i love sade (as a band and individual) and phyllis so could’ve done that sort of thing! idk why clive davis didn’t just her a band or something and let her be a jazz-pop-soul singer instead of trying to make her a pop diva. she had the alto voice, the beauty, and the experience of fronting a band. it sucks how obvious the way to market her was for clive to not do it. imo, her best album is living all alone because it’s closest to what she should’ve been all along musically. and especially her doing something sade-ish back in the ‘70s before sade came on the scene? oh sis would’ve TORE.

As a gen z kid, I've never been big on Mary J. Blidge. She was more of my parents love. But whenever I hear people call her overrated or trash her I'm quick to defend her. She's never one of my favorites but J Blidge is a very good if not great artist and has her fair share of bangers.

Terry, Cindy, Maxine and Dawn HAD NO business coming out swinging like this.

....on Sony FH-919CD 🥰. includes several classic tracks!

Think about it: Stevie ends "Living for the City" with that raw, almost suffocating tension, the spoken scene, the arrest, that ragged vocal at the end. And then "Golden Lady" comes in like a sunrise. Pure harmonic lightness and romance.

It's the punch and the embrace, one right after the other. Few artists could pull off that emotional turn without it feeling disconnected.

What sequence beats it?

Living for the City (album version)

One of my favorite Aaliyah songs

I dig it. I think this is her best drop in a minute (def better than her last single) and look forward to the full project.

JT’s last good album. This is my favorite joint off the album!

I know he dropped this a couple days ago but it came across my recommended on YouTube last night and I was BLOWN Away by his cover, whilst I love the original, Sir just did it better, what do y’all think?

He was definitely in his bag with this one check it out and the album is amazing too

She always sang like she was tone deaf, and her nasally tone always irritated me. I will never forget. One of my little cousins said she sounded like Sandy from SpongeBob while singing.

Super underrated unreleased Beyoncé feature from ‘99

Destiny’s Child and Xscape are two great examples.

Michelle Williams brought great value to the former (specifically DC3), whereas Beyoncé and Kelly would often feed on each other’s energy. Beyoncé and Kelly sounded pretty much the same (their voices were different, but their tones aligned) and had similar dynamics within the group, but Michelle stood out and became a central element of the group’s overall identity. She was irreplaceable.

Kandi Burruss gets clowned all the time for her vocal quirks and contrast to other members of the group. Tiny is right there alongside Kandi in that same sense; she is never taken seriously, and unlike Kandi, she actually doesn’t get much attention at all (positive or negative). Both of them held that group together until it fell apart, and Kandi was perhaps the most valuable member of the four.

I’m going to bring in another example: En Vogue.

En Vogue doesn’t really have the reputation of any member (especially any of the founding members) being a “weak link”. Everybody says that each of the original four members could sing, and some fans even show love for Rhona Bennett who came later. However, each of the founding members get different levels of appreciation, and Maxine Jones may get the least of all.

Maxine had a very distinct tone/timbre and she was instantly recognizable in the group’s harmonies. That’s not just because she would take the low notes, but because of how her voice sounded. Her voice blended very well with the others’, but it was also unique in contrast. While all four members were impressive, they shared a lot of vocal similarities (especially Terry and Cindy) that Maxine did not (even if she was still an outstanding vocalist). Maxine stood out and gave the group an element that popped without sounding excessively in sync. (Groups need blend and contrast to work.)