R. Kelly: When A Woman Loves (Jimmy Fallon)
R. Kelly loves women and women love R. Kelly – but after the disappointing success and ailing criticism of Untitled, we wonder how deep is that love
After Untitled tanked like the Titanic, Kells is returning to the scene with his Love Letter album this month. And without much publicity and marketing, it seems like the label’s in a hurry to get Kelly some Christmas dough.
HiFi reviewed the new single, “When A Woman Loves” a while back in November; calling it a “journey back to the roots of romantic doo-wop, like the Penguins’ “Earth Angel” and even Percy Sledge’s “When A Man Loves a Woman.” So far, the song is making noise at Adult R&B, something we totally expected. Taking a line from his song, when a black woman loves, they love for real – sending R. Kelly to #2 on Adult R&B and #23 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs’ survey (the week of Nov. 27).
His performance of “When A Woman Loves” on Jimmy Fallon brings his live performance theatrics to a boil and even features a ’50’s reprise featuring even more oldie similarities. This time, the experiment’s on Frankie Lymon’s “Why Do Fools Fall in Love.” It’s a moving live performance, I must say. So far, the only thing separating R. Kelly’s nostalgia from Raphael Saadiq’s retro album The Way I See It is a lack of originality.
J MATTHEW COBB
R. Kelly >>> Raphael
Raphael didn’t create the old-school style nor was he the first to use it.