Move over Katniss Everdeen, you are not the only girl on fire this year. Grammy award winner Alicia Keys is lighting up the charts with her fifth album, “Girl on Fire,” released Nov. 27. While the cold winter weather hits California, allow Keys’ deep sultry voice to warm your soul.
New album burns with sense of empowerment
Keys’ new album is inspiring. Her voice will continue to wow the senses while the lyrics and up-tempo melodies ignite your spirit. There is not a doubt in my mind that “Girl on Fire” will become a burning symbol of empowerment. How could it not, with lyrical and musical influences from various artists?
The track “New Day” mixes familiar styles from Keys to new styles influenced by Dr. Dre; while unorthodox, they work together flawlessly. The song begins with an intense drum line before Keys makes a vocal entrance resembling Rihanna before she found love and her career in a hopeless place. The drum line then merges into a vintage R&B vibe that will be greeted with praise by Alicia’s fans. These same fans will then be shocked by an unexpected, but enjoyable, addition of dubstep in this tasteful execution demonstrating the power of teamwork. While the solo edition of “New Day” found on the album is enjoyable, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent created their own rendition of this song, sold separately through iTunes.
While 50 Cent and Dr. Dre may be missing from the album, emotion and depth are certainly present in track nine, “Not Even the King,” a slower ballad displaying Alicia’s classical piano training. This musical arrangement blends in nicely with the relaxed tracklist. This song may be better understood in association with the foundation STAND, an organization that stands up against cancer in a nationwide attempt to create awareness and action. The sentiment of power and loyalty is portrayed creatively through the influential input of Scottish singer/songwriter Emile Sande. Together, these women created a masterpiece with enticing lyrics such as, “Believe that the trust that we feel the kings never felt that / Yeah, this is the song that we sing / We don't need anything / They can't afford this / This is priceless.”
Title track is definitely the best
The best song on this album has to be “Girl on Fire.” This catchy up-tempo song will send sounds of empowerment to the female soul. Men, beware any woman with this album in her music library. Wherever you find “Girl on Fire,” feistiness may ensue. One thing’s for sure: There is no stopping this title song from rapidly climbing the charts, especially with lively lyrics such as “She’s just a girl and she’s on fire / Hotter than a fantasy, lonely like a highway / She’s living in a world and it’s on fire / Filled with catastrophe, but she know she can fly away / Oh, she got both feet on the ground.”
Keys has been no stranger to the music industry since her first album release in 2001, “Song in A Minor.” That album contained the hit track, “Fallin’,” which would jump to number one on the 2001 Billboard Chart and go on to win a Grammy for Song of the Year. Since then Keys has continued to awe people with vocal variations that blend the rumbling sound of jazz artist Roberta Flack with the current hip hop scene.
There are many reasons to give the new Alicia Keys album a try: her talent, her musical collaborations and her inspirational lyrics. But at the end of the day you will find that your ears will benefit from this album purchase when they are finally exposed to wholesome empowering music that is sung through the old soul of a survivor and not the mouth of some talentless pop sensation.
