July 20, 201114 yr Well as expected it's largely very average. Down For Whatever is a total, shameless On The Floor rip-off (which probably explains why it's also a Jennifer Lopez reject). I'm That Chick is my new least favourite song of the year by anyone. AWFUL. Feelin' Me Right Now and Turn It Up are half-decent. 6/10 overall.
July 20, 201114 yr Well as expected it's largely very average. Down For Whatever is a total, shameless On The Floor rip-off (which probably explains why it's also a Jennifer Lopez reject). I'm That Chick is my new least favourite song of the year by anyone. AWFUL. Feelin' Me Right Now and Turn It Up are half-decent. 6/10 overall. Oh I love I'm Dat Chick :kink: ("dat"??? really Kelly? :puke2: ). You are right about Down for Whatever though. RedOne can be far too generic sometimes although I still like the song. All in all I am impressed. It is a thousand times better than Beyonce's latest effort anyway that's for sure :lol:
July 20, 201114 yr "I'm Dat Chick" is my favourite on the album. :kink: I don't think the album on the whole is that bad, tbh. Though 4 craps all over it. :ph34r:
July 20, 201114 yr I like it on the whole but I would have liked to have seen more songs like SILWMX type songs on there. ie her singing. Thats what I loved about Ms Kelly. I wonder if we'll ever hear kings of kings. I can't believe redone did that to her.
July 20, 201114 yr Certain people are easily pleased! Though 4 craps all over it. :ph34r: Definitely.
July 22, 201114 yr Japanese Edition release date: September 21st http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/4167674
July 22, 201114 yr http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rP8wh8jFj64/TimTx8ruxVI/AAAAAAAACaw/Coi5OHMj02s/s1600/KRB1.png http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vt6eczwZSfg/TimUBLzio9I/AAAAAAAACa0/WAh_Jw7iAtI/s1600/KRB2.png http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YAYl_CtJt2M/TimUFjv9mqI/AAAAAAAACa4/jdzImxJr6FQ/s1600/KRB3.png http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E9gWtgs01eo/TimURFVG4cI/AAAAAAAACbA/OjAhGfpTM1o/s1600/KRB5.png http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--L_v-RcrJJ4/TimV9afGEtI/AAAAAAAACbE/rhtSZFv_nVQ/s1600/KR8.png http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fca6OwkIx9Q/TimWC-MCgzI/AAAAAAAACbI/xyRMoy3VZn0/s1600/KR9.png http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oaE8cfwbyCc/TimW5h7qmpI/AAAAAAAACbQ/YPs-cROi6WM/s1600/KR12.png http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-COAB-hizTMY/TimUKdHr1oI/AAAAAAAACa8/M8kMIHEFCOE/s1600/KRB4.png
July 22, 201114 yr With 18 weeks on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, including seven nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, Kelly Rowland's breathless pillow-talk ballad "Motivation", featuring Lil Wayne, is undeniably one of the summer's best songs and biggest hits. Beyond the track's pervasive sensuality and deceptively simple melody, though, half the impact is hearing a new side to the former Destiny's Child singer, who'd released woman-power anthems in the past but had never emerged quite so strong, so visceral and so present. Her breakout performance at June's BET Awards -- a steamy set with Trey Songz while wearing a much-commented-upon body suit and wide-brimmed hat -- reflected a new confidence and mystery. That performance showcased a longtime performer who'd finally settled into herself-a quality evident on her third album, Here I Am, arriving July 22 on Universal Motown. "I'm 30 now," Rowland says, "and there's something with being on your own and having your business together and having a good team -- all of that is so incredibly rewarding. For me, [this album] was just about growth. I remember watching 'Motivation' grow [at radio], and being like, 'Oh, my God, that station has never played a Kelly Rowland record.' It's incredibly humbling, because I started in this game when I was 15, 16 years old, and here I am 30 and I'm still here." Despite the song's promise of longevity, a year-and-a-half ago Rowland was at a crossroads, her next step unclear. Though she was experiencing success on TV with her stint on Bravo's sartorial series The Fashion Show, she was label-less, having been dropped by Columbia Records in 2009 for poor album sales following 2007's Ms. Kelly. (The project has sold 222,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.) She had also decided to sever ties with Mathew Knowles, who'd managed her career since her Destiny's Child days, a decision that stemmed from, she says, "just a feeling in my gut about changing. It was a simple conversation I had with him, and he was very understanding and it moved from there. I am just grateful that I'm at the age where I'm making decisions for myself. And that I'm not afraid, above everything, because that was not easy at all. At all." Undeterred, Rowland began recording the songs that would eventually make up Here I Am. She explored different styles-including the dance music that helped her score the No. 1 Dance Club Songs hit of 2009, "When Love Takes Over", with French DJ/producer David Guetta -- and cut tracks with more traditional urban producers like Tricky Stewart, Ester Dean, Rico Love (who produced "Motivation") and longtime collaborator Rodney "Darkchild" Jenkins. "I recorded the same whether it was with or without a label, to be honest," she says. "For me, it was just about the creativity." Serendipitously, it was the strobe light club thump of dance music that eventually landed her a deal with Universal Motown, when the label's then-president Sylvia Rhone visited her in a Miami studio after hearing "Commander", Rowland's second single with Guetta. "She came in with the finished product of 'Commander', and she was playfully like, 'What is this?'" Rowland recalls. "I was like, 'That's dance music.' She was like, 'That's hot!' Next thing we know we're meeting in New York and working on the record." Rowland hasn't abandoned her signature styles -- Here I Am is still very much about hip-hop and pop-informed R&B, and the Hit-Boy-produced second single, "Lay It on Me", is an infectious, uptempo love-maker, featuring rapper Big Sean. But the album does reflect Rowland's growing appeal in the global market, which should receive a bump from her forthcoming role as a judge on Simon Cowell's British music competition show The X Factor and the internationally released trance and dubstep-influenced single "Down for Whatever", produced by RedOne. "We're going to attack Kelly from a global standpoint because her presence is forever expanding," says co-manager Marcus Grant, of Collective Music Group, which took Rowland on as a client shortly after hearing "Motivation". "With her track record over the last few years, she has a built-in audience out there. Certain records are instant like 'Motivation', but two is always better than one." Or, as Rowland's other manager Tim Weatherspoon, who started working with Rowland shortly after she severed ties with Knowles, puts it, "Hit records don't alter plans, [they] only enhance the strategy." Rowland will appear on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on July 29, and she's hoping to play a smattering of domestic dates this summer. International tour plans are postponed until the top of 2012, after the upcoming season of The X Factor has concluded. Meanwhile, Rowland attributes her heretofore unseen solo success as much to those around her as to her own talents. "This came from having a good support system behind me," she says. "Everything has just panned out really well, and that's a blessing, period."http://www.billboard.com/news/kelly-rowlan...005289582.story
July 23, 201114 yr I've just seen that on iTunes for Ireland, Here I Am has been released under the title 'Here I Am (US Version)'. Perhaps the same might happen in the UK on Monday?
July 23, 201114 yr 320 kbps, CD rip and i+ have all leaked. Shout and I'll send you a link. :D I've just seen that on iTunes for Ireland, Here I Am has been released under the title 'Here I Am (US Version)'. Perhaps the same might happen in the UK on Monday? Yeah, it is being released here as far as I know, for download only. :) Edited July 23, 201114 yr by THEO.
July 23, 201114 yr Things really do appear to have come full circle for a certain Kelly Rowland. It’s almost 4 years to the day that the songbird unleashed her sophomore set Ms. Kelly on the marketplace. As history goes; political and managerial mishaps unfortunately sunk that ship. As such, Rowland was seemingly cast to a fate as the lesser child of Destiny. Fast forward to today, and the climate looks altogether different for the singer. Having severed ties with manager Mathew Knowles in 2009, her career has climbed from strength to strength. Indeed, the time since then has seen her notch up heightened success Internationally, land a role as a judge on the UK’s X Factor, and – perhaps most notably – score her biggest Stateside hit to date with the sizzling "Motivation". Hoping to legitimate this success, the 30 year old lined up an all-star cast of songwriters and producers to craft her third studio album Here I Am. With past efforts not hitting the commercial strides they, perhaps, should have, will it be third time lucky for the songstress? If the album’s declarative opener, "I’m Dat Chick", is anything to go by, then the answer should be a resounding ‘yes’. Boasting sass in abundance, the Tricky Stewart banger is everything the opening track on an LP of this magnitude needed to be. Assertive, confident, and laced in swag. A fitting re-introduction to Rowland – the Solo Star. "Solo Star" being a title she truly cements on standout cuts "Turn It Up" and "Feeling Me Right Now". Produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, the former serves up a pulsating 808, lush layered vocals, and is undeniably dancefloor destined. What’s more, it does what few up-tempo’s in the contemporary climate are concerned with – relays a palatable narrative. “I can tell the whole world now, that I had no idea you were loving her”, Rowland sings as she reminisces on a love gone wrong. A home-run if she’s ever hit one. Elsewhere, the piano led ode-to-self "Feeling Me Right Now" easily serves as one of the best songs the budding diva has recorded to date. For, with its sophist use of similes and metaphors, the Rico Love/Earl E produced track bests similar themed cuts – which far too often take the literal approach to self-empowerment. “I just want you close, close, nearer, I been watching you all night up in my mirror. I’m feeling me right now” she sings. Single treatment is imperative. As is recognition of the sensual mid-tempo "All of the Night". Produced by The Runners, the winner of a track sees Rowland veer further into tasteful ‘baby-making’ territory. A staple of any solid R&B effort. Ironically, the album’s biggest strength (commercial appeal) ultimately serves as somewhat of an Achilles’ heel. For nowhere present is the moody, seduction which dripped from innovative lead single "Motivation". Rather, the record instead boasts many a track clearly crafted (almost too-consciously) with radio in mind. Case, point, example, the Hitboy produced, Big Sean assisted "Lay It On Me". Though lacking a taxing vocal, "Lay" however compensates with a friendly melody, hooks by the bucketload, and enough ‘eh eh’s’, ‘oh-oh’s’, and ‘so-lo’s’ to justify its selection as the project’s latest single. Similarly, "Work It Man" is an Urban and Rhythmic hit-in-waiting. Yet with its title and moreover Rowland’s history with its producer Darkchild (see: "Lose My Breath" and even this LP’s "Turn It Up"), one could be forgiven anticipating something with more umph. Both vocally and production-wise. Here I Am, then, (from a lyrical and production standpoint) doesn’t wholly do what it says on the tin: tell us exactly who Kelly Rowland is. (An age-old issue for LP’s with such prolific titles). However, in an ever-crowded marketplace, what the album does do exceptionally well is place Rowland at the epicenter of what’s current, trendy, and fresh. A path well-treaded on by chart contemporaries such as Rihanna, who when successful, are afforded the opportunity to ‘up the edgy’ on later releases. A point which makes the LP’s closing tracks – Dance duo "Commander" and the RedOne produced "Down for Whatever" – seem less out of place, and perhaps an indication of what’s to come. Or at the simplest of levels, a sample of what else she is capable of. As such, with Here I Am, Rowland positions herself as a viable chart force, while also whetting our appetite for (what is hoped will be) a less ‘safe’ product next go round. That Grape Juice Rating: 4/5 Starshttp://thatgrapejuice.net/2011/07/album-re...owland-here-am/
July 23, 201114 yr Yeah, it is being released here as far as I know, for download only. :) That's good news! :D
July 23, 201114 yr God I detest ThatGrapeJuice. Their 'reviews' are always utterly worthless. The man thinks he's a pro journalist but he can't write to save his life.
July 23, 201114 yr So 'Down for Whatever' is the next UK single then? It's an alright song, but I'm really starting to love 'Lay It On Me' now, so I'm a bit disappointed we're not getting that - hopefully it's at least on the UK edition though. I've just played the album through, and I actually think it's a lot stronger than most people are making it out to be. It's not exactly original, but there are more highlights than low points, and it's better than the clips made it out to be which I am very glad about.
July 24, 201114 yr Just downloaded this, on my first listen now. Couldn't listen to whole of 'I'm Dat Chick'...painful. Hope it picks up from here!
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