Her "Classic sound"? Stevie had been performing and writing for years before he hit his classic sound in the early 70's.

Being overly marketed doesn't mean your deep, interesting or a great songwriter. Clive Davis has a product and her name is Alicia Keys and she is a pretty girl who is a classically trained pianist and he has presented her to the world as the next "Roberta Flack" or "the Female Stevie" . She's trying so desperately to turn into what she is being marketed as.....A so called "savior of soul music." Anytime you are labeled as the "next this or that" and you buy into that you're fucked. Sure Prince, Madonna, and Michael borrowed and immulated certain lengends, BUT every single last one of the "HOLY TRINITY" HAD THEIR OWN PERSONALITIES AND WERE "IN CHARGE" OF THEIR OWN SOUND & IMAGE. Can AK play the piano, yes! can she sing, yes! The girl is not even in the same galaxy of "true greatness" or "true genius". Between having her mug at every red carpet event, her lyrically un-imaginative beat-driven songs, her sloppy overly-eager to please performances, and all the uneccessary cheesey PR crap Clive has her doing, I just don't GET A SENSE OF WHO SHE IS. I listened to the "Diary" album twice, I've seen her perform live and I'm just not convinced. She just seems so damn PHONEY to me. I saw her on a tv show once and she said "she wanted to get into writing more provocative lyrics". That tripped me out! You don't plan to be provocative...you either are or you aren't. Stevie Wonder said that "Ordinary People" by John legend was the best song he has heard all year and he wish he'd written it. I don't hear any of "her" idols saying that about her songs. Her songs could be performed by anybody and they are no more or less interesting than any other R&B/Hip Hop songs that's out there. I hope she grows into the person she is aspiring to be, but right now I find her annoying & boring.

If opinion makes me a hater, then I'll just keep sipping my hater-ade until this chick puts out a fierce album that lives up to her hype. When she does, I'll buy it.

Her "Classic sound"? Stevie had been performing and writing for years before he hit his classic sound in the early 70's.

Being overly marketed doesn't mean your deep, interesting or a great songwriter. Clive Davis has a product and her name is Alicia Keys and she is a pretty girl who is a classically trained pianist and he has presented her to the world as the next "Roberta Flack" or "the Female Stevie" . She's trying so desperately to turn into what she is being marketed as.....A so called "savior of soul music." Anytime you are labeled as the "next this or that" and you buy into that you're fucked. Sure Prince, Madonna, and Michael borrowed and immulated certain lengends, BUT every single last one of the "HOLY TRINITY" HAD THEIR OWN PERSONALITIES AND WERE "IN CHARGE" OF THEIR OWN SOUND & IMAGE. Can AK play the piano, yes! can she sing, yes! The girl is not even in the same galaxy of "true greatness" or "true genius". Between having her mug at every red carpet event, her lyrically un-imaginative beat-driven songs, her sloppy overly-eager to please performances, and all the uneccessary cheesey PR crap Clive has her doing, I just don't GET A SENSE OF WHO SHE IS. I listened to the "Diary" album twice, I've seen her perform live and I'm just not convinced. She just seems so damn PHONEY to me. I saw her on a tv show once and she said "she wanted to get into writing more provocative lyrics". That tripped me out! You don't plan to be provocative...you either are or you aren't. Stevie Wonder said that "Ordinary People" by John legend was the best song he has heard all year and he wish he'd written it. I don't hear any of "her" idols saying that about her songs. Her songs could be performed by anybody and they are no more or less interesting than any other R&B/Hip Hop songs that's out there. I hope she grows into the person she is aspiring to be, but right now I find her annoying & boring.

If opinion makes me a hater, then I'll just keep sipping my hater-ade until this chick puts out a fierce album that lives up to her hype. When she does, I'll buy it.

cinnamonjo said:

I'm sorry, do you listen to a variety of music or do you just listen to whatever shit is playing on mainstream radio? Because she is hardly the best thing out there.
[Edited 7/6/05 4:00am]

people are excited about her because she shows a lot of promise; probably more than anything else strutting round these parts nowadays

Dauphin said:

CO-SIGN!!! on that

That's the new Org catchphrse: "This Post Is Classic Me"

A P Diddy spin "We ain't gonna stop posting."

Abdul said:

me too!!

These are some of the same people that think Janet is a goddess. Alicia has more talent than Janet will ever have. Janet can't sing well and only has a few decent dance moves. Her success is because of the great production team of TL & JJ and because she's a Jackson. I like Janet, but I don't see why there is so much hate for Alicia.

me too!!

These are some of the same people that think Janet is a goddess. Alicia has more talent than Janet will ever have. Janet can't sing well and only has a few decent dance moves. Her success is because of the great production team of TL & JJ and because she's a Jackson. I like Janet, but I don't see why there is so much hate for Alicia.

Janet doesn't compare to Alicia in the talent dept. and the reason I brought her up is because of the fact that many people here think Janet is the greatest, when in fact, she's far from it.

Alicia is also still quite young and I'm sure we will get much more from her as the years go on, whereas Janet keeps giving us the same shit over and over.

I never said that this went for me as well. She is an aiiight artist that shows alotta promise-- when the hell did my personal tastes come into it?

Every other person on here is saying why why why-- "why does she get so many grammys, yadda yadda". -- Easy-- she has crossover appeal, she has surburbanites hooked.

I said:



This is in the pop arena-- mainstream pop appeal artists such as the horrid JLO, the christina milians, the ciaras, jojos, whoever's videos is coming on before and after her for those that live and breathe mtv, bet, etc.
In that area, she certainly sticks out.


Personally-- my tastes dont really go for anything recent-- I go for the older r&b, motown, luther, random r kelly, Prince, rick, some early to mid 90s shit, etc...
Last r&b cd i bought before was probably alicia keys' diary-- and before that i cant even remember...prolly jill scott.
[Edited 7/7/05 8:55am]

kisscamille said:

We already covered this, but uh, who here on this thread thinks Janet is the greatest? Please fill me in on that one.

kisscamille said:

Janet has absolutely no relevance to this argument. A lot of people on this board like certain pop stars, but it does not mean they think those pop stars are bona fide musical talents or The Greatest Thing Ever. Regardless of what you think of Janet's music, how in the fuck does it relate to Alicia's?
[Edited 7/7/05 10:43am]

VoicesCarry said:

Christ, you have to be one of the most arguementative people on this site. You know damn well that over the years we have had numerous threads about how great Janet is.

I don't care to argue. I have much better things to do. Have a nice day.

I can bring up the topic of Janet whenever I like!

kisscamille said:

Yeah, Voices, you're not the boss of him!

Her "Classic sound"? Stevie had been performing and writing for years before he hit his classic sound in the early 70's.

Being overly marketed doesn't mean your deep, interesting or a great songwriter. Clive Davis has a product and her name is Alicia Keys and she is a pretty girl who is a classically trained pianist and he has presented her to the world as the next "Roberta Flack" or "the Female Stevie" . She's trying so desperately to turn into what she is being marketed as.....A so called "savior of soul music." Anytime you are labeled as the "next this or that" and you buy into that you're fucked. Sure Prince, Madonna, and Michael borrowed and immulated certain lengends, BUT every single last one of the "HOLY TRINITY" HAD THEIR OWN PERSONALITIES AND WERE "IN CHARGE" OF THEIR OWN SOUND & IMAGE. Can AK play the piano, yes! can she sing, yes! The girl is not even in the same galaxy of "true greatness" or "true genius". Between having her mug at every red carpet event, her lyrically un-imaginative beat-driven songs, her sloppy overly-eager to please performances, and all the uneccessary cheesey PR crap Clive has her doing, I just don't GET A SENSE OF WHO SHE IS. I listened to the "Diary" album twice, I've seen her perform live and I'm just not convinced. She just seems so damn PHONEY to me. I saw her on a tv show once and she said "she wanted to get into writing more provocative lyrics". That tripped me out! You don't plan to be provocative...you either are or you aren't. Stevie Wonder said that "Ordinary People" by John legend was the best song he has heard all year and he wish he'd written it. I don't hear any of "her" idols saying that about her songs. Her songs could be performed by anybody and they are no more or less interesting than any other R&B/Hip Hop songs that's out there. I hope she grows into the person she is aspiring to be, but right now I find her annoying & boring.

If opinion makes me a hater, then I'll just keep sipping my hater-ade until this chick puts out a fierce album that lives up to her hype. When she does, I'll buy it.

MistyCotton said:

Damn! Very well said and on target, as far as I'm concerned. Dig, I saw Alicia at the Wiltern in L.A. right after she won all of those Grammy's for her first album. The place was packed. I left the show thinking "Wow. She won a ton of awards for that?" I was very unmoved. The show was boring as hell. I thought that she was a very young performer and in time, she'll grow. But her hype is muderous and I don't see her living up to it soon. I like Alicia, mainly cuz she can play an instrument.

She can sing

She can play

She can compose

She can look good doing it


Fucking haters! I swear!

blackguitaristz said:

but dude thats just it! i think the main reason most folks on here don't like is cuz of the HYPE. she's not living up to all that she's been claimed to be. is that her fault? no. it aint her fault that her label in the media branded her this that and the other. she never said she was a genious, female stevie and all those things. take her for what she is and forget all the hype. once u do that u can judge on your OWN whether u feel what she's doin or not.

i used to feel the same way. when i heard songs in A minor i was like..she got all this praise for THIS. i was expecting it to be AMAZING, the work of a genious or some shit. i wasn't very impressed with it..still aint, got a few on there i like tho. but then i stopped thinkin bout the hype and gave it a listen with open ears, and i realized it aint that bad. some songs suck ass, but after i let go of the hype i started likin it.

Moonwalkbjrain said:

I still dont think songs in a-minor was nothin to win a grammy over. Sometimes i really think she is carried by her looks-- which isnt her fault, but nontheless they do carry her.

MistyCotton said:

No, your not a hater at all but I don't ever recall Alicia saying anything about wanting to write more provocative lyrics. And I don't agree on your point about her songs being no more or less interesting than other rnb songs. Fallin, IIAGY, Diary, and YDKMN are all extremely well put together songs that couldn't have been performed by anyone other than her. Usher tried to sing it and his voice couldn't even go that high. And what makes Ordinary People so much more better than If I Ain't Got You? I also think that for the most part Alicia is in charge of her own image and sound but I'm pretty sure Clive comes in and says what he thinks is best because of his experience.

I don't agree on those points but I do agree that she tries a little too hard with the performances.

dragondayz said:

Alicia did make that statememt about wanting to "get into writing more provocative lyrics". Which is TRUE. It was one of those quickie interviews on cnn or msnbc. I just happen to catch it channel surfing. They were talking about her poetry book. Then they started talking about her music.

MistyCotton said:

Oh God, she and Jewel need to be shipped off to poetry classes.

VoicesCarry said:

along with:
Ashanti, the biggest offender of them all.

If u wanna be mad about something, be mad about that.
Lord knows y a song with the unparalleled chorus of "Baby..baby baby baby baby..."
became such a commercial success.

VoicesCarry said:

along with:
Ashanti, the biggest offender of them all.

If u wanna be mad about something, be mad about that.
Lord knows y a song with the unparalleled chorus of "Baby..baby baby baby baby..."
became such a commercial success.

cinnamonjo said:

Unfortunately, I fear there is no rehabilitation for Ashanti.

MistyCotton said:

Oh God, she and Jewel need to be shipped off to poetry classes.