::ALBUM REVIEW::

Trinadad native Heather Headley has a whole lot to be thankful for. Daughter of a pastor, she was constantly surrounded by gospel music as well as performance art. After arriving in America, she began to absorb American music with great diligence and ultimately opening up the canals of Broadway with a heartfelt audition for the Elton John/Tim Rice musical Aida. Her performance as the Nubian princess Aida earned her a Tony Award in 1998. Impressed at her vocal prowess, RCA signed her; leading to her stellar debut This Is Who I Am and her amazing follow-up In My Mind. The latter, anchored by an amazing single and a strong conglomerate of successful producers including Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Warryn Campbell and Shep Crawford, reached number one on the R&B charts and number five pop. After a great deal of success with RCA and both of her albums being certified gold, Headley felt it was time to record a gospel project. While she recognizes that many of her fellow R&B counterparts are also making attempts to record gospel, she doesn’t let that stand in her way from her heart’s desire. On her website, Heather states,”As a first time gospel artist I tried not to be concerned with what other artists were releasing. I just wanted to make God happy. This project was more special because as a Christian, I understand and relate to the lyrics.”

On Audience of One, her debut gospel project on the EMI Gospel label, Headley strays away from her brand of urban R&B sounds and the sexy personality of her AC/pop anthems and depends on Keith Thomas (BeBe & CeCe Winans, Whitney Houston) to provide a more relaxed adult-contemporary record that feels like a nice fit for songbird divas like Mariah Carey or Celine Dion. It ultimately sounds like a good trade-off since Headley couldn’t bring everything she’s already been accredited for doing into a gospel record. The risks would be too great and too weighty for a gospel debut. Still most of the songs - primarily covers of popular modern hymns and gospel ballads - are bogged down with never-ending strings and candlelight AC appeal that there’s not much gospel to discover, except when Headley sings. She still delivers powerful convictions using her soulful tones and purposeful diction; presenting a class of sophistication that remains so distant in gospel.

Headley opens the album with the Tommy Sims-penned "Simply Redeemed"; a unique introduction to her faith (“I am a Christian/Do you know what that means/Means I’m far from perfect/But simply redeemed”) and a distinct definition of being a Christian. The colorful sounds, solidified by the robust choir harmonies and lush orchestrations, fits her voice like a glove. “Ordinary Me,” probably the only uptempo track on board, is a joy in itself since it merges ‘80s pop/R&B with traces of her ambient youthful nature. The rest of the album, besides the churchy, yet predictable remake of “I Know the Lord Will Make a Way,” kneels into AC overkill. It’s not all dreamy and boring since Headley is an excellent, well-trained vocalist. “Jesus Is Love,” a cover of the famous gospel song from the Commodores, finds Headley teaming up with Smokie Norful on a moving duet. Both performances are stand outs and highly spirited; capped off with signature testimonial outbursts on the closing ad-libs. It feels like a live performance towards the ending and may have been the total inspiration for including such a song. “Zion” plays like a simple worship lullaby and allows her voice to shine way beyond the calm accompaniments of the piano and delicate strings.

But song after song, from Fred Hammond’s drum machine-driven “Running Back to You” to “Power of the Cross,” the vibes feel like they have been lifted from many of a CeCe Winans record. Besides Headley’s star-studded vocal performance, the songs are carved into an highly emotional ride of cumbersome string arrangements on top adult-contemporary schmaltz.

What may have hurt the album’s image is the serious lack of balance. With barely a trace of an uptempo offering and with only ten tracks to count, Audience of One might come off being too stodgy for the average gospel listener. But for hardcore fans of Headley and those with a deep infatuation for power AC ballads done in the tradition of LeAnn Rimes or Celine Dion, Headley guarantees big results. Still it would have been quite memorable to just have a dash of her spirited youthfulness well documented on her earlier records.