Customer Reviews

This Is Who I Am

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I was aware of Heather Headley from her stint in the Broadway musical Aida and the concert recording of Dreamgirls. However, I bought this CD with some trepidation. Too many sucessful Broadway stars don't quite make the transition to genres such as Pop and R&B. But the relatively cheap price of the CD made me go for it.

It turns out that I got quite a bargain. Headley's debut is a winner. Standouts include "He Is", "Nature Of A Man", "Fallin' For You" and "Sista Girl".

Headley's vocals are strong...no weak singing glossed over by beats here. You know just by listening to the material that this is a real singer who doesn't have to resort to lip synching, booty shaking or other tricks to camoflauge lack of vocal talent.

A word of warning to musical theater fans who are expecting material similar to what you find on an Audra McDonald type CD. Headley's effort is strictly R&B so if you don't enjoy the genre this is not for you.

For those who do enjoy R&B, you're in for quite a treat.

Another woman who should be getting more radio play. What is wrong with these radio stations? Ashanti who? Heather has taken her broadway skills and put them on a nice CD that will really touch your heart. He is that song is AWESOME. This is an album you should have in your collection and won't be sorry to play it years from now.

Looking for a well performed CD that is full of passion, with great lyrics and a good blend of tempos, without all the bump `n grind undertones? Well, this is it.

In a time when many of us are wondering where all the "real" R&B singers are, along comes Heather Headley. This album is the perfect blend of R&B and neo-Soul music. I highly recommend this CD for anyone who feels the same. For anybody who enjoys India.Arie, Jill Scott, or Anita Baker, I think you'll enjoy this CD.

I instantly liked this CD. Less than 24 hours after listening to the CD (which belonged to a friend), it was in my collection. As a matter of fact, I'm listening to it as I write this review.

For anyone who loves the lyrics in the first release "He Is", this album is full of beautifully written songs that are performed with such passion. Just take a listen to "Fulltime", "I Wish I wasn't" and "Always Been Your Girl", three ballads that have you saying, I know how that feels. Heather Headley is a performer who can sing both ballads and up tempo songs that have you singing and/or dancing, for example, "Sunday" is an up tempo groove with a slight comical appeal.

"Sista Girl" has the neo-Soul appeal, but is a very poignant song. It is also a song that all teenage girls should listen to, I mean really listen and hear everything that is being said.

Heather Headley best known for acting in such Broadway shows such as The Lion King as Nala and Aida in the title role has such a wonderful voice and she sure proves it. On her marvelous debut cd This is who I am Heather's Soulful voice really shines on such songs such as Fallin and He is she can really show her stuff. While she isn't no Diana Krall or Alicia Keys she is such a talented singer. I don't have This is Who I am yet but I had a chance to listen to He Is on the listening station at my music store and I was Simply AMAZED. Get this album and see for yourself a Diva who can really sing. I would also recommend any cds by Randy Crawford and the late Phyllis Hyman if you want to hear divas like Heather,
Enjoy,
REGIS

Heather Headley's debut album is a good piece of work. I, like most people, took notice of her because of "He Is", which is good but is getting to the point of being overplayed. That doesn't degrade the quality of the album, however.

There are great songs on here like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' "I Wish I Wasn't" (well, duh), "Nature Of A Man", and the funky "Sunday". And the cool "If It Wasn't For Your Love" is a great way to end the album. "Always Been Your Girl", which is co-written and backed up by Deborah Cox, is decent as well, but it kind of sounds like it was left off Deborah's The Morning After album.

But like with most albums, there are a few songs that could have been left behind. "Like Ya Used To" suffers from cheesy lyrics and played-out production, and "Fulltime" is hard to follow. But those factors don't make this album bad. Incidentally, another plus to the album is Heather's attitude. She has an appealing sassiness that blends in well with the lyrics, and if she keeps it up, she should be able to measure up to the likes of Dawn Robinson and Jill Scott. Thank you, Heather, for showing us who you are.

I'd just like to help spread the word about this talent artist. I was at another vendor's establishment and I saw the Cds on sale. I got Heather's CD because Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis III (Janet Jackson's producers) and Dallas Austin (TLC's producer) had said good things about her and it was only $8. So I took a listen and the first few tracks were stale, but when I started hearing her slow songs, I started to fall for her voice. She has an expressive voice. Try tracks 4,7,9,12. I enjoy those tracks when I listen, as well as tracks 5 and 11. The arrangements on the CD are not impressive, as I know Jimmy/Terry could arrange a lot better with the song they wrote Heather, but her voice shines through (I think the simple arrangements go to ensure that Janet gets the best stuff and stays at the top, btw). This CD was a nice surprise because it has a lot of emotion and soul in it. A lot of songs sound like hits you've heard before. For example 4 sounds like a Janet song and 7 sounds like a Toni Braxton song, but that is cuz those same producers worked with Heather. Hope you agree that Heather is talented.

Heather Headley's debut CD displays a powerful and rich talent! Known for her impressive work on stage in Aida and The Lion King, Headley's is making her mark in mainstream music. This R&B singer has an incredibly strong voice that is so natural. She performs her uptempo songs ('Nature of a Man', 'Like Ya Use To', 'Sunday') with the same passion and attitude as her more sultry tunes ('Always Been Your Girl', 'Fulltime', 'I Wish I Wasn't').

"This is Who I Am" contains 12 songs each well-written. If you enjoy the vocal talent of Whitney Houston or Yolanda Adams, then you'll enjoy Heather Headley first CD.

Heather Headly is best know for her Broadway work, particularly in "Aida". However, this girl has a voice that is luscious, and "This Is Who I Am" gives Heather the opportunity to prove that she is more India Arie than Audra McDonald.
This album kicks off with a joyful gospel-tinged stomper called "He Is", a tribute to Heather's man which sets an incredible vocal performance against a Kirk Franklin style beat. This song was written to move your feet to.
Heather has a great talent for ballads, and her duet with Deborah Cox on "Always Been Your Girl" is another highlight. Their voices give and take against each other extremely well. Heather also hits incredible notes on the slow burner "Four Words From A Heartbreak".
The real highlight of the album though is "Sista Girl", where mixes storytelling and vocalizing into a dynamic mix. Heather's vocals are so pure on this tune, you have to wonder why it has taken so long for the pop music world to find out what Broadway has known for years about her talent.
There isn't a weak performance on this CD, and that makes discovering this singer even more of a joy. Pick this up and have a listen to some sheer joy.

Heather Headley has a voice that I can listen to over and over. I love this CD. I Wish I wasn't and Alwyas Been Your Girl really brings out her raspy yet smooth voice. I can't wait for the next album.

heather headley breaks strong from the gate with this, her debut recording. if this is, as the album's title suggests, the essence of heather headley, we are fortunate to be in for a long and prolific career with this talented performer. like fellow nightengales, jerzee monet and angie stone, headley takes the high road on _this is who i am_, depicting the positive aspects of love, life and the opposite sex on songs such as "he is", "nature of a man" and the reggae-tinged "fallin' for you". but don't think this modern-day cinderella has her head stuck in the clouds. the funky "like ya used to", straight-talking "fulltime", tear-jerking "i wish i wasn't" and street-savvy "sista girl" serve to paint a complete portrait of love in 2002. headley's acting and singing talents blend beautifully as she recalls such disparate vocalists as mikki howard, cece peniston, toni braxton, celine dion. if ms. headley does not ascend to the ranks of deborah cox, toni braxton and mary j. blige, it will be through no fault of her own, that's for damn sure.