UK versus US: You Decide!

Lianne La Havas

A few weeks ago, my wife asked me if I heard Adele’s song from the new James Bond movie “Skyfall”. I had not heard it at the time but quickly found the song and listened. My wife said that she felt this was the best James Bond song ever made, but I was skeptical. I remembered such great songs as Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only, and the mega Marvin Hamlisch hit Nobody Does it Better from The Spy Who Loved Me. I must admit that Adele’s song is very good, and quite possibly one of the best James Bond movie songs. However, I stopped short of making the same statement as my wife. Still, when someone mentions Adele to me I readily agree that she is a phenomenal vocalist and songwriter, but I feel they have not heard other young and talented female singers from the United Kingdom.

I wrote about Adele after her historic Grammy award sweep last year, found, and featured several other artists from the UK. Marsha Ambrosius, Emeli Sande`, Rebecca Ferguson and this week Lianne La Havas all hail from the UK and are all very talented artists.  Are there talented young female singers from the United States who compare? Absolutely, and I have featured a good number of them too: K Michelle, Tess Henley, Elle Varner and Bridgit Mendler, and many more.  Whom do you prefer? On the other hand, is there a preference? I got an opportunity to listen to the new album of the sensational Lianne La Havas last month.

I stumbled upon her music while researching another artist and feel I found another diamond. In addition, I was able to see her appearance on the David Letterman show and she was great. In fact, I was impressed more by the response from Letterman who liked her, and then deferred to his renowned music director Paul Shaffer and asked him what he thought. Shaffer responded by calling her “classic”, and I could not agree more with his choice of words.  She plays the guitar very well to go along with stellar singing and songwriting skills.  La Havas’ songs are truly a breath of fresh air in today’s musical atmosphere and I am sure many will agree to some extent.

Nevertheless, when comparing young female artists from the UK with those from the US, is there truly a difference in their music? Maybe not! Most music fans still like what they hear (and now see by way of videos) then download music files, or less now, they buy CD’s. I do not think fans find out about geographical origins of favorite singers, nor do they care until after they made their purchase.  Unlike the sixties when The Beatles and Rolling Stones coming to America was major news, today we have music released and artists going back and forth as if they were next door.  We are living at a time like no other where technology has made the entire world like one large neighborhood.  Now we have the music of another young, talented young woman from London, Lianne La Havas and her new album, “Is Your Love Big Enough?” She has not only appeared on Letterman, but also Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Last Call with Carson Daly. La Havas has arrived in the US and made her way into our living rooms. Give her a listen, go ahead, and purchase her album.  She should be around and making music for years to come. I think many more young artists will follow her to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Enjoy!