John Legend is one of the most overrated artists of all time. He's an absolute snoozefest! Alicia Keys is probably a little overrated too. India.Arie doesn't get enough credit, in my opinion.

Here is what I think

1.I have always referred to John Legend as the "Black Tony Bennett". To me he is a lounge singer, disguised as a soul singer...Bores me to tears. His brother, who is one of his backup singers, is by far the better singer. Grade: Overrated

2. When it comes to India.arie, She is just as boring. No stage presence what so ever and hides behind inferior material. Grade: Overrated

3. Ne-Yo, is a better writer than he is a singer. He, like Baby Face, have that ability to write from the other person's,(male and female) perspective. As much as some might hate, "Irreplaceable", I think it is one of the best things that he has ever written, aside from "Do U". To me, both songs capture the emotion of the person singing it, so you can relate to them. Grade: Underrated in my opinion.

4. I think Alicia gets a bad rap. She seems to be caught in the middle of staying true to her classical and R&B/hip hop roots. Because of this, she can come across as inconsistent and boring. There are some that will say that she is the most untalented and overrated singer of the new millennium. I don't think this is the case. While some of her material lacks the.."UMPH" that people so desperately want, she is an artist and there are some that play what they are feeling at that moment, you cannot fault her for that. She has also done allot for those kids coming up, who have not been exposed to classical music. I think this is a good thing. Grade: Underrated.

I don't own a damn thing by one of them.

(except India as she appears on Stevie's 'A Time 2 Love')

Ne-Yo ran that whole BET MJ traves..tribute...and if it wasn't for him it would have tanked even harder than it did. Underrated!

John Legend...highly underrated, but concur he needs better material or to get back working with Kanye and OutKast!

Alica Keys...right now overrated, but if she got back to her first album she would be just right but her last 2 smell like doo doo roses.

India Arie....ROBBED!!! She's amazing!

They all take themselves too seriously and should get a reality check. Whassup with John Legend using the "Legend" stage name when he isn´t really a legend?How vain is that? That guy bores me to no end, he makes the kind of music that German housewives in their mid-40s find sexy.
Alicia Keys may or may not be talented, I don´t know...what I do know is that the speech she gave for Prince at the RRHOF ( the one that Prince has been using constantly in the past four years as an intro to his shows) annoyed the hell out of me, and still does, and I don´t like the way she shakes her ass and her choreography and piano schtick in general.....so annoying. Either shake that ass properly or simply don´t do it at all. Or sit down. Her part in the Empire State of Mind video by Jay-Z is the epitome of corny. Sit down girl, or shake that ass in a a way that is acceptable, not like in that stupid video.

I find her music boring. She had and still has potential to grow but...I don´t know.

India Arie has everything that I don´t like about Erykah Badu in a multiplied potency....I mean, I really, really like Erykah but she sometimes acts as if she knows everything and comes up with some weird shit, all esoteric and stuff, as if we know nothing, and most of the time she makes a fool of herself..but India Arie....? Please.
I think she has talent and could come up with some decent music, no doubt about that, but I hate that pseudo all-natural, not-shaving-my-legs attitude and boring music of her.Who cares? Music should be at least a little bit entertaining.....I am a bit bored by India, Erykah, Angie Stone, Jill Scott and all them new soul ladies. They come across as if they´re deep when in reality they are far from it.


Neyo is a good songwriter and makes half decent music but is too young and immature for me to waste my time on. But I bet he will get much better with time.

I like India.Arie, but she's taking a very folky almost acoustic route lately and I missed a bigger sound from her - like just having a band. Yes, it's cute that you shaved your head, and you can play guitar, but shit.....hire some musicians! The "Music In High Places" was one of the best things she'd done to that point.

Ne-Yo seems to write better songs for other people than himself. I have no real interest in him.

John Legend - SNORE.

Alicia Keys - http://prince.org/msg/8/326248 She ain't gettin' no love over there, and for good reasonS.

1 - ne-yo - kind of a who cares.
2 - john legend - totally overrated. people were interested for 5 minutes, but they are pretty much done.
3 - alicia keys - by far the most overrated.
4 - india arie - shes the one who get no love!

All I have to say is that India.Arie is underrated!!!

DanceWme said:

I agree.

Vendetta1 said:

If she drank some coffee and wrote a different song, I might agree.

To think, I bought her first two albums.

sosgemini said:

I love her first two albums.

I like Ne-Yo he tries different things and is not afraid of experimenting with different genres i.e. closer. But he is a bit of a sap in person.

India Arie - kinda lost with me with 'I am not my hair', but she's ok.

Alicia Keys - is at her peak (in terms of popularity and success) so it is inevitable people will call her overrated. The only song I really like of hers is 'you don't know my name' (and ‘empire state of mind’ if that counts) - her lyrics to other songs seem pretty juvenile even though they are attempting to sound deep i.e. "some people want it all, but I don't want nothing at all if I aint go you..."

RnBAmbassador said:

Yes, Yes, Yes, and no not really.

For anything, India.arie is only guilty for not being promoted as hard as Alicia is

they all except indie is overrated and most they hyped themselves up cuz john legend got hyped up that year he got all them grammy nods,neyo just hypes himself up every chance he get,alicia is ok singer and b/c she plays an instrument people wanna hype her up which 2 me every song she write is in the same key its like she need 2 educate herself musically and indie dont get no credit at all

Vendetta1 said:

So do I.

Ne-Yo I think he is not overrated. He wrote a few hits, had 2 fair albums & they just labeled him as they do every Neo-Soul artist(s) when they do very well.

John Legend I really do not see him as overrated. He seems to stick to his own format & has a variety of fans. You really cannot label him to one sound. The name Legend is more overrated than the name John.

Alicia Keys I think she is overrated because of the media & everyone who labeled her when she first came out. Alicia to me gets a bad rap about her music no matter what she puts out. I do think she is talented. Some people judge her too much & is caught up with all the hype about her that started in the begining of her career. I think she has dealt with this pretty well considering she is still putting out cds that sale.

Indie Arie Is the only one on this list that i definitely see as underrated. She is very talented & has been over looked. The only reason is because she does not have that look the industry wants to sale cds.

[Edited 12/29/09 12:46pm]

Who cares?

I love John Legend's first two albums, didn't love the last one.

I adore Alicia's first two albums and her Unplugged. I like As I Am and I really don't feel like listening to her last album.

India.Arie is probably one of the most talented people in R&B today. Her music is very special.

Oh, and I don't think Ne-Yo is underrated mainly because I don't pay attention to what he does

Alej said:

I had the first one and completely forgot I owned it, the second one was alright

The recent one was cool, but John Legend in general puts me to a sleep faster than Roofie on prom night

Ne-Yo is underrated AND overrated in a way. He's overrated because the songs he releases as singles are played to the point you don't like them (So Sick, When You're Mad) but he has album tracks that are really strong

John Legend.....
ZZZZZ.....


Alicia- Overrated because her music is boring. I'd still smash though

India- hasn't been on my radar since that lame ass song with Akon

Of course they overrated compare to most of the artists that are posted on this site daily I do enjoy Ne-Yo though but he's not the greatest

Ne-yo overrated as a singer but rated as a songwriter so stick to the writing.

John Legend shows glimmers of being rated but then gets lost in the snoozefest, as someone said he has become some what of a lounge singer . . . what a waste!!

Alicia Keys, I have so tried to like this chick but each project just leaves me blank . . . overrated much!!

India Arie, loved the 1st album but recall her saying in one of her early interviews that if she had her way it would be just her & her guiter. the moment she said that I thought hmmmm this will be the one & only decent album we get from you . . . & I was right everything else after her debut has been step away from all the acoustic stuff & id rate her
[Edited 12/29/09 13:31pm]

bboy87 said:

His debut album is fabulous The second one was better but I still like the first bettah.

I only liked It's Over and Quickly off the last album

RnBAmbassador said:

they are ALL overrated except for Ne Yo.

bboy87 said:

Alicia got ass and hip for days.

India Arie is underrated
Alicia keys gets her props as she should her new cd is great
John Legend is a total lounge singer lol why he has a record dea is beyond me

Ne-Yo: Rated
Alicia Keys: Rated
India.Arie: Underrated
John Legend: Overrated, or not being rated at all.

I can't STAND Alicia.

John is very vanilla to me.

India I'm still undecided on.

Ne-Yo fuckin rules.

Vendetta1 said:

i could smash her on the top of her own piano