Ashanti‘s music may be wallowing in the mire, but the singer is certainly keeping busy these days.

Indeed, as reported, the former first lady of the INC has nabbed a presenting gig with FUSE as well as a regular role on Lifetime series ‘Army Wives’.

And while the whereabouts of her ‘Braveheart’ album remains an Unsolved Mystery, the 31 year old hasn’t forgotten about music. She stopped by ‘Live With Kelly & Michael’ to spread festive cheer with a performance of ‘This Christmas’ – lifted from her 2003 Holiday LP ‘Ashanti’s Christmas’.

Decent performance.

Without getting pretentiously technical, yours truly has recognized the strides Ashanti has made vocally in recent years – especially with her belting and projection. That said, her middle-register, as evidenced by this performance, can be pitchy and somewhat uneventful. Still, an OK showing.

That sad, Ms. Douglas will need to be much more than “OK” when and if ‘Braveheart’ ever hits stores. The industry is exceptionally competitive at present; and, as she learned, with her first attempt at the project, an artist of her caliber (don’t laugh, her Platinum colored numbers don’t lie) can’t get by with half-baked output.

Your thoughts?