By Jacqueline Hlavenka

I was disappointed to read on RollingStone.com Robert Christgau’s review about R&B singer/songwriter Alicia Key’s third album, “As I Am.” Since her 2001 debut, “Songs in A Minor,” Keys went multi-platinum, won Grammy awards for her sophomore effort, “The Diary of Alicia Keys” and became an international household name.

After growing up in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen, Alicia came a long way to stardom-arriving with grace, style and class. Some have called Keys an “old soul,” echoing the greatness of the classic jazz singers like Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin and Ella Fitzgerald.

On “As I Am,” Keys has evolved lyrically, vocally and musically. She’s no longer the girl that keeps on “fallin” or the “caged bird” from her first record. She now describes herself as a “superwoman,” exuding a certain confidence and self-respect that is rare and, sadly, almost extinct in today’s music industry. The delicate ballad “Like You’ll Never See Me Again” is positively stunning, possessing everything a good R&B song needs: a strong, distinct voice, honesty and, most of all, raw passion. It’s hard to not get chills during its final notes.

Yet, Rolling Stone gave “As I Am” three stars out of five where Britney Spears’ whorish “Blackout” scored higher.

In the review, Christgau commends Keys for her continuous “commitment to her street-nice” perspective; however, his tone is deeply snide. Christgau calls the album’s two best tracks as “Teenage Love Affair” and “Wreckless Love” where the ‘street-nice’ girl stops at third-base. Christgau adds that the song “Wreckless Love” “goes crazy without specifying a single body part.”

“Street-nice” is hardly the phrase to use here. Keys writes about the complexity of love, sex and relationships in the way musicians should be doing-by telling stories through song. For the record, there’s nothing truly “nice” about some of this stuff: heartbreak, rejection, desire, isolation. It may not be as literal as “Gimme More,” but I’ll take substance over style any day.

Was Al Green ever called “street-nice” for “Let’s Stay Together”? Etta James for “At Last”? Billie Holiday for “Stormy Weather”? I’m sure Nina Simone listeners knew what she wanted when Simone belted “I want a little sugar in my bowl.” Nevertheless, Keys is doing the exact same thing as her predecessors-yet has been labeled as a “nice” girl for it.

Instead of “street-nice,” try timeless, classic, soulful, even. When the pop tarts fizzle out, Keys (and those like her) will be here to stay. That’s what separates just a “good single” from a true artist.

(aliciakeys.com)