find myself logging onto the site to stream it on my office comupter. Adn them I picked up the CD package - with the 2 Prince CDs still in it! - and actually chose hers to slide into my Rockford Fosgate car CD system.

The Sade record is a snoozer after 3 tracks - unlike all of her prior albums.
[Edited 2/22/10 12:24pm]

Brofie said:

Good choice, it really is a nice CD. Truley 2 nite is a hot dance song to dance to. I think.

I've listened to Bria's album twice and I know I will never listen to it again.

Sade's latest is awesome. Sophisticated, beautiful music. Not boring in the least IMO. Each song is different and her voice is better than ever.

Sade's album is on top. Her voice is distinctive, she's very original, and her style cannot be duplicated, because she owns it. The music behind her singing works well with her voice, and she captivates you with the lyrics and her smooth, jazzy style. A classy, original artist. Thank goodness for Sade.

As far as Bria, unfortunately because she's never performed live, it is difficult to judge her as a serious artist. She would do better as a smooth jazz artist, rather than a pop/r&b artist. Her track "All This Love" would have done well, if promoted to a smooth jazz station. Her dance track "2night" would have done okay if it was promoted to the clubs. But until she comes out and makes a name for herself, she will not be known as an artist to anyone, other than to Prince fans who purchased the LF album. I mean even if Prince let her sing as a backup singer at one of his shows, at least, people would hear her sing something live.

Sade did not achieve fame by not performing live, she had to get out there to let the world know who "Sade" was/is, so it doesn't matter which album is compared to "Sade's", because "Sade" is a well-established artist who made a name for herself for writing good music, performing live, touring, creating albums, and selling that gift to the public, which is why she is a highly-respected artist today, because many of her fans love(d) what she has brought to the table as an artist over the years.

Why Bria hasn't made a public appearance to sing live is quite puzzling, seeing how she had her own cd, promoted by an international, well-known artist, yet hasn't sang at any of his shows as a backup singer or live as an individual artist. As far as criticism about her singing, every artist faces that, it is part of the package that comes along with being an artist. It's the risks you take to achieve your dream of being a singer. The only way that dream could be realized/achieved is if you take those risks or you'll never know what could have been.
[Edited 2/22/10 13:32pm]

I like Bria album I wish she sang live.
As for Sade the album is amazing there's a reason she is number one
at the music charts she's unique no has that amazing voice looking forward to see her on tour

2elijah said:

Your right. Now one can say at least I went for my dream, not what I wanted to do or didn't do.

Huggs @ cha!

^ Exactly. Your dream can only be realized and your potential tested, if you take the risk of "making it happen." You have to have as much courage to face success and as much to deal with failures, despite the fear of criticism and the pain that sometimes comes along with it. Criticism whether it be harsh or constructive, will be around until the end of time, and you can't allow that to deter you from achieving your dream or goals. There's really not much one can do to stop the criticism from others. You just have to learn how to "throw the criticism over your shoulder", learn from it, pull up yur bootstraps and and keep your life moving regardless.

I also have to say that being a Sade fan, I was recently listening to songs from one of Sade's previous albums around the time the LF cd came out. What I did notice though is that Bria's song "Immersion" somehow reminded me of Sade's single "Tatoo", musicwise, which I found to be a surprising comparison
[Edited 2/22/10 13:31pm]

LOVEVERY1 said:

I was disappointed with Sade's new CD. It put me in a weird mood. Cherish the day, By your side etc....Sade has some great songs I love but this new one is different and darker. I agree there are better songs on Elixer, more sexy electricity & spark.

shytown said:

Actually, Sade has always had a mystique about her and her music;that is what makes her "unique" and "original", which is why she is so loved and respected as an artist. You can't really compare an established artist who has a longtime and classic catalogue, to an artist, (and this is no disrespect towards Bria at all, as I stated there were a few tracks on her album that was listenable) that has never sung live, to give a fair view of her as an artist, nor can anyone get upset with fans who purchased the LF cd, with her cd included and being promoted with an established, well-known international artist, but yet fans have never heard her sing live, but contributed in supporting her, by purchasing the cd that was included in the LF package.

If you listen to the lyrics of Sade's catalogue, and the music behind it, you pay attention to the lyrics and the beautiful music supporting it. Not every artist can do that. How many times have you've heard fans say, they like the music of a particular song of an artist, but don't really pay attention to the words or the meaning of the lyrics? Thing is with Sade, her lyrics/music relates to the emotions of many of her fans. Sade's lyrics forces you to pay attention to what she is saying; the emotions that flow in those words and take you where she wants you to go. Now that's real music, one that touches the soul, your emotions, your spirit, and captivates you with the words and the musicianship.

If Bria ever sings live, where it can be fairly determined what her style really is, then maybe I could compare her style with other artists or can show us that she has her own originality.

The track "Elixir" is a sexy song, probably not to be played in front of the kids, because it screams "sex" and "making babies" all over it. A song that could be played during a "quiet storm" moment on the radio or in the bedroom with the lights are down. In my opinion, "All This Love" could have gone far if promoted to "smooth jazz stations", and that track sort of reminds you of Prince's song "Dorothy Parker". "Something You Already Know" is another pretty good track, but could have been sped up the beat just a bit though, and that's just some constructive criticism. Its not too late to promote both of these tracks on a smooth jazz station.

Anyway, when Bria decides to sing live and give listeners a chance to actually hear her out of the studio, then and only then will people take her seriously as a true artist.
[Edited 2/22/10 17:13pm]

This is from the New York times
Sade’s Comeback Succeeds With Quiet Application of Old-School Approach




By BEN SISARIO
Published: February 17, 2010
How do you make it to No. 1 on the Billboard chart? Sade’s strategy: take a decade off and remain mysterious.


Sade, appearing on “The View,” is No. 1 on the Billboard charts
.

More Arts News
Last week Sade, the Nigerian-born singer whose song “Smooth Operator” has been a radio staple for a quarter-century, released “Soldier of Love” (Epic), her first album in 10 years, and it zoomed past all competition. It reached No. 1 with a remarkable 502,000 sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a better debut week than Jay-Z, U2 and Britney Spears had for their latest albums.

“Soldier of Love” has received strong reviews. But the album’s success also points to the consumer power and loyalty of older listeners, who helped make Susan Boyle’s album “I Dreamed a Dream” (Syco Music/Columbia) the second-best selling album of 2009. No. 1 was “Fearless” Taylor Swift (Big Machine).

“It’s easier to reach an older, more traditional consumer by using the old means of promotion,” said Carl Mello, buyer for Newbury Comics, a music and media chain in New England. “You can build awareness with younger people, but fewer of them will actually put their hand in their wallets and pay for it.”

“Soldier of Love,” Sade’s first No. 1 album in 24 years, runs contrary to prevailing sales trends. Her previous album, “Lovers Rock,” sold 370,000 copies in its first week in 2000. Since then overall album sales have dropped by more than 50 percent, and most artists have gotten used to the pattern of gradual sales erosion; Sade’s sales — at least for this first week — have increased significantly.

She is not the only R&B artist to have come back recently from a long absence with a splash, however. Last year Maxwell, gone for eight years, came back at No. 1 with “BLACKsummers’night,” as did Whitney Houston, whose “I Look to You” was her first since 2002.

To promote her new album, Sade said little but sang much. She performed on “Today,” “The View” and “Late Show With David Letterman” but gave very few interviews. That reticence — which goes against every rule in the current pop-marketing playbook — may have worked to her advantage on the radio, said Doc Wynter, vice president of urban programming for Clear Channel Radio.

“The audience was really thirsting to hear more of her music,” he said. “I was particularly surprised when a number of our mainstream stations that play hip-hop and R&B gravitated to the song as well. The beat is timeless, and she’s just got that X factor that makes people curious.”

Also on this week’s chart Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” (Capitol Nashville) falls to No. 2 with 208,000, and Lil Wayne’s “Rebirth” (Cash Money/Universal) drops two spots to No. 4 with 89,000 sales. Several new albums charted high: Jaheim’s “Another Round” (Atlantic) opened at No. 3 with 112,000, Josh Turner’s “Haywire” (Mercury Nashville) is No. 5 with 85,000, and “Tonight” (ForeFront) by the Christian rapper TobyMac is No. 6 with 79,000.

On the singles chart the remake of “We Are the World” opened at No. 2, behind Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok,” which holds at No. 1 for the ninth week in a row.

Sign in to RecommendMore Articles in Arts » A version of this article appeared in print on February 18, 2010, on page C3 of the New York edition. Sign In to E-

Maybe if we heard Bria sing on stage than we can compare the two. We didn't get that chance... So you know
[Edited 2/22/10 17:10pm]

Brofie said:

I can't listen to Sade's new album. It's all depression, no love songs. Bria's album is mediocre which I know on the Prince side chicks scale makes it pretty good.

what can you say here. Distinctive voice with introspective lyrics, or an album full of mostly mediocre songs and lyrics with a voice I could find by pulling a random girl from a crowd. Maybe Bria should try to arrange opening for Sade. That could be a great marketing move...

I agree that Bria's album is 'easier' listening than Sade's in the sense that it is truly 'easy listening' i.e. you could put it on as background noise at a dinner party or something, whereas I would actually *listen* to Sade's.

I think the poster is not talking about artistic merit, however more so on songwriting and sound.

I did listen to Sade's album and ..to me alot of the songs kind of sound the same after a while. I do love her, however I never bought an album (except for the Greatest Hits collection) because she never really fit my style of music (more uptempo funk music / alternative). I just find Bria's Elixer a bit more catchy and upbeat in places.

LOVEVERY1 said:

[Edited 2/23/10 21:35pm]

SugarnSpice said:

2elijah said:

As they say "Don't let not one monkey stop ur show". I think both ladies are talented in their own way.

Love you 2day!!

oh please.

Sade >>>>> Prince's latest whore.

Brofie said:

Sade's album is ok... not as captivating as previous albums, and I agree with the melancholy comment. Its much less romantic than melancholic.

As for comparing this album to Bria's, I like the range of styles Prince gave Bria. And her album pops with 3-4 nice tracks and the rest kinda just mellows you out. Soldier of Love just kinda takes u from one slow track to the next to the next to the next until you're thinking of slitting your wrist.

I think "All this Love" would sound great with Sade singing it (and it would pick up her album from all the sad slowness).

lezama said:

Sade is original, an established artist, who is a well-respected artist, because of her style. She owns her image/singing style, and has a cool mystique in her presence and in her voice, that spells "Sade". In my opinion, it is difficult to compare any other artist to her Sade. Sade's music pulls you in. You feel the emotions and the beauty in her songs; the beautiful music behind it. The only artist that comes close to Sade is Norah Jones to be honest in my opinion.

Bria's album is okay for a first cd. "Everytime" has a bosonova beat and should have been promoted to a smooth jazz station; "All This Love" is for a smooth jazz station, and "Something You Already Know" is another track for a smooth jazz station. "2night" is a club track, and the only track with an upbeat sound on it. "Elixir"...well...let's just say, that's for the bedroom.

Criticism is part of the game when it comes to an artist's work, as you can see all over this site, in the music related forums. Some harsh/some constructive, but it's the public that you are dealing with so there will always be people that like an artists' work and some that don't--it goes with the package, and even if one single or album gets lack luster reviews, doesn't mean it's the end of the world or the end of an artist's career. Those artists who are strong enough to handle the various criticisms of their music, will be the ones that last the longest. Just my two cents.
[Edited 2/25/10 19:00pm]

Never in a million years.

2elijah said:

True that...

What I want to know is, is this thread starter a "character" or does this person really feel the way he/she posts or is this an attempt to get amusement out of "trolling"?

sosgemini said:

if you take a look at this person's posts in other forums, I think you would see for yourself the type of poster he is.

Vendetta1 said:

i'm too lazy...help a brotha out.

Vendetta1 said:

Never.

Prince said himself, out of his own mouth that he mis-spoke when comparing Bria to Sade.

Sade is an undisputable legend. She has earned her stripes and has legions of fans all around the world. Who else can put out an album, disappear for 10 years, live her life and then resurface to willing and waiting adoring fans?

People need to try and understand that artists sing when they are inspired. Sade's newest album is darker than her last albums, but she is a mature singer now. She sings from her life, her experiences or the experiences of other people in her life.

Sade knows that the music business is corrupt and she chooses to deal with it in her own terms.....with a very long handled spoon. She is a poet and the great thing about a true artist is that the songs are designed to make us think about things differently. That is what fresh and NEW music is all about.