Jazmine Sullivan

One Liner: Fantastic voice used for R&B powers

Wikipedia Genre: R&B, soul, pop, reggae

Home: Philly

Poster Position: 3
Both Weekends.  Friday.

Thoughts:  Man, it is too bad that I just went straight from SZA to this gal, because I'm having trouble telling the difference.  Just more R&B with relatively generic beats and great vocals over the top.

She blew up with her first album - 2008's Fearless - which included a number one single as well as one other that made it into the top 40, reached number one on Billboard's R&B/Rap charts, and was certified platinum.  And meanwhile I've never heard of her.  I just have a huge blind spot for R&B in my musical education.  She has since then won two Grammys and a handful of other awards.  When she was 15, she signed with Jive Records, but never released the only album she made for the label.  Through some other music, she met Missy Elliott, who ended up producing her first disc.  The big hit is from that first disc, a great angry breakup track called "Bust Your Windows," with 111.6 million streams.

Huh.  YouTube also has a GLEE performance of this song.  I don't recall that, but of course I watched GLEE like 15 years ago or so.  Again, great vocals, over an uninspiring tune.  I keep hoping it will kick in and become something more, but it just keeps ambling along.

After that first disc, she released three more - 2010's Love Me Back, 2015's Reality Show, and 2021's excellently titled Heaux Tales.  The popular tracks from the most recent disc remind me of fellow Philly gal Tierra Whack.  The top track from that album is "Pick Up Your Feelings," with 55.2 million streams.

Those eyelashes are freaking wild, man.  Yeah, you know, her voice is freaking killer.  Deep and exact and agile and soulful and full of feeling.  Love that sound.  But the song could be some Dionne Warwick thing that I forgot to listen to on the adult contemporary radio station when I was in high school.  I'll absolutely admire her voice, even if the song itself does nothing for me.  Let's get some Tiny Desk going.

Because I'm obviously a rube and just don't get it, and you came here to figure out if she's any good, I figured I'd pull up some reviews as well.    Pitchfork called the new album Best New Music, saying: "On her fourth album, Jazmine Sullivan contends with all that can be lost and gained through sex and love. She is in full command of her spectacular voice and totally delivers on an ambitious concept."  Rolling Stone says: "Sullivan’s stunning vocal range is well-documented. She was a contestant on Showtime at the Apollo at the age of 11, singing better than most adults. And she’s particularly gifted at modulating her voice. Heaux Tales finds the singer at her most dexterous."  (but they also say "The title is itself a reclamation, an insult recast as an honorific. Your Heauxness." which is hella cringe).

So, she is well-recognized as having an amazing voice and good lyricism.  If you are at all into the R&B genre, then it seems like you should go see her and then SZA on Friday night to complete your powerful singer bingo card.