LaKisha_A_Jones - add/view comments ()

Recommend this profile to your Facebook friends.

Debut Album In Stores 5.19.09 !!!

"I just want to sing." That heartfelt declaration pinpoints the core essence of LaKisha Jones. Best known to millions of TV viewers as a top four finalist during the 2007 season of "American Idol," the singer is ready to reclaim center stage this time with her first solo album. "So Glad I'm Me" on Elite Music, LLC debuts May 19. "Singing makes me feel good," says the Flint, Michigan native. "It's the food for my soul and gets me through each day and night. If I touch just one person who can relate to what I'm singing, then I've done my job. Music is my ministry." "So Glad I'm Me" resonates from start to finish, propelled by Jones' expressive, full-bodied vocals. It's the same arresting voice that electrified "American Idol" viewers with the "Dreamgirls" showstopper "And I Am Telling You" and later commanded the Broadway stage in Oprah Winfrey's Tony Award-winning musical "The Color Purple." Whether Jones is delivering a gut-tugging ballad, a beat-infused party jam or a spiritual uplift, her voice never loses its soul-stirring fervor. "My style is very soulful," notes Jones. "I'm not one for doing big run-ups, riffs or frills. I'm just a straightforward singer without all the extras, giving out what was given to me." Leading the charge on the album's spirited mix of R&B and soul is first single "Let's Go Celebrate." The song percolates with an understated, hand-clapping groove that's part ladies night jam and part spiritual release. "My life has been a blessing/No need for me to be stressing/My attitude is changing/I'll never be the same again Because tonight is the night and let's go celebrate." Helping Jones craft her musical message were hit-making songwriter/producers Tony Nicholas (Patti LaBelle, Gerald Levert, Luther Vandross), Ro & Sauce (Brandy, Ne-Yo), Greg Curtis (Keyshia Cole, Yolanda Adams) and Chris Black (Yolanda Evans). Another album standout is "Beautiful Girl," a soaring ballad that extols Jones' loving commitment to her six-year-old daughter. "My daughter is very special to me," says Jones. "A lot of times on this journey I was told no That I couldn't make it; that I couldn't do anything with a child in my life now. But I wasn't going to stop. Everything I do is for her." Among other noteworthy songs on the 14-track album is the Diane Warren-penned "Same Song," a sparkling ode to reconnecting the dots on a failed relationship. Not afraid to make a classic song her own, Jones puts her stamp on the Whitney Houston's "You Give Good Love." Then she gives a shout-out to her gospel roots on the inspirational "Just As I Am." "This album is basically a story book of my life," says Jones. "I sat down with the writers and producers, telling them about different things happening in my life during the last two years." "