Melanie Fiona THE BRIDGE

Lyricist: Andrea Martin .
Personnel: Claude Kelly (vocals); Sidh Solanki (guitar, background vocals); Tom Kafafian (guitar); Stanley Brown (organ, keyboards, drums); Darren Lewis (keyboards, programming); Raymond Angry (keyboards); Iyiola Babalola (percussion, programming); Victor Mancusi (programming); Andrea Martin (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Rob Kinelski; Jason Agel; Victor Mancusi; Jimmy Douglas.
Recording information: 150 Studios, NJ; Electracraft Studios, NY; Labronze Johnson Studios, NY; Phase One Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Pulse Music, NY; The Sample Factory, UK; Westlake Studio, Los Angeles, CA.
Author: Perez Hilton.
Editor: Victor Mancusi.
Photographers: Mark Squires; Randee St. Nicholas.
Melanie Fiona's debut single, "Give It to Me Right," was a perfect 2009 pop-R&B recording. The single coupled a timeless classic (the Zombies' "Time of the Season") with roof-raising vocals and infectious pop hooks that stuck like peanut butter. Fiona's single was perfect, albeit a touch formulaic. Because of this, it's no surprise that a large chunk of her debut album, THE BRIDGE, is much of the same. Like any good 2009 pop-soul recording, the album offers influences from decades of soul music. Fiona, a Kanye West prot?g?, collaborates with about as many styles of music as she has producers and writers, who include most prominently Canadian R&B singer-songwriter Andrea Martin, Rob Fusari, Peter Wade Keusch, Sidh Solanki, Vada Nobles, Bill Blast, Future Cut, Stereotypes, Dan Strong, JK, Jay Fenix, and Affiliate. This mash-up of masterminds is a good thing; it offers the listener generous portions of put-together pop songs which color outside the lines in terms of genre. THE BRIDGE is the perfect launching pad for a solid career where she can further explore her possibilities as an artist, seeing as she appeals to the masses as well as the critics.

• Format: CD
• Genre: R&B