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Corinne Bailey Rae a Star on the Rise
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Corinne Bailey Rae a Star on the Rise
By TOMIKA ANDERSON The Associated Press Tuesday, July 18, 2006; 4:39 PM
NEW YORK -- While most singers would give their right arm to be mentioned in the same breath as jazz great Billie Holiday, for British newcomer Corinne Bailey Rae, the constant comparisons to Lady Day _ while flattering _ can get a little frustrating.
"There was a really big backlash in the British press when my album first came out," the 27-year-old said of her self-titled debut, recently released in the United States.
"Someone reviewed the whole thing and was like, 'This does not sound like Billie Holiday! Billie Holiday would never sing a song like this!' And I'm kind of like, well, you missed the point, really!"
The point is that while Rae's sultry, scratchy vocals may bear an eerie resemblance to the jazz legend, the singer-songwriter has her own identity, and her own sound _ and it's made her a critical success, not only in her native land, but in the United States as well.
"I won this poll thing in England about predictions, and it was all these journalists and reporters trying to say that I was going to be big in '06," said Rae. "My name was at the top of their list. I was like, are you sure you've got the right person?"
They did. In March she became the first female British artist to debut at No. 1 on Billboard's U.K. album chart, and the album's worldwide sales already exceed 1 million copies, thanks to feel-good hits like the celebratory groove "Put Your Records On" and the sweet-nectared jam "Like a Star."
And now that she's conquered Europe, the United States is next on her hit list _ or not.
"I don't really feel pressure to be a big success here," said the comely Rae, whose face is framed by an unruly mop of curls. "I don't think, like, 'I've got to sell so many records here, or so many records there.' That's the record label's job. They've got to worry about how were doing in Kazakhstan or Germany. My job is just to write and sing." -
