My interview with Philadelphia's own Jazmine Sullivan, who plays the indoor Susqeuhanna Bank Center with Maxwell on Friday, is here. The "Need U Bad" video is below. Beneath that is a clip of the 11 year old Sullivan on Showtime At The Apollo.
Talking backstage at Constitution Hall in D.C. this week, Sullivan spoke a bit about her favorite singers. Here's her top five.
1. "Kim Burrell. I'm attracted to people with wonderful tones. I have a tone similar to hers. It's very raspy, almost hoarse to ears who don’t understand it. She has a great range, actually. Her range is pretty high, and she can do a lot of vocal tricks with it. But it was the tone. ...She has a voice that has inspired a lot of singers. People who know music, know Kim Burrell. She’s a singer’s singer."
2. "Stevie Wonder. Stevie is the artist of all artists. He's so creative. His music brought so many people together: Young, old, black, white, purple, gray. His career is one to emulate. I went to his concert at the Wachovia Center. I tell you, he had 3 hours of hit after hit after hit. I almost cried. He had people of all different nationalities ... just happy. They didn't know each other, they were just singing the songs. He just brought them all together because his music is just so wonderful. When he's on stage you can tell he has such a great spirit."
3. "Donny Hathaway. His voice - He had a tone that was so beauftiful and so simple. He could sing one note, and it would mean more to you than somebody else singing a full song. I can't even explain it. That's a God given gift. The tone of his voice is just so beautiful. You felt everything he said. Just amazing."
4. "Aretha. She’s the Queen of Soul. Nobody had soul like Aretha. She sat down and played that piano....."
5 "Who would be my fifth? I’m naming all older people.... I'll say, and a lot of people will be surprised, but I’ll say Brandy…I love Brandy. I do, I do. She’s another one of the young artists who has such a different voice. Her voice is along the lines of mine. it's low, it's raspy. It’s different than most singers."
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