I love both the standard and Deluxe covers of Here I Am. Simple, yet clearly making a statement; which would be, 'I've arrived(whether you like it or not), I'm here (to stay) and this album is an up close and personal look (and listen) at the woman/artist I've become (DEAL WITH IT).

MR INCREDIBLE, Rihanna is the queen of generic, and her songs do well stateside, so why wouldn't Kelly's "Lay It On Me"? I must admit, the first time I heard "Lay It On Me" I did not like it because I too thought it was generic and that it sounded like something Rihanna might do (minus the vocal prowess), therefore, I thought it was beneath Kelly, but the more I heard it the more it grew on me. It's very catchy, and catchy translates to trendy, radio-friendly, pop chart hit. I could care less about a billboard hot 100 chart position because most of the music that tops that chart shouldn't even be called music. The songs often lack substance and/or quality of any kind. They're flash in the pans as opposed to timeless records that people will still love and listen to years from now, but, they sale records and produce revenue which is what labels want and need, so these are the songs labels push, hence the reason "Lay It On Me" is being released as Kelly's second official single. It's THAT kind of song. Kelly's only saving grace is the fact that she's already produced timeless records in Simply Deep and Ms. Kelly. Those albums may not have been commercial phenomenons (though they were in their own right, successful) but I can assure you the people who supported those projects enjoyed everything about them and still listen to them to this day. I know I do.

Songs like "Lay It On Me" and "I'm Dat Chick" may not be timeless gems but I suppose that's the space that Kelly is in right now. She just wants to have fun with her music. She spent nearly two years as a "Dance Diva". She currently has a hit overseas with "What A Feeling" (which I would love to hear/see her perform by the way) and a hit in the states with "Motivation". So far her singles have been great; whether smooth and sensual (Motivation) or flirty and fun (Lay It On Me), if these singles are a glimpse of the album that is Here I Am, I'm definately buying; but then again, I own EVERY Kelly Rowland album. I've been a supporter since 97. She's my favorite child of destiny and she's one of my top 3 modern r&b artist. Right next to Monica and J-Hud. What can I say, I like beautiful, powerful voices that just are without trying way too hard and K-Row, Mo and J-Hud have them. Hmm, I think I'll go listen to their albums now. In that order.

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