The disc finished with the beautiful "If It Wasn't For Your Love," a crisp, theatrical ballad that bridged modern Soul sounds with Headley's stage background.īy the end of 2003, Heather Headley had become one of the rising stars of modern Soul music, and a newfound talent who clearly had the goods to be around for a long time. Headley co-wrote three of the album songs, including the joyous "Sunday," and clearly set the tone for an album that would not simply be another Janet or Mariah sound-alike disc. Even stronger was the follow-up, the Jam/Lewis composition "I Wish I Wasn't," one of the year's most plaintive, powerful ballads. The disc kicked off excellently with the churchy sounding "He Is," a cut that virtually screamed that a new talent had arrived. While modern R&B was thematically angling toward a more down and dirty, sex-based appeal, and Crossover Gospel was combining spiritual lyrics to modern beats, Headley was, in large part, writing intelligent, sensitive secular lyrics with a clear underlying Gospel sound. Much of the appeal of This Is Who I Am was not just that it was a fine album in its own right, but also that it was so different than what was playing in 2003. Combining strong tunes with intelligent, accessible lyrics like few other soul album of that year, This Is became a favorite among critics and among traditional Soul fans. But while the multiple producers put their imprint on the CD, it was clearly guided by Headley's vision. The disc was clearly a priority for RCA, and Headley was teamed with an A-list of producers, including legends Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Dallas Austin (Brandy, Debra Killings), Shep Crawford (Deborah Cox, Whitney Houston), and D'Influence. Headley's growing notoriety led RCA to offer her a recording contract, the first fruit of which was the 2002 album This is Who I Am. While the show received mixed reviews, Headley again excelled and received a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
She was a smash in the role, and Disney followed in 2000 by offering her the lead role in its Elton John/Tim Rice musical Aida. By the end of her college days, she was offered a role on Broadway in Ragtime, which ultimately led to a much larger role - to play the lioness Nala in the Broadway production of Disney's The Lion King. Her strong, clear singing voice brought attention, and she played roles in a number of regionally produced plays, including Dreamgirls.
After graduating from high school in Fort Wayne, she attended Northwestern University, where she studied communications and musical theater. When Headley was a teen, her family moved stateside to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where her father became pastor of a local church. Not just Gospel, but also Soul, reggae, calypso and other styles popular on the island. Born in Trinidad, the daughter of ministers at Barataria Church of God, Heather was singing and playing the piano before kindergarten, and lived a life in which music was always integral. Headley sounds excellent throughout, her voice pure as crystal on the ballads, occasionally outré in similar fashion to Mariah Carey, but gritty and soulful when she's sorting out the responsibilities of a relationship in "Fulltime.Like many Soul music singers, Heather Headley's love for music began in the church, but her route to Soul stardom was anything but usual. The opener, "He Is" (by songwriter/producer Joshua Nile), is very good though - an intriguing angle on female thoughts about the male side of love (or, just possibly, a look at the aspects of God). Occasionally, the songs don't reflect their age very well, as on the regrets of a stay-at-home girlfriend ("I Wish I Wasn't") or an increasingly angry housewife who's been neglected ("Like Ya Used To"). The arrangements aren't exactly hooky, but the cast of producers - including Dallas Austin, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and D'Influence, use everything in their power - from a Hammond B-3 to synthesizers - to flesh out these songs. Headley, a singer whose vocal strength isn't mere compensation for a lack of interpretive skills or lame songwriting, possesses a range that's surprising and welcome she slips on dramatic personas continually here, quite ironic considering the title.
Though she didn't come out of the R&B tradition, Heather Headley has plenty of soul on her debut, This Is Who I Am.