CRITIC'S CHOICE
R&B
When you've set the bar as high as Alicia Keys has with her Grammy-winning first two studio albums, 2001's Songs in A Minor and 2003's even better The Diary of Alicia Keys, you've got a tough act to follow. But the singer-pianist continues to scale artistic heights on As I Am. While not veering too much from the Keys playbook—classic R&B with an ear to contemporary hip-hop, heavy on the ballads—it hardly strikes a bad note. Highlights include the hit first single "No One," a soulful declaration of love and devotion; "Like You'll Never See Me Again," a lush, lighters-in-the-air slow jam; and "Lesson Learned," a blues-streaked collaboration with John Mayer.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "Superwoman," a powerful, gospel-ish ladies' anthem
