New Songs: Amerie – ‘Red Eye’

As Amerie readies her Def Jam debut ‘In Love & War’ for its September release, a new cut from the set surfaced on a recent Tapemasters Inc mixtape. Produced by Bryan Michael Cox, ‘Red Eye’ is airy slow Jam, with production somewhat reminiscent of Ciara’s ‘Promise’. However, differentiating the two tracks is Amerie’s apparent target of the ‘adult contemporary’ audience – something made all the more evident with the surfacing of each new track from the album. How smart this is really depends on how Def Jam are looking to market her; if she is to be marketed in the same vein as other commercial R&B acts (basically meaning ‘sales’ are the most important factor) then there may be problems ahead. Yet, if it’s the Jill Scott, Jazmine Suillivan etc route the label are embarking on (less emphasis on sales, more touring etc) then our girl may be in luck.

Enough of my waffling. About the actual track…hmm…not really my cup of tea, yet saying that, it is the best I’ve heard from the album thus far – take from that what you will. I must say I’m kinda baffled at why Amerie has seemingly gone back to her older, less mass appealing sound – not because it’s bad, more because most do it the other way around (niche sound – more crossover sound). As a fan of the ‘1 Thing’, ‘Because I Love It’ era Amerie, I can’t really say she’s rocking my world with her latest material. It’ll be interesting to see what the album, as a body of work, will be saying.

Hit or Miss?