The article itself could have been written last year I guess, except for a few details...
Essence gets taste of Sunshine Anderson's sophomore releaseNEW ORLEANS (AP) — After a six-year break from the limelight, R&B singer Sunshine Anderson re-emerged for a closing night performance at the Essence Music Festival where she said she gave one of her best performances to date.
"I can honestly say I put on a performance of a lifetime," Anderson said moments after her set Saturday in the festival's superlounges — spaces created within the halls of the Louisiana Superdome for artists not performing on the dome's main stage.
"I've never been in touch with the audience like I was tonight. It was a great experience."
Saturday's performance was her first at Essence, which returned here after a one-year stop in Houston where the 2006 event was held following Hurricane Katrina.
When invited to come to New Orleans to perform, Anderson said she was thrilled at the prospect of performing in one of the "homes of music."
In an earlier interview, Anderson told The Associated Press that her latest release, "Sunshine at Midnight," though a longtime coming was well worth the wait. She said her former manager, singer Macy Gray, coined the title phrase and was the oft-given response whenever Gray was asked, "When's Sunshine going on?"
"It's been a six-year hiatus and there's been some ups and downs," said Anderson, when asked about the title's relevance. "But, you know, even in the darkest hours, you can still have 'Sunshine at Midnight."'
Anderson said she would always be grateful for the lessons learned from Gray.
"At the time we were together, I was very naive. But she refused to let me get swallowed up and I'm forever grateful for that."
After their partnership ended and record company politics forced her out, Anderson said she went through "a lot of heartache and woe is me."
"But I realized that I'm in charge of my own destiny and I've got to move forward," she said.
The downtime included a search for new management and a record label, but the Charlotte, native eventually created her own label, Shining Star, and ultimately signed a deal with Mathew Knowles and his company, Music World Music.
Five months pregnant and two weeks out from her wedding, Anderson said she doesn't know if it was the pregnancy and solid personal relationship that have inspired her creative surge or just the time spent away from the industry.
"I'm just on a high," she said. "I feel blessed."
She said she hoped fans could see her growth lyrically and musically in the new project.
"I don't generally listen to my music. In fact, I haven't heard any of the new stuff in a while. But I put the old stuff on recently and I can see the growth. I learned who I was on this one. I did some writing on this one that really amazed me."
Anderson, whose debut album "Your Woman" spawned the Top 5 single "Heard It All Before" and drew legions of fans to her warm, raspy and melodic voice, said she's a stronger singer now and producers on the project, including Mike City, Dr. Dre, Rafael Saadiq, helped showcase that.
"I'm passionate about what I do," she said. "I feel it deep down. I think it's a solid project. And though I was a little nervous about how people would respond, I'm blessed."
Anderson recently finished a tour with Brian McKnight and said budding motherhood (she's due Nov. 14) would force her to slow down soon.
"But I'm ready to get back in the studio. I feel I have something to say," she said.