Season 3 American Idol winner Fantasia followed up her platinum-selling debut Free Yourself with her self-titled sophomore album in December 2006. The two big singles from Fantasia were “Hood Boy” and “When I See U.”
Like her first album, where she worked with Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, Sean Garrett, Jazze Pha, and Darkchild, Fantasia’s second album was full of heavy hitters behind the boards. She had Babyface, Diane Warren, Kwamé, and Dre & Vidal this time. For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I decided to go with my favorite song from that album, “I Nominate U.”
Dre & Vidal produced this one and co-wrote the track with two members of the now defunct songwriting collective, The Clutch. “I Nominate U” is set in an organic and lush arrangement. The song finds Fantasia effectively setting up a night of intimacy. As Tasia sings her heart out to the lucky man she’s waiting to arrive, you can hear the sincerity in her voice.
“I been thinking bout this
All day long
Cant believe how I’m gone
And my minds blown off of you
I’m anticipating (oh)
When you’re coming home (oh)
See, tonight were bout to try out something new
I was thinking role play if you’re ready, boy, get ready
(Lets see you be Denzel)
Its your training day boy come and get me, are you with me
Lets keep the lights on cause tonight I wanna watch you perform
(Watch ya perform Let me see what cha got for yo girl now baby)
When I turn you on you steal the show boy you should get an award
(As a matter a fact boy ya’ know that I do)
I nominate u”
I was three months into my only Air Force deployment when this song arrived. At the time, I was single, but I knew that GOD was saving someone for me. Thus hearing songs like “I Nominate U” would reassure me that my queen was out there in the world. Surprisingly the track wasn’t a single, which is a shame as it would’ve been a colossal concert song for Fantasia.
Final Grade: B+
“I Nominate U” from Fantasia is available on all streaming platforms.
Nineties R&B was home to many female groups, so standing out took more than good looks and a major industry endorsement. I still remember seeing Allure in a Vibe ad and thinking how gorgeous those four women were. The question was whether they had the talent to compete in the music scene.
In 1996, I first heard the Houston quartet Ideal on the Original Gangsters soundtrack. Their interpretation of Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues,” featuring the Chi-Lites, caught my attention.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I want to revisit 2004 and highlight Romeo’s debut solo album, formerly of Immature. Titled “Food for Thought” and released on June 22nd, this project marked the singer’s change of name to Young Rome in an effort to distance himself from the youthful sound of his group, much like his bandmate Marques Houston had done a year earlier.