Origina.ly published on www.sosogay.co.uk
Musical powerhouse Alicia Keys returns with the second single from her top 20 album Girl On Fire and the follow up to the top five single of the same name.
‘Brand New Me’ is a piano-driven pop ballad about personal growth and becoming a whole new person, which Keys herself has described as her autobiography. Co-written by current golden girl of British pop Emeli Sandé, the song has all the ingredients of a sure fire hit, however it just missed the mark.
Starting with a slow piano opening that has become expected from the multiple Grammy Award winner, the song showcases the soulful and powerful voice of Keys but it fails to give us anything different and never really goes anywhere. With a sullen background of slow beats shrouded by piano, we endure a few minutes of Alicia Keys wallowing in misery.
Towards the end of the song the music does pick up with an almost rocky and angst-driven Keys belting out a powerful vocal, but just as this happens and the song begins to get going it fades back down to her peaceful yet depressing tones.
It feels as though this song was trying to be empowering, trying to give listeners some kind of strength, a bit like ‘The Voice Within’ by Christina Aguilera, but unlike Aguilera’s 2003 hit this song stalls at its opening.
Overall the song is fair, the vocals are beautiful and the key change really hits you, but the overall tone and theme to the song just fails to light you up. It leaves you wanting more, but not in a good way.
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