1 Thing to start your Monday
Twenty-nine, smart and sexy, Amerie is back. Post Sunday: "Half diva, half brainiac, this is a Georgetown University graduate who likes to read science magazines while she prepares for her latest photo shoot, a team of handlers fussing over her hair." Raised in an Army family, a ROTC kid and later English major, she considers D.C. her hometown.
Along the way, she glommed on to a wide spectrum of pop, developing an affinity for Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Gaye, Madonna, the Beastie Boys, the "Grease" soundtrack and whatever else her parents were playing on the family stereo. "We always had soul music in the house," Amerie says. "And my mom listened to a lot of traditional Korean music" — a drum-and-vocal-centric form that undoubtedly influenced her approach.
Imeem is streaming her new album, but after one listen all the way through, I can't say I'm feeling it yet. While rougher, Blige-ish vocals are a good call, great hooks run short. But I'm hopeful. Why R U, the first single, is definitely going to sound decent in the car radio. As I wait to come around on things, let's pause to remember Amerie's '05 breakthrough, Washington's biggest musical win since Bustin' Loose and Discord Records (Wale, work faster): go-go culmination 1 Thing.
