With the number one single on the Hip-Hop and R&B Billboard Charts, Miss Alicia Keys is back with her long awaited third studio album, ‘As I Am.’

With her first album since ‘Alicia Keys Unplugged’ in 2005, and her first studio album since her four-time Grammy Award winning sophomore album ‘The Diary of Alicia Keys’ in 2003, the talented solo artist has reminded everyone why she has nine Grammy Awards under her belt.

A combination of old-school soul and R&B is what her powerful vocals are known for, and it’s also the best and only way to describe her sound on this album.

Staying true to form, she starts off the album with almost a recital style instrumental piece that begins softer and more melodic than the instrumentals she began her last two studio albums with. But as the piece goes, the beat picks up to one that only Keys could produce. The change in beat gives the perfect introduction to the second track ‘Go Head,’ which, like her previous albums, has a faster tempo than most of the album.

After listening to the album it seems as if the theme of the album is reflected in her third track ‘Superwoman,’ which is a good song, but not even close to being one of the best on the album. This shouldn’t be a surprise though, considering how talented she is.

Her second single off the album, ‘Like You’ll Never See Me Again,’ is where the she begins to show how she has grown as an artist, but the album doesn’t get really good until you get to the sixth track, ‘Lessons Learned’ featuring John Mayer.

Vocally, this song isn’t anything special compared to others songs that she has done, but it does have a certain quality to it. I would say that you don’t really get to hear the complete range of her voice until you get to the seventh track, ‘Wreckless Love,’ because her voice is so strong on this track, which continues throughout the album.

An Alicia Keys song stands out among the rest, not only by her powerful and soulful voice, but there is also something distinctive about the way she plays the piano, because you can always tell that it’s her.

Just like you can tell when one of her many inspirations, Stevie Wonder, is playing, Keys has developed her own signature sound when it comes to the piano, which you can hear throughout the entire album.

Most artists today have to sample from old school artists because they need that something extra that music today is lacking. Keys, however, doesn’t need to do that, because she already has that something extra inside of her. That’s what makes her a true artist.

It’s been a long wait for her to release another album, and after all of these years she came back with a bang, this is undoubtedly her best work yet.

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