I Am

by Def Jam

$10.99
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Average Rating: * * * * half star
Sales Rank:3472 (lower is better)
Price Used:$5.07
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Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours
Release Date:2007-06-19
Label:Def Jam
UPC:602517303072
Binding:Audio CD
Published By:Def Jam
ASIN:B000Q364KG
Category:Music

Tracks on I Am by Def Jam

  1. Like A Dream
  2. Work It Out
  3. Best Of Me
  4. Your Joy
  5. Good Girl
  6. Be Ok feat. will.i.am
  7. If I Have My Way
  8. Mr. Radio
  9. Golden
  10. Let's Rock
  11. Love Is You
  12. In This For You
  13. Is This The Way Love Feels

Editorial Reviews and Product Descriptions

Album Description

I Am, her soulful debut album, is an artistic exploration that fuses 24-year old Chrisette Michele's diverse musical interests into a wonderland. "I realize that I'm new to the music world, but I've been preparing for this moment for long time," says the Long Island native. Even before signing a recording contract, Michele had performed on concert bills with more established artists like Kem, India.Arie, Angie Stone, and Lionel Richie. "India saw me singing at the Village Underground in New York City. She came backstage that first night and graciously offered me a gig as her opening act," says Michele. Working hard in the studio writing songs and recording demos, Michele finished an album's worth of material before even trying to get signed. "I've been creating songs since I was 12, so I knew I needed the right musical blend in order to stand out from the many other performers trying to get a deal." Though already a fan of gospel and classical, it wasn't until Michele was 17 that she also developed a passion for jazz. "When I was still in high school a teacher introduced me to jazz singer Astrud Gilberto, and afterwards my life was all about jazz," she remembers. With the release of I Am, Chrisette Michele will soon be sharing those musical dreams with the rest of the world.
Amazon.com

If you didn't get to know Chrisette Michele by way of Jay-Z (she was the one singing sparkling hooks on "Lost Ones") or Nas (she channeled Billie Holiday on "Can't Forget About You"), stop wasting valuable seconds. Though the hype on this pure-voiced, raunch-resistant songstress has her resuscitating a classic jazz sound that rarely infiltrates R&B--comparisons to Lady Day, Nina Simone, and Ella Fitzgerald are mounting--she's more her generation's answer to Erykah Badu: any notes she wraps her lips around come out fresh-sounding, and she adds to the effect with a built-in elegance that's irresistible to R&B and non-R&B fans alike. Hip-hoppers get a custom dose of Michele's magic on "Be O.K.," featuring the flabbergastingly prolific yet still likable Will.i.am, jazz sentimentalists will instantly succumb to "Like a Dream," and anybody with ears on his or her head will warm to the slinky slow jam that is "If I Have My Way." Michele's is a rare talent; count on this outstanding debut propelling her to stratospheric heights. --Tammy La Gorce

Customer Reviews

This Girl Can Sing - Reviewed on 2008-11-07
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1 customer found this review helpful.

When I think about Chrisette Michele the first thing that I think about is how there is no person out there with a voice like hers. Even crazier is that anyone who has ever had a voice close to her's has either passed away or is too old to be releasing albums. Her voice is powerful, sweet, and takes you back into old black soul singers all at once.

"I Am" is a truly beautiful album and although I say this it gets 4 1/2 stars for a couple mediocre songs that could not even compare to the rest of the album. "Love Is You" has to be one of the most incredible songs I have ever heard in my life. That song is classic and no one will ever be able to sing it the way she has. There is a lot of mix in here, there is some upbeat tracks with a smooth flow like "Be OK" and "Let's Rock".

Then you have these almost dreamlike slow songs. The album is near perfect. She has a voice that is basically before her time. Everything from the lyrics to the production is almost perfect with the exception of a couple of tracks, one of them being Mr. Radio which is a decent song but is not on the same level as the rest of this album. You gotta go get this though and I can't wait for her second album.
Love it!! - Reviewed on 2008-10-25
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My best friend bought this for my birthday and I LOVE it!! I highly recommend it.
'Not too many good girls...got their own flow...' - Reviewed on 2008-10-06
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Breezy, easy, light, frisky, jazzy, that's about how I would describe this cd!! It's a great listen when you wanna just mellow out with enough energy to vibe to!! Great debut!!! My favorite would have to be 'Good Girls'! I loved the message, the rhythm, everything about that cut!! Truthfully, she did a super job on all the songs!

Subconsciously, I find myself rocking with the beats and on certain tracks, her voice takes me to a Billie Holliday song!! Bluesy yet intoxicating!

I will mos def be looking for her in the future! Great job!
Golden voice, simply irresistible! - Reviewed on 2008-10-05
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Some artists are born musicians and others are just entertainers with good looks or dance moves. Chrisette Michele is simply a musician blessed with a juicy voice and great songwriting skills and with such an incredible album; she proves she doesn't need to emulate Madonna in order to deliver quality stuff. It's important to note that Chrisette cowrote all songs on this album and her talent is felt in songs like the Grammy nominated "If I have my way" which is one of my favorites.

She also managed to build a great team behind her project with legendary producer/songwriter Babyface who's the architect of some of the best moments on this album, the poignant "Best of Me" and the tribute to her father "Joy". Trust me, when Face is really brokenhearted, he can seriously drop honest and poignant lines... "Loved you, lost you thought I'd give you all the best of me... We departed broken hearted, I need to be free. What we had was Oh so lovely I'll swallow my pain... It's my time to find the best of me".

Will.i.am joins the party and brings the funk touches on I Am with "Let's Rock" and is featured on the Bob Marley-ish "Be OK" - it reminds me of "Could you be loved".
My man John Legend wrote and played that piano on "Love is you", a beautiful song which brings to mind his platinum hit "ordinary people". On the Salaam Remi produced ill track "Good Girl", Michele defines what makes a man golden and she insists she's ain't looking for his dough!

There is another decent slowjam called "Mr. Radio", simply irresistible!

This is in my opinion one of the best R&B albums of 2007; it is soulful, mature, pleasant and I still can't get enough of it which I must admit is rare with 00s releases. I strictly recommend this masterpiece and I pray that artists like Alicia Keys, Jill Scott and Chrisette Michele keep making soulful music to save the pollution caused by artificial cats like Pussycat Dolls or all these other J-Los wannabes.
She Sure Is - Reviewed on 2008-09-17
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Wow, I am SO late to the Chrisette Michele party. I recently picked this up and was amazed when I finally listened to it. Michele's vocals are a weird mix of Phoebe Snow, Erykah Badu, Billie Holiday, but it works for her. She shines on Your Joy, Mr. Radio, Golden, and If I Have My Way, but the rest of the disc is not slacking in any way. The uptempo tracks Let's Rock, Be OK, and Good Girl will surely have you bobbing your head and singing along. Lyrically clever and thought-provoking, with some fun thrown in, Michele has done her debut proud! Silly me, I should have picked this up when it first hit the store shelves.
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