Everybody's Gone Pop

Usher. Alicia Keys. Damn, even Vivian Green. It seems like everybody that used to do such great R&B, music that spoke to your soul, has gone pop! Can we get back to the soul, please, minus the lyrics referencing infidelity?

Can it be disputed that "Confessions," "That's What It's Made For," and "Nice and Slow" are not classic Usher songs? With only a few exceptions like "Here I Stand" and "Lifetime," the rest of the "Here I Stand" CD is Usher going pop...hard. And never mind "Raymond vs. Raymond." Can you say, pop goes the weasel? He gives us "Papers" making us think we're getting another fine product like "Confessions" then he delivers a CD with no soul, no R&B, just pop, pop, pop!

What happened to Alicia Keys' good ol' days with songs that spoke to the spirit like "Fallin," "Diary," and "If I Ain't Got You?" I knew when the braids were gone and the hair turned straight what was up.

And Vivian Green, can you take us on an "Emotional Rollercoaster" again, please?

And finally, Mary J. has done the pop thang in a major way. Has anyone other than me felt that she should've left Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and "Stairway to Heaven" alone? I'm only a fan of covers when they're done well, like when soul artists make pop or rock songs soulful, but Mary J., doing pop versions of these classics was not a good move.

If it's not Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke thinking their the white versions of Marvin Gaye replete with bad falsettos, then it's soulful artists making the transition to the pop world and leaving the soul behind to record mediocre songs. My thing is this, do what you do and do it well. You're all talented in your own ways, just be your true selves and let that talent shine.

And when are these music executives going to stop being greedy thinking they can sell more records if they mold their top-selling artists into pop molds of clay?