Just My Faves

My cousin came home for Easter and told me I needed to check out this new soul singer named “Melanie Fiona”. This is the same cousin who told me to listen to Keyshia Cole long before she blew up, so I took her suggestion to heart and looked up Miss Fiona.

She told me that she sampled the Zombie’s hit song “Time of the Season” for her debut single, “Give It To Me Right”. She sang the beat to me and at first I thought “kind of like Duffy’s song?” Not quite. She told me just to download the single and listen for myself. I did and I am obsessed with “Give It To Me Right”. I love the sass and attitude Melanie shares in the track.

My favorite lines, in no particular order:

I’m not, I’m not
Tryna run your life
That’s why, that’s why
I’m nobody’s wife
But when I want, when I want it
You gotta be ready…
…
I don’t think you understand
If you can’t please me,
I know someone who can.
So give it to me right
Or don’t give it to me at all …
…
I don’t want it all the time,
But when I get it,
I better be satisfied
So give it to me right,
Or don’t give it to me at all …
…
This is the real thing baby
When I’m alone I can make me say
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeeeaaahh

Tell those men what’s up, mama!

After falling in love with the song, I wanted to know more about her background. Headed over to good ol’ Google for that, as usual. It never fails me. It also helps that Melanie has a full official website that is open for business and not coming soon.

Melanie hails from Toronto, but her background is both Canadian and Caribbean. She was raised in a household full of music which, along with her ethnic background, helped shape her sound. Her father had his own band and played the guitar. Her influences span from Reggae sounds to contemporary Whitney Houston material.

Melanie’s debut album is titled The Bridge, and will be released via SRC/Universal later this year. The music video for “Give It To Me Right” has just premiered on her MySpace page. Watch it below:

LATEST NEWS:
Melanie appears to be performing on a stop of THE SEXY SWAGGER TOUR With LeToya Luckett, Pleasure P and Brotha, May 23 at 8 at the Dallas (TX) House of Blues (Tickets). Not sure if this is a full blown tour or a one-off show, but it’s something to keep your eye on. After that, the next announced time you can see Melanie perform is the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans from June 3-5. More dates are TBA. I really hope she embarks on an intimate club tour. Those are my favorite type of shows. You can really get a feel for an artist, their personality, and style in smaller venues.

OFFICIAL LINKS:
www.melaniefiona.com (Official Website)
Melanie’s MySpace page
Melanie’s YouTube account
Melanie’s Twitter Account
Official Ning.com Community

BONUS VIDEO:
Watch Melanie’s rendention of the Star Spangled Banner at the recent Jordan Brand Classic in NYC:

BONUS AUDIO:
Island Boy