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Charmaine Chan

Brooke Valentine

Chain Letter

(EMI)

It's no surprise that big things are predicted for Brooke Valentine.  In her debut album, the 19-year-old Texan socks it to listeners with an impressive array of styles and attitudes.

In the pop-crunk first track Girlfight, she flexes her muscles for a girl-on-girl scrap because of a man.

Uptempo and unforgiving, the song - on which Valentine collaborated with top rappers Big Boi and Lil Jon - earns her pole position in bad-girl territory. Reinforcing this is the one-two-beat I Want You Dead, which  is reminiscent of Pink in its steely, slightly vulgar delivery and no-holds-barred sentiment.

But then Valentine shows us her soft side. With strong yet quivery vocals, she evokes Mariah Carey with songs such as Dying of a Broken Heart and Laugh Till I Cry.

Although Valentine will probably be given an R&B laurel, the 15 songs, all written or co-written by her, show she can't be confined to one genre. With  a repertoire that includes funk, rock and hip-hop, the performer in her seems equally comfortable putting on different shows for different audiences.

Something else working in Valentine's favour is her personality, which comes through the music and not just the lyrics (which, for reasons unknown, are printed in illegible gnat-sized cursive font in the liner notes). It's this star quality that  put her among Rolling Stone magazine's Top 10 artists to watch in 2005.

Track 15 is Whatcha Lookin' At, a short, feisty and appropriate end to  an ovation-worthy performance.



Brooke Valentine