This Is Who I Am

1	He Is 3:46
2	Nature of a Man 3:24
3	Fallin' for You 3:02
4	I Wish I Wasn't 6:18
5	Fulltime 3:37
6	Like Ya Use To 4:05
7	Always Been Your Girl 4:35
8	Sunday 3:27
9	Four Words from a Heartbreak 3:37
10	Sista Girl 4:29
11	Why Should I Cry 3:47
12	If It Wasn't for Your Love 3:54

Barnes & Noble

Broadway diva Heather Headley left her Tony Award–winning stint as the lead in Elton John's pop-rock version of the grand opera Aida to pursue a recording career. The result is This Is Who I Am, a sophisticated blend of gospel-inspired R&B, India.Arie–esque neo-soul, and pop produced by über-producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson), Shep Crawford (Yolanda Adams), and Dallas Austin (TLC). The recurring theme of This Is Who I Am is love, and Headley engagingly sings about romance's joys (the homage to good men "He Is") and pains (the kick-that-triflin'-man-to-the-curb mid-tempo jam "Fulltime"). Each track showcases a different facet of the dynamic singer's persona and the versatility of her rich, stage-honed, honey-coated vocals. Headley's star has shone brightest on Broadway, and indeed, her flair for the dramatic helps to infuse this set of 12 songs with excitement. From the quietly stirring Jam and Lewis–produced ballad "I Wish I Wasn't" to the sassy, Austin-produced blues-stomp "Like Ya Use To" to Crawford's Toni Braxton–reminiscent power ballad "Always Been Your Girl," the splendid This Is Who I Am heralds Headley's arrival as a new R&B and pop sensation. Tracy E. Hopkins

All Music Guide

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. 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. 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. 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 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). 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." John Bush