This week’s From The Vault video comes from none other than Ashanti. ‘Only U’ was released in October 2004 the lead single from her platinum-selling ‘Concrete Rose’ LP and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 making it the only song that Ashanti managed to place the top 20 of the US chart in the last 6 years. The record did even better in international territories where it peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart.
If Ashanti wants to return to her position as one of the leading artists in the game then this is the type of material she should be releasing. With a club-banging beat and a brilliant use of the guitar, ‘Only U’ stands as 1 of the best records that she has done to date and is a testament to her skill as an artist.
Furthermore, unlike the dated material of her last album, ‘The Declaration’, this song’s hit potential carries forward to this day. Although many suggested that Ashanti copied the style of her chart rival Beyonce for both the video and it’s accompanying single cover, there is no denying the brilliance of this record. Remember this: Beyonce didn’t invent the wheel. Tina Turner.
32 COMMENTS
Blue Kid
September 26, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Ashanti could only compete with the red head, I think Beyonce is come out to slay.
Ashanit is cute tho!
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I'MJUSSSAYIN
September 26, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I love this song…..Unfortunately, Beyonce is the icon of her era…..She is shittin’ on all the rnb females….. Even if you come hard…you STILL going home if she is on the scene.
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BABA
September 26, 2010 at 2:54 pm
i miss ashanit
i wish she was still relevant
you know i just realised how much of a survivor beyonce is
i mean when she came out people thought it wont be possible for her to over J.LO and then she did
then there was ashanti,which she has overed
and then rihanna(who although is very successful)is still not beyonces level
and now gaga
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GangsterA
September 26, 2010 at 2:57 pm
this song was the ish back then but i can’t stand it now and yes she was coping beyonce i remember back then it was from the hair to the outtfits i still love ashanti she got the *Good Good*
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fefe
September 26, 2010 at 2:59 pm
THE 60S,70S, AND 80,S HAD MADONNA,JANET JACKSON,TINA TURNER,ARETHA FRANKLIN AND THE QUEEN OF ALL DIVA’S DIANA ROSS
THE 90′S HAD MARIAH CAREY,WHITNEY HOUSTON,CELINE DION ETC
FORTUNATELY OR UNFORTUNATELY,BEYONCE IS THE QUEEN OF THIS ERA,AND WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED AS SUCH,HOWEVER I DONT THINK BEYONCE WOULD HAVE BEEN RELEVANT IF SHE CAME OUT SOLO WITH WHITNEY AND MARIAH OR WITH MADONNA OR DIANA ROSS.SHE HAS NO REAL COMPETITION,SO SHE IS SORT OF RUNNING A MONOPOLY,I MEAN SHE CAN WIN 16 GRAMMYS NOW,BUT SHE WOULDNT HAVE IF SHE WAS IN ANOTHER ERA,I MEAN THE ONLY OTHER SINGERS WITH A LEGENDARY AURA ARE ALICIA KEYS AND JENNIFER HUDSON
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number1k9
September 26, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Yes. Thanks for making this the From The Vault video. Ashanti has not yet fully deserved the credit she deserves for what she brings to the table. She is heavily involved in the creative process of her music. Hopefully this new album she will receive the credit she deserves finally. I can’t wait for the new album! ! ! Oh yeah go follow her on Twitter too @Ashanti ! ! !
@number1k9
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RosaRubbel
September 26, 2010 at 3:05 pm
I played this song over & over again back in the day. Definately her best work.
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UGh
September 26, 2010 at 3:09 pm
can’t wait for this bish to come back on the scene. yes!
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shay
September 26, 2010 at 3:10 pm
TeamAshanti all the way.
I really miss Ashanti and want her to have a viable music career again.
I wish you would’ve went into more detail on how she copied Bey on this video. I am a fan of both and I don’t see and didn’t see it then.
I also disagree with you about The Declaration. The Declaration was a good album that should have at least seen the success of a good R&B album…i.e. Monica or Trey Songs but her team fucked up the promotion completely on that album.
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egialbania
September 26, 2010 at 3:24 pm
i miss ashanti murder ing jennifer lopez missy elliot p diddy busta rhymes today music sukcs
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GROW UP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 26, 2010 at 3:40 pm
all i need is for her and jarule to do a duet. i still listen to her.
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casey
September 26, 2010 at 4:03 pm
cant wait for the new album………she never dissapoints!!!!!!!
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Dawon
September 26, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Ashanti = Another Casualty from the career of BEYONCE!!!!
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Teflon Boy
September 26, 2010 at 4:50 pm
@FEFE…, ‘SO SHE IS SORT OF RUNNING A MONOPOLY’…, that is exactly right, I respect Beyonce for being better than she has to be in terms of performance and delivery (although I still can’t get with her output) but the truth is she has zero competition…, Beyonce is Queen in a era where talent is scarce to missing in most of the top selling artists male or female.
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mimi
September 26, 2010 at 5:18 pm
I AGREE WITH FEFE AND TEFLON DON ON DIS ONE,QUEEN BEYONCE IS DEFINETELY A PRODUCT OF A ZERO TALENT GENERATION.THE ONLY THING BEYONCE DOES MUCH BETTER DONE ICONS OF PREVIOUS DECADES IS THAT SHE IS NOT JUST A GOOD PERFROMER BUT AN EXCELLENT ONE.SHE IS WITHOUT A DOUBT ONE OF THE BEST LIVE PERFORMERS THIS WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.BUT AS AN ARTISTE,YEAH SHE CAN SING AND DANCE BUT SHE LACKS CREATIVITY
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HeLLo
September 26, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Shes boring thats why she didnt last.
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latoya
September 26, 2010 at 5:58 pm
ASHANTI IS TALENTED BUT DIDNT HAVE THAT EDGE TO MAKE HER LAST
AS FAR AS BEYONCE BEING STILL RELEVANT IS CONCERNED I COSIGN WITH FEFE,DESPITE THE FACT THAT TODAYS INDUSTRY SEEMS TO BE IN FAVOUR OF GENERIC MUSIC.THE INDUSTRY IS STILL HUNGRY FOR SOME DIANA ROSS LIKE DIVA,AND BEYONCE IS SIMPLY THIS GENERATIONS ANSWER TO DIANA ROSS AND TINA TURNER COMBINED.
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MelyB
September 26, 2010 at 6:44 pm
This is my favorite Ashanti video to this day – loved the mirrored dress that she wore. I too wish that she was still in the game at least as a songwriter. I agree with the comment that her last album was way too safe, not groundbreaking in any way and totally forgettable! With that being said, I truly think that she can come back with a banging album and while she will never be the entertainer that Bee is, she can make memorable tracks.
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meeeeeeeee!!!!
September 26, 2010 at 6:49 pm
beyonce’s time has ran short its time to put the real queen back in the scene. ashanti will always out shine them other females and please someone tell me how beyonce ended ashanti
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BFoxx
September 26, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Ashanti was just an appetizer leading up to the entree that is Beyonce.
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monique
September 26, 2010 at 7:18 pm
OMG….THIS WAS MY FAV SONG TOO!
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OUPS I SHIT ON YOU AGAIN
September 26, 2010 at 7:25 pm
Sometimes I hate beyoncé .I really like Ashanti,she is more talented than bey actual competition.I really love her and her “Real RnB Mainstream” sound.
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That Cranberry Sauce
September 26, 2010 at 7:29 pm
YAS. 7 Aurelius is one of the best producers ever. Much better than today’s Polow da Don and whohaveyous.
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theman
September 26, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Ashanti has released four albums and a remix album, with the right songs, and producers she’ll be back on her way. Ashanti has charisma, and she’s very genuine. Her voice has improved, and she’s seems to be a good person. People like her. Her last album was’nt bad it was just mismanaged. Her first single was good. By the way she’s working on her next album, Beyonce is not the center of the universe. She does’nt dictate no ones career but her own.
Beyonce is one of the more prolific entertainers of now, thats because she has alot of favor to her advantage, and there were’nt many others out with her kind of clout. Alicia Keys is one of the queens of rnb. She’s a musician/artist. Sometimes Beyonce gets gimme awards, because she does’nt really even deserve them.
Ashanti will comeback, she just had a hickup.
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Rams__daughter
September 26, 2010 at 9:03 pm
Ashanti is a such beautiful woman she always looks good
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Joe
September 26, 2010 at 9:06 pm
You are right Trent, Beyonce didn’t create the wheel, Tina did. And What Tina left Behind, Beyonce picked up and continues to carry it. Tina probably doesn’t even know Ashanti…. Beyonce is today’s Tina. Ashanti hasn’t had a hit since 2002. Reason why? BEYONCE.
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BrealK
September 26, 2010 at 9:22 pm
The Declaration was a great album and I’m still bumping it . I don’t know who is the force behind making great albums not sell good, but they need to stop it. Everyone keep saying Beyonce, Rihanna and GaGa is the best. I don’t enjoy, listen to or buy their stuff. They don’t do it for me.
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MR. STILL STANDING
September 26, 2010 at 10:55 pm
But what kills me is when people say Ashanti isn’t talented. Ashanti writes ALL of her OWN shit. Ashanti sings waaaay better now than she did back in 2002/2003. Ashanti has the potential and it showed in her last album, which was one of the Best R&B albums to come out it in the 2000s. Ashanti’s a great songwriter.
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Dane
September 27, 2010 at 1:19 am
Tina Turner didn’t create it…..Josephine Baker did……..
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yep
September 27, 2010 at 9:49 pm
People kill me with this ‘queen’ mess. In the nineties, people weren’t going around squawking about who was the queen of whatever. Cut that petty silly ish out.
Beyoncé’s success has nothing to do with any of the above mentioned. It has to do with luck and her work ethic. Why is Beyoncé successful? She oversaturates the market. She along with Destiny’s Child have had an album out nearly every year since 1998; and if not an album a single. She never stopped.
Aaliyah, Monica, and Brandy were the reigning ‘pop/r&B’ divas of the late 90s and early 2000′s. No one was checking for Beyoncé until Aaliyah died — if you notice, right around this time is when Matthew Knowles began to push Beyoncé to the forefront of that group and the other members became back up singers. Then he had Bey featured on 03 Bonnie & Clyde which put her out more and HER name began to get more clout. Add on to the fact that Britney Spears — the reigning queen of pop — flew on over the cukoo’s nest and he slapped a blond wig on Beyonce and had her shimmy her way into the pop world.
And after that, she never stopped gyrating for a dollar. Has nothing to do with other artists… Has to do with her overexposure. Ashanti would have been fine if she actually did not wait 2.5 years to bring back another album when R&B as a genre is on the decline as far as being able to generate sales.
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iFreakum
September 28, 2010 at 2:27 am
Awwwwwwww… I miss Ashanti, I LOVE this vid!
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Dane
September 28, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Mary J Blidge was crowned the Queen of Hip Soul
Lil Kim The Queen Bitch
WHitney was called the VOice……Meaning Queen…
Madonna was the Queen of Pop
Britney was Crowned Princess of Pop
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