Great start for a promising new talent!
341284
Fantasia Barrino proves her Idol win was no fluke with her first complete album. Her incredible voice soars on her now-classic (hey, she's made it all her own!) "Summertime" and "I Believe" as well as giving new depth to "Always on My Mind" and "Ain't Gonna Beg."  Her personal story - domestic violence survivor, working class girl, single mom - makes her success all the more deserved and she's a great role model for women. Sing on, Fantasia, we're gonna love watching you evolve as an entertainer in the years to come. Highly recommend
3298849
The author is VERY talented!!  Look forward to reading more of her work and hopefully hearing more of her songs.
4104343
A great CD especially for classical music and tenor solos.  I heard a public radio interview with this gentleman and immediately searched for more info online. His first appearance on Britain's Got Talent seen on YouTube blew me away with his voice and how humble he was.  You could see Simon Colwell's face change from boredom to astonishment.  He subsequently won the talent contest and was signed to a contract.  One Chance is his first album, and I know there will be more that I will buy as quickly as they come out.  I find it specially appealing to be in on the birth of a new talent.  Just hear the promise behind this God-given voice.
1092596
The Guardian's Heart is a promising debut novel and a beautiful start to a series! The story is about a sub world of Earth were souls live. Those souls help people who are in need of their help: 'The reality is, suffering is an inescapable part of what it means to be human'a common thread that binds Souls together'. In my opinion this idea with souls was very original and really interesting.

In the beginning the book was a bit slow and the world building was a bit lacking, so it was hard to get a grasp on what the story was about, but after that the story line and the plot becomes more interesting and clear. The world they live in is called Panacea. My favorite part was the middle, because than the friendship between Lilly and Jay really starts to grow. Jay is a suffering soul from earth and Lilly is a helper from Panacea.

The writing style of Gabriel Lea reminded me a lot of Tahereh Mafi her writing style, because it was really poetic and beautiful. An example of this is: 'Thousands of coloured spines crowded silky oak shelves, standing tall and ready like an oversized box of artists pastels.'

Overall this was a promising debut and I am excited to see where this story will go!

*I received a free ebook in exchange for an honest review*
458057
I discovered Graham Travis at a free show held in the foyer of the Seattle Art Museum in 2004.  I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.  This guy writes very catchy and smooth melodies around mature lyrics that, dare I even say this?, remind me of the first couple of Dylan albums. This is a great debut album and I anxiously await his next release.  I get the feeling that Graham Travis will be making thoughtful and fun music for years to come!
3073931
Nice job with songs that hit the spot!  New and exciting singer - great backup talent also.
2658184
"Pieces of You", the debut effort of now mega-star, Jewel, is a beautiful and soulful beginning to an already amazing career.  Her music transcends fad and image to envelop the mind into quiet contemplation.  Truly, her songs are artful!  The famous, "You Were Meant for Me"  in its original version on this album is tender and charming, where the  obscure, "Amen", is chilling and haunting.  This album embodies  the grass roots effort of Jewel; where it all came from.  Most tracks are  simply her and her guitar and a real intimacy is achieved.  Most of my  descriptives thus far have included tender, and charming, but there is a  real sense of power and force from this album - a power that is surreal and  wrapped in her heavenly voice.  This album is such a breath of fresh air  from the modern angst and "pain", but this album is by no means  bubble gun and sunshine.  No words can really describe the aura of her  music - so you'll just have to check it out for yourself!
1175572
I love me some Janelle Monae! And this first piece definitely delivers! Although I'm not a fan of everything on here (who is really a fan of everything an artist does?) I love some of the tracks! Definitely explains a lot of her later work!
515287
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Long-Way-Down/dp/B00ADZCDKM/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Long Way Down</a>This is a great album and a very talented new performer. He has amazing energy and puts alot of emotion into his music and is the recent winner of the Brit Critics Award for best new performer. I bought the album from Amazon UK after hearing some of his music online. The US album is coming out in September and I encourage everyone to give him a listen.
3632323
This is a great CD for this young talent.  He is emerging and a talent to contend with.  Of the younger generation, Tyrese has developed an appeal of his own. I believe sets him aside from talents such as Usher Raymond and Ginuwine.  The album, 'I Wanna Go There', is this artists' best. As long as he stays true to himself, he will be around a long time.  Sit back and enjoy this album, it's a good one.  There's not one song on the CD that's disappointing.
2057371
A very promising young guitar talent! Love, love this CD and highly recommend you check him out!
3395184
Vanessa Carlton's Be Not Nobody is one of the best debut's of a single artist that I've ever heard! Here is the lowdown on the songs:
1. Ordinary Day 10/10-A classical swaying song that grabs you from the very beginning.
2. Unsung 10/10-My favorite on the whole CD. Very upbeat,and the lyrics are great as well.
3. A Thousand Miles 9/10-I should give it 10, but I've heard it so many times that I just got tired of it, no need for description. Just a great song.
4. Pretty Baby 7/10-It has a catchy chorus, but it doesn't catch on for me too well, I usually skip it.
5. Rinse 10/10-Starts out dark and somewhat gloomy sounding, then gets louder and more upbeat, very clever lyrics here.
6. Paradise 8/10-Another great one, but I don't listen to it much.
7. Sway 9/10-Has a swing feel to it, very sad descriptions here.
8. Prince 9/10-Another upbeat song, I like the orchestra part in the middle.
9. Paint It Black 10/10-Even though she didn't write it, it's one of my more favorite songs on the CD. Just an amazing cover of this classic song! This also the only song where she doesn't play piano.
10. Wanted 10/10-The only song on the CD where it's just her and the piano. Her piano playing really takes charge here. And her voice is amazing as well.
11. Twilight 9/10-Again, the orchestrated parts of this song is great! It's a quiet way to end a great album!
3054280
Very talented young artist! Enjoy his rich soulful voice! Hope he continues to make more music!
4678710
She is a new talent, not afraid to sound like herself .I hope she gets the recognition I think she deserves .She shows diversity and growth from her first album to this one .She is different , unique , and refreshing .
4689205
This novel does a great job of capturing the experience of a young woman who goes somewhere new. I love the way the author can capture bi-lingual dialog and conversations with such ease. Within a chapter the main character already had a distinctive voice, but I still had to wait to get more background with each chapter.

Great debut novel!
1126990
As other reviewers have already pointed out, Mr. Viera gives a lot to like on his debut release.  The Cd is full of tightly-arranged, very danceable tracks that reflect lessons well-learned while singing coro for some of the best NY Salsa Dura groups.
Also note that Mr. Viera co-wrote several of the songs, including "Lo Mio Es Cantar", which in my opinion is the hottest song on the album.
Yet contrary to other reviewers, I have yet to be enthralled by Mr. Viera's voice.  It is definitely distinct...and don't get me wrong, I love distinct voices - my favorite soneros include Frankie Vazquez and El Canario!  But I find that the technical aspects of his singing detract from the quality of the tracks.
For example, Mr. Viera uses lots of vibrato.  Vibrato defintely has its place, but it is rather unusual to hear much if any of it from soneros.  Furthermore, his voice does NOT have a nice vibrato sound.  And at times he goes WAY over-the-top with it.  It all amounts to a  horrible combination - Sometimes I can't help but picture someone waking themselves up with a little operatic shower solo.  A few soneros might be able to pull off using vibrato, but Mr. Viera is definitely NOT one of them.
Another example is that his transitions from his lower register to his higher register are rough and pronounced at times; they could be a lot smoother.
Not a 5 star release, but Mr. Viera shows definite promise.  Hopefully he will improve some technical aspects of his singing.
2061680
Promising young writer!  Teens & young adults sould enjoy his short stories. It will be interesting to see how he grows in the future!  I subscribe to his youtube channel & this guy is no dummy!