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I found Melinda Doolittle’s debut solo album to be uplifting and entertaining. She has a voice of her own that is not only lyrical but defiant. She’s a joy to listen to when you feel like listening to someone who will lift your spirits.

Poised to become this generation’s ambassador of R&B and soul, Melinda Doolittle will release her hotly-anticipated debut solo album, Coming Back to You, on Hi Fi Recordings in January 2009.  Featuring production by Grammy-nominated producer Mike Mangini (Joss Stone, Run DMC, The Jonas Brothers), Melinda’s debut solo album is an R&B tour de force that combines the fiery electricity of Tina Turner’s early years with the slick production and lush instrumentation of today’s pop-soul renaissance.           

Recorded with a team of live musicians in Nashville and New York City, Coming Back to You displays Melinda’s extraordinary talent and versatility as a vocalist and sees her seamlessly transcend genres as she combines R&B, soul, blues, jazz and funk to create a sound all her own.  From the first note, Melinda reaches back into a rich pool of musical influences and carries the torch of the greats – Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle – into the musical landscape of today. 

Melinda’s collection of 13 songs takes listeners on a journey from the blues clubs of Louisiana to the churches of Mississippi, to the piano bars of New York City and back. From the first horn blasts of “Declaration of Love,” listeners will feel a driving pulse and unstoppable energy that is reminiscent of Tina Turner’s iconic hits, while “Coming Back to You” and “Wonderful” feature Melinda’s silky voice wrapped around the smooth, sleek sounds of classic R&B.  Melinda commands the emotional storytelling and funky delivery of the blues in “Dust My Broom” and “Walkin’ Blues”, and her impeccably artful and expressive voice has never been more on display than on the beautifully lush ballad “I’ll Never Stop Loving You” and the stripped down jazzy melody of “Wonder Why.”

A skilled and accomplished performer who perfected her craft as a backup singer for some of the biggest names in R&B, gospel and soul, including Michael McDonald, Aaron Neville, BeBe and CeCe Winans and Jonny Lang, Melinda became a household name as a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol.  She was immediately recognized as one of the most talented performers in the show’s history and won over millions of fans and critics alike with her powerhouse vocal performances, engaging personality and now-classic renditions of songs like “My Funny Valentine,” “I’m a Woman” and “Nutbush City Limits.”  The New York Times called her a “phenomenally gifted, stylistically adroit…Gladys Knight-Tina Turner hybrid…[who] brings a compelling honesty to every phrase she sings.”

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