Seattle Subsonic

I Am In Love With Janelle Monae

August 26th, 2008

I confess.

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Janelle Monae had me before she even belted out a single note. Her costume, her hair, her demeanor, everything about here was stunning. An amazing talent. A little ball of energy…and then out came that VOICE. Holy Jeebus.

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Her first 2 songs, which blend seamlessly into one another, are truly something to witness live. (They are good on the cd, but really don’t compare to the mellower tracks on the second half, where she gets to show off her range.) I saw her Friday night in Portland, OR at the Doug Fir Lounge. She rushes out onstage in full doo-wop Motown regalia, with pompadour hair and black and white saddle shoes, like a football team out of the tunnel. Her backup band is also dressed to the nines in what can only be described as: the Temptations meet Outkast. She dances, two steps and hits every note so perfectly that I was just blown away with in the first 2 minutes. The audience couldn’t help but clap and dance along with her. If that wasn’t enough she proceed to come down into the crowd and dance like there was no tomorrow, and even muster up a crowd surf in that intimate venue. WOW. I am sprung.

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Then she blessed the crowd with an absolutely amazing ballad entitled ‘Smile.’ With the guitar as her only backing track, Janelle let out one of the most inpressive vocal displays I’ve heard in a long time and came with such emotion you couldn’t help but get goosebumps. What a talent she is. It’s kinda ridiculous. After that the audience was mesmerized, and she closed with my personal favorite song, Sincerely Jane. A very soulful song, with a destinct motown feel, about misguided youth. Again, the vibe she gives out when performing isn’t something you see everyday. The whole crowd was in the palm of her hand.

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Monae has been in the music biz for a while getting guestspots and it paid off when she landed a record deal through her Wondaland Arts Society label. She came up in Atlanda and worked with Outkast on their ‘Idlewild’ album and Big Boi’s ‘Got Purp Vol. 1′ collective. You can see these influences right off the bat. Ms. Monae is essentially a female version of “3 Stacks” himself, Andre 3000. Very original style and infectious personality all wrapped up neatly in an aura of unlimited talent. She is currently signed to Bad Boy and the album was executive produced by Diddy himself. Props to the Did-ster for letting her personality shine thorugh on the record and not forcing her into the poppy mold.

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Here is a video of Janelle Monae performing Sincerely Jane.

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Her cd ‘Metropolis’ is available in stores and she will be back in Seattle in October. DO NOT MISS IT.