there is more to the uk than leona, joss and amy.
i’m not getting into estelle’s rant about whether white girls can claim soul. i’ve barley heard adele or duffy but from the snippets i haven’t managed to avoid, i would think we’re in danger of confusing soul, which they may well have a claim on, with r&b, which is the category estelle et al would fall into.
but her point about the under-represented existing soul/r&b artists in the uk is true. some – beverley knight, jamelia – are often persuaded to stray into pop territory to raise their profile. i would say there’s a huge talent chasm between those two however. somehow i don’t think anyone will be talking about jamelia in a few years, no matter who she’s slating. bitter 30 something brummie with cheating footballer husband – now that will not be a good look.
corinne bailey rae – young and foolish
craig david and kano – this is the girl
estelle – 1980
keisha white – out of my hands
lemar – someone should tell you
lisa maffia – bad girl
nate james – universal
taio cruz – backseat love
terri walker – flirtin’
winta gordon – surveillance
