contemporary female R&B singers

[Bob]

last summer when we had the whole Monica-Beyoncé-Ashanti-Mya thing going on, with the 4 of them releasing albums back to back to back, there was a competitive thread about the four of them. let's look back on it.

as i think was generally expected, beyoncé sold the most albums, then ashanti, then monica, then mya.

however the ranking changes some for singles-- beyoncé still did the best, but it's arguable whether monica or ashanti did next best. Monica fielded more singles, and although Ashanti's lead single peaked highest on the Hot 100, Monica did much better at R&B, and "u shouldve known better" is still climbing. and then ashanti didn't get past a second single since the remix of "breakup 2 makeup" was a terrible flop, so i'd say monica wins. mya last again. tamia and lil' mo were also around but just aren't in the same league, even as mya. mary sold i think around the same number of albums as monica, with 4 singles, the first two cracking top 10 R&B i believe, the third i think made top 20, and the 4th only making waves at urban AC.

anyway, then late in 03 we had alicia keys come back, and despite missing #1 hot 100 i'd say she's had an even better go-around with her sophomore album. brandy's back with a lead single that's already pooped out behind monica's third single, in fact even behind mya's lead single. faith evans and amerie are due out late this year, with the latter being a dark horse, and faith with a good shot at LEAST for mya-sized success and always a chance for more.

anita baker is back to HUGE success at urban ac, but it's too early to say how far her success is going to carry. mariah is also highly anticipated to come back late this year.

sorry this is rambling, but this is what the scene looks like these days:

Beyoncé and Alicia Keys are easily the leading forces these days, even as Beyoncé gets ready for another outing with DC. Ashanti's still new and succesful enough to be in the upper echelon, and Monica's success this time around, largely proved because of her third single, can rank her up there as well. All 4 of those ladies' next albums will be anticipated.

Mya had enough success to still be viable, the sort of success that doesn't rule out doing bigger things next time; Faith Evans will likely at least go gold, not to mention the fact she's yet to field a single that missed top 20 R&B (only one missed top 10).

Amerie's only going to be on her second album, she's a darkhorse, but will likely fall in line with Tamia, Lil' Mo, etc. etc., smaller artists who may or may not be remembered much five years from now. Oh and then there's Kelis, who it turns out America decided to embrace as a one-hit wonder, despite Europe's opinion to the contrary. No idea what her next album will bring.

The veteran acts like Mary, Mariah, and Anita (and Whitney?) can expect success for as long as they like because of a mix of critical respect and large fanbases; Mary could come back with a bigger commercial success, while Mariah and Anita remain to be seen.

Did I forget anyone really? I don't wanna talk about J.Lo. haha.

[Bob]

I forgot the reason I put this in the polling both-- lol oh.

Who do you think will have the longest career? most succesful? most influential?

[allow that]

This reminds me to ask, any news on Toni? I lost track of her due to my recent 5 month absence but I thought she was coming back this year.

[Gorminako]

It's hard to tell who's in play. You focused on Monica, Beyonce, Mya, Ashanti and Alicia, but you also mentioned many others including Brandy, Mariah, and Whitney. If you look at their careers as a whole, it looks like Mariah, because she already leads, and I'm not sure any of the others can catch up to her. But I think Janet is even bigger, though you didn't mention her that I noticed. If you're referring to within the category of R&B only, it would either be Janet or Mary (Blige). If you're talking about the future only, that's really hard, but I think the most promising among the ones you mentioned are Beyonce and Alicia. As for longest career, Janet's and Anita's are already so long and they seem to still be fairly strong, but if Brandy and Monica can hang on long enough, since they started at such young ages (so did Janet), they could make it. Among influential, many singers mention Anita Baker. Whitney, Janet, Mariah, Mary and Toni have also been quite influential. For the future, the most influential may be Alicia.

[bluenote]

Was there an attempt to purposely leave out Janet?

As far as Monica and Ashanti go, both of her singles out peaked Monica's on the hot 100 so Ashanti is the victor in that battle. It doesn't matter who did what in the r&b charts, the Hot 100 compiles everything so overall chat success goes to Ashanti.  It doesn't matter how much you try to throw in who lasted longer on R&B. There are 3 other formats that count just as much if not more and Ashanti dominated over Monica.

Rising Contemporary R&B singers:

Mya - she is getting bigger, and  bigger with every release.  Not only in music but also in Hollywood as a whole. From her role in "Chicago" and other projects coming up she will be around as long a she chooses to be. That’s the good thing about being multi talented.

Monica -  Good voice but nothing innovative and nothing long lasting.  Being an innovator is the key to remaining a force in music) The lack of success with a good portion of her singles (street symphony, just another girl, all eyes on me, get it off, knock knock,) have shown that unless she has excellent material she is disposable and no1 is interested.  She had quite a few flops back to back.

Brandy - The Most successful out of the R&b teen explosion in the 90's(Brandy, Monica, Aaliyah).  She is a consistant artist and consistancy is missing in music today.  All of her albums has an adult have recievd critical acclaim (Never say Never, Full Moon (grammy nominated album) and Afrodisiac).  Her only problem is she has to find where she belongs in music now that she is no longer a teen. she was fake so long people dont know if they need to take her seriously as a Urban artist or some kind of pop artist.  Thats the difference between her and Monica. Monica has always been known as R&b, Brandy was very crossover as a teen because of her over all popularity in hollywood, but now as an adult she has to find a core format for herself.  . So hopefully there will be a clear cut audience she is aiming at with the releas eof her next few singles. But she has the longest career ahead of her out of the 2.

Faith, Lil Mo, Tamia, Amerie - none of them are worth their own separate category.  They are all disposable r&b singers. No innovation....just R&B singers with nice voices. But that can be found in any church choir.  They are all good for 2 or 3 nice songs a piece but I wont hold my breath anticipating any of them or expecting any of them to be extremely successful. I have actually liked songs by all 4 artists but over all they are a disappointment.  Out of the 4 Faith has the best track record for successful singles and has the best songs so I think she is the victor out of them and msot successful. But Amerie is well on her way but not much more can be said until her next album. 

Beyonce - she will be around for a while as much as I hate to admit it. She is talented (not in acting) and can make music people want to hear.  That's the key to being successful right now. She isn't ground breaking but she does what's hot.

Alicia Keys - she will be an r&b legend of our time the way Aretha Franklin is for her time.  what more can be said?


THE VETERANS -

Mary j - she will always be the queen.  She has a fan base that will support no matter what.  Her singles have not blazed the charts off her last album but I dont think she has the dreaded "diva curse" at all. Mary J Blige was in more high profile places, and performances, shows, then any other female artist in 2003/2004 with the exception of Beyonce.   She also took home a Grammy this year.  Her next album she will be on top of her game. 

Anita Baker - she will be successful with her crowd.  What more can be said?


Toni Braxton - I dont know what to expect from her. But I think she will definitely hit #1 on Urban AC with her 1st single and I think it will have the same effect Anita Bakers song had when it hit Urban AC.  And with urban being more receptive to ballads now thanks to the likes of Alicia Keyes an Usher, Toni will be successful once again.  R&b is making a HUGE comeback. 

Mariah - She is quite highly anticipated and her team is doing a good job getting buzz for her. I just hope she live sup to the hype.  But all in all I think she will be fine...not as successful as years past because she has never been a pop innovator, she has just been a good voice and good song writer and came out at a time where that type of AC music dominated but now music has changed and she is relying on producers of the moment to be on top....with that being said she will fit into the current r&b and hip hop trends. she should be fine and make a nice return.

Whitney - after seeing her perform from a clip in Germany, all I can say is WATCH OUT. Her voice was better then its been since "my love, is your love" so with the help of Babyface and the rest of her team, she will be back. And people want Whitney back, they want to see her sober and sane.

Janet - Being that she has never had a commercially disappointing record before "Damita JO" since the release of "control" i think she is the most set for a big return in the future or even in a few months with the re-release of "damita jo."  Janet has also been an innovative force in music, and that will keep you around a lot longer than some1 who simply sings songs that are placed in front of them like the majority of female R&b singers who are only successful because of jumping from 1 successful producer of the moment to the next.


This was fun. I love discussing the divas.

[Bob]

BlueNote said:

Was there an attempt to purposely leave out Janet?

No, and I also forgot Toni, oops.

As far as Monica and Ashanti go, both of her singles out peaked Monica's on the hot 100 so Ashanti is the victor in that battle. It doesn't matter who did what in the r&b charts, the Hot 100 compiles everything so overall chat success goes to Ashanti.  It doesn't matter how much you try to throw in who lasted longer on R&B. There are 3 other formats that count just as much if not more and Ashanti dominated over Monica.

Urrr RR UR R UR except this is contemporary female R&B singers. R&B, R&B, R&B, R&B. RHYTHM & BLUES. R&B.

Rising Contemporary R&B singers:

Mya - she is getting bigger, and  bigger with every release.  Not only in music but also in Hollywood as a whole. From her role in "Chicago" and other projects coming up she will be around as long a she chooses to be. That’s the good thing about being multi talented.

Except her latest album was the least succesful yet, especially in terms of singles.

Monica -  Good voice but nothing innovative and nothing long lasting.  Being an innovator is the key to remaining a force in music) The lack of success with a good portion of her singles (street symphony, just another girl, all eyes on me, get it off, knock knock,) have shown that unless she has excellent material she is disposable and no1 is interested.  She had quite a few flops back to back.

Um it doesn't matter WHO you are, you have to have good material. Look at your beloved Janet. She has more hits on the R&B chart than any other young singer.

Brandy - The Most successful out of the R&b teen explosion in the 90's(Brandy, Monica, Aaliyah).  She is a consistant artist and consistancy is missing in music today.  All of her albums has an adult have recievd critical acclaim (Never say Never, Full Moon (grammy nominated album) and Afrodisiac).  Her only problem is she has to find where she belongs in music now that she is no longer a teen. she was fake so long people dont know if they need to take her seriously as a Urban artist or some kind of pop artist.  Thats the difference between her and Monica. Monica has always been known as R&b, Brandy was very crossover as a teen because of her over all popularity in hollywood, but now as an adult she has to find a core format for herself.  . So hopefully there will be a clear cut audience she is aiming at with the releas eof her next few singles. But she has the longest career ahead of her out of the 2.

I don't really see how she's consistent-- consistently down hill, maybe. Doesn't look like she has the longest career, either. Monica was also the youngest, in fact really her career started younger than ANY of the singers mentioned in this thread.

Faith, Lil Mo, Tamia, Amerie - none of them are worth their own separate category.  They are all disposable r&b singers. No innovation....just R&B singers with nice voices. But that can be found in any church choir.  They are all good for 2 or 3 nice songs a piece but I wont hold my breath anticipating any of them or expecting any of them to be extremely successful. I have actually liked songs by all 4 artists but over all they are a disappointment.  Out of the 4 Faith has the best track record for successful singles and has the best songs so I think she is the victor out of them and msot successful. But Amerie is well on her way but not much more can be said until her next album. 

I mostly agree but I don't think Faith is disposable, there aren't many who can really touch her voice. Plus she does more behind the scenes work than most any of these others. Also has several Grammy nominations.

Beyonce - she will be around for a while as much as I hate to admit it. She is talented (not in acting) and can make music people want to hear.  That's the key to being successful right now. She isn't ground breaking but she does what's hot. 

I don't really know about her; potentially she's a fad and the next album will do half of what this one, and the next half of that, and so on.

[/quote]
Alicia Keys - she will be an r&b legend of our time the way Aretha Franklin is for her time.  what more can be said?[/quote]
I agree.

THE VETERANS -
Mary j - she will always be the queen.  She has a fan base that will support no matter what.  Her singles have not blazed the charts off her last album but I dont think she has the dreaded "diva curse" at all. Mary J Blige was in more high profile places, and performances, shows, then any other female artist in 2003/2004 with the exception of Beyonce.   She also took home a Grammy this year.  Her next album she will be on top of her game. 

I think so too.

Anita Baker - she will be successful with her crowd.  What more can be said?

But is "her crowd" big enough to sustain a viable career?

Toni Braxton - I dont know what to expect from her. But I think she will definitely hit #1 on Urban AC with her 1st single and I think it will have the same effect Anita Bakers song had when it hit Urban AC.  And with urban being more receptive to ballads now thanks to the likes of Alicia Keyes an Usher, Toni will be successful once again.  R&b is making a HUGE comeback. 

Pure conjecture. I don't have my hopes too high, we'll see.

Mariah - She is quite highly anticipated and her team is doing a good job getting buzz for her. I just hope she live sup to the hype.  But all in all I think she will be fine...not as successful as years past because she has never been a pop innovator, she has just been a good voice and good song writer and came out at a time where that type of AC music dominated but now music has changed and she is relying on producers of the moment to be on top....with that being said she will fit into the current r&b and hip hop trends. she should be fine and make a nice return.

I don't think I would just say her voice is "good". It does look like the project this time around will have incredible material, so I think she'll be back in a big way.

Whitney - after seeing her perform from a clip in Germany, all I can say is WATCH OUT. Her voice was better then its been since "my love, is your love" so with the help of Babyface and the rest of her team, she will be back. And people want Whitney back, they want to see her sober and sane.

The jury's still out on that.

Janet - Being that she has never had a commercially disappointing record before "Damita JO" since the release of "control" i think she is the most set for a big return in the future or even in a few months with the re-release of "damita jo."  Janet has also been an innovative force in music, and that will keep you around a lot longer than some1 who simply sings songs that are placed in front of them like the majority of female R&b singers who are only successful because of jumping from 1 successful producer of the moment to the next.

Janet's actually had the longest career of any of these ladies, since Anita was gone for so many years, and I think I left her out because I already consider her a huge legend. She could quit cold turkey now and she'd still be remembered forever; same with Mariah. Toni and Mary just need a few more years of success and they'll be almost up to that level, sort of. But the others need another decade, or more.

[Bob]

Gorminako said:

It's hard to tell who's in play.  You focused on Monica, Beyonce, Mya, Ashanti and Alicia, but you also mentioned many others including Brandy, Mariah, and Whitney.  If you look at their careers as a whole, it looks like Mariah, because she already leads, and I'm not sure any of the others can catch up to her.  But I think Janet is even bigger, though you didn't mention her that I noticed.  If you're referring to within the category of R&B only, it would either be Janet or Mary (Blige).  If you're talking about the future only, that's really hard, but I think the most promising among the ones you mentioned are Beyonce and Alicia.  As for longest career, Janet's and Anita's are already so long and they seem to still be fairly strong, but if Brandy and Monica can hang on long enough, since they started at such young ages (so did Janet), they could make it.  Among influential, many singers mention Anita Baker.  Whitney, Janet, Mariah, Mary and Toni have also been quite influential.  For the future, the most influential may be Alicia.

I was talking about just from now on, really, and yeah that's harder to say of course. As far as long career, Monica has an edge as she hit #1 while she was only 14, anywhere from 2 to 10 years younger than these others.

[bluenote]

Bob said:

I don't really see how she's consistent-- consistently down hill, maybe. Doesn't look like she has the longest career, either. Monica was also the youngest, in fact really her career started younger than ANY of the singers mentioned in this thread.

Brandy has consistanly gotten critical priase for her last 3 efforts.  Reguardless of single position, she has gotten favor from critics with each project. her recent one is her best yet.  Sure her single did not do well but her album will definately get another Grammy nomination for Contemporary r&b album just as Full Moon did.  Anyone can have 2 or 3 good singles but peopel tend to forget youw ant to actually make a qhole quality project.  So Brandy has been consistant in that way.

Bob said:

I don't really know about her; potentially she's a fad and the next album will do half of what this one, and the next half of that, and so on.

I dont thnk Beyonce is a fad at all as much as I dont want her to be around....I she just is going to be. but I would love to be proved wrong! LOL I give her credit for being talented and for being a driving force in her group. She is a excelelnt performer, great voice......I think she will just be around for a while. Even if her next album only sells 2 million...now a days who is really beating that.