Amerie’s got the standard range and power of the production line diva but there’s also an appealingly raw, in need-of-some-Calpol-edge to her voice which gives everything that little bit more power.
She’s even allowed veer dangerously out of key at times (ironically towards the end of a track called ‘Dangerous’) in an old school Tina Turner style reverie. In the age when autotune is but a dial away, this takes guts.
Amerie and her producers clearly realise that how a singer sings out of key is as much a testament to their skills as anything else. Occasionally (with tracks like ‘More Than Love’) she veers into daft ‘Trapped In The Closet’ territory. Overall, though, this is a bit of a treat.