I say no, simply because that movement was all over by the time she came out. Plus she is nowhere near as talented as any of those artists

Hell no.

I don't consider anyone "neo" anything. "Neo" means "new" and there isn't any "new" genre of music. And there hasn't been any new genres in a long, long time.

So I'd consider Alicia Keys as a soul singer.

Yeah, no-soul

[Edited 11/14/12 5:05am]

Nah. Possibly, you could say that around the time of her second album she courted that audience a bit, by adopting a more 'retro' sound and image. But I'd peg her as a pop R&B act.

P.O.P.

deebee said:

'You don't know my name' which is the only track of hers im crazy about can be considered neo-soul.

Agree, Alicia Keys is a POP R&B act and at times I just consider her to be POP but technically I would categorize her as more R&B with albums like Diary of Alicia Keys.

I dont see how anybody would define her as neo soul.... not to mention there is nothing soul about her...

I really digged her style and vibe when she was like this

Kinda sad to see how a descent artist who had potential to grow turn into a Pop water down R&B act. I think the Grammys give her all those awards because they consider her the the more serious artist out of the Rihannas, Beyonces, Perrys, etc but even still her music is just very bland and souless.

[Edited 11/14/12 6:40am]

re being watered down, you can blame Clive for that

RodeoSchro said:

I don't consider anyone "neo" anything. "Neo" means "new" and there isn't any "new" genre of music. And there hasn't been any new genres in a long, long time.

So I'd consider Alicia Keys as a soul singer.

Not, really. "Neo" means "new" in the sense of some older ideals being revived and modified for the modern times (as in "neoclassical", "neofolk" and, well, "neo-nazi").

Yeah, I consider Alicia Keys "neosoul" in the sense that her music refers to some of the poppier soul stuff from past decades: Motown ("Teenage Love Affair"), the soul music done during the disco era ("Wreckless Love") and some early-80s stuff ("No One").

A lot of her stuff is not that far removed from Maxwell either, if we're honest about it.

maybe on her 1st album release, but she is now POP.

Absoultelu not.

alphastreet said:

deebee said:

Nah. Possibly, you could say that around the time of her second album she courted that audience a bit, by adopting a more 'retro' sound and image. But I'd peg her as a pop R&B act.

I loved this album too. The rest was pop

Yeah, that was the best album to me - although I am quite fond of a few of the more pop-oriented singles that followed, I must confess.

RodeoSchro said:

I don't consider anyone "neo" anything. "Neo" means "new" and there isn't any "new" genre of music. And there hasn't been any new genres in a long, long time.

So I'd consider Alicia Keys as a soul singer.

Yep. On the record, I consider Alicia a pop singer (especially at this point).

mjscarousal said:

Agree, Alicia Keys is a POP R&B act and at times I just consider her to be POP but technically I would categorize her as more R&B with albums like Diary of Alicia Keys.

I dont see how anybody would define her as neo soul.... not to mention there is nothing soul about her...

I really digged her style and vibe when she was like this

Kinda sad to see how a descent artist who had potential to grow turn into a Pop water down R&B act. I think the Grammys give her all those awards because they consider her the the more serious artist out of the Rihannas, Beyonces, Perrys, etc but even still her music is just very bland and souless.

[Edited 11/14/12 6:40am]

She was like the millennium version of Patrice Rushen in that picture at least...

Call me crazy, but I think these type of tracks are closer to classic 60s and 70s soul than most of the stuff by Maxwell, D'angelo or Erykah Badu. They may be pop melodies from another perspective, but so is most everything written by Stevie Wonder. Strong melodies sung with emotion and arrangements that are faithful to the instrumentation used on classic soul albums.

She sure as hell is more soul music oriented than Prince.

[Edited 11/14/12 9:16am]

novabrkr said:

Call me crazy, but I think these type of tracks are closer to classic 60s and 70s soul than most of the stuff by Maxwell, D'angelo or Erykah Badu. They may be pop melodies from another perspective, but so is most everything written by Stevie Wonder. Strong melodies sung with emotion and arrangements that are faithful to the instrumentation used on classic soul albums.

She sure as hell is more soul music oriented than Prince.

[Edited 11/14/12 9:16am]

lol so she's like a Motowner in that regard.

Timmy84 said:

mjscarousal said:

Agree, Alicia Keys is a POP R&B act and at times I just consider her to be POP but technically I would categorize her as more R&B with albums like Diary of Alicia Keys.

I dont see how anybody would define her as neo soul.... not to mention there is nothing soul about her...

I really digged her style and vibe when she was like this

Kinda sad to see how a descent artist who had potential to grow turn into a Pop water down R&B act. I think the Grammys give her all those awards because they consider her the the more serious artist out of the Rihannas, Beyonces, Perrys, etc but even still her music is just very bland and souless.

[Edited 11/14/12 6:40am]

She was like the millennium version of Patrice Rushen in that picture at least...

It wasnt so much just specifically her look but it was her attitude and aura. She AT THE TIME didnt seem like she wanted to fit in to what was mainstream despite getting buzz from her first album but obviously she of course succumbed to it but I will admit I at least respect that she didnt rely on her looks and saling sex to garner attention, despite being naturally attractive, she still hasnt really went that route till this day and I respect that.

novabrkr said:

Call me crazy, but I think these type of tracks are closer to classic 60s and 70s soul than most of the stuff by Maxwell, D'angelo or Erykah Badu. They may be pop melodies from another perspective, but so is most everything written by Stevie Wonder. Strong melodies sung with emotion and arrangements that are faithful to the instrumentation used on classic soul albums.

She sure as hell is more soul music oriented than Prince.

[Edited 11/14/12 9:16am]

You are crazy

No.

I see her as an r&b artist with strong pop influences with the occasional tinge of hip-hop influences.

Ottensen said:

No.

I see her as an r&b artist with strong pop influences with the occasional tinge of hip-hop influences.

novabrkr said:

RodeoSchro said:

I don't consider anyone "neo" anything. "Neo" means "new" and there isn't any "new" genre of music. And there hasn't been any new genres in a long, long time.

So I'd consider Alicia Keys as a soul singer.

Not, really. "Neo" means "new" in the sense of some older ideals being revived and modified for the modern times (as in "neoclassical", "neofolk" and, well, "neo-nazi").

You're right and I'm wrong. So I guess I would consider her "neo-soul". Excellent point, thanks!

Hell no, she was never neo-soul and the fact that she wanted to be this virtuos artist and would be the salvation of the early 00s r&b scene was just fabricated (She was never talented like Patricia Rushen and all the other ppl she was compared to in the early 00s) . I like her 2 first albums, I bought them when I was a kid (and I still enjoy some songs) but she was never really a good performer like Beyoncé (I think Beyoncé is a much more entertaining artist on stage than Alicia, just watch the clip of when Beyonce comes on stage with Alicia and she takes over). Alicia never grew or explored more with her music, which I find strange if she was this virtuoso pianist. Did anyone see the performance of hers on the EMAs?

So to answer the original question, no Alicia Keys is not Neo-soul, nor a soul singer, she's a pop/R&B singer.

Alicia Keys was never neo soul. For anything, she was always the Whitney Houston of piano playing.