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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 1998)
•: v ; 7 • . *• »•' . y Page B3 AUGUST 12, 1998 n r i t # ir ò t f X w iw r ... ■T-:- T~.. . R A ; ' ‘- ¡The J J o rtla n h (© hseruer • J • e, - EUTERTAIUMEUT B randy «X i't- ' A »z.N . V» J r- Y our nam e is Brandy... Y o u ’re a superstar singe with a four- m illion selling debut. Y o u ’ve w on an American Music Award, many Soul Train A wards, including the Lady ofSoul “ En tertainer o f the Y ear” A ward, several N A A C P Image A wards, several new art ist award, multiple G ram m y nominations, and six consecutive T op Ten singles, including tw o platinum hits, “Baby” and “Sittin' U p In M y Room ,” and tw o gold i . '. ; ; ? ? - ; •y ; T V V , - V -,T '■ •Y '1? - ’' hits, “ I W anna Be D ow n” and “Broken hearted.” Y ou’ve w orked with industry heavy w eights like Babyface, Lenny Kravitz, and 14-tim eGrammy winner David Fos ter. W hat do you w anna do next? W ell-believe it or not-the answ er to that easy question was, for a while, “not sing.” N ot sing? Y ep, not sing. W hy? H ad the acting bug that bit the beautiful, charismatic singer damaged her vocal chords? W as it the packed schedule that included M oesha. her hi larious and touching num ber one rated show on the U PN netw ork? O r her dazzl ing turn asCinderella in the top rated A B C -T V m otion picture, in which she held her ow n against a superstar cast that included her idol, W hitney Houston'.’ W as it rehearsals for another show stop ping tour or preparations for her upcom ing featured role in I Still K now , the sequel to last year’s teen-scream hit, 1 Know What You DidLastSummer'.’Nope...none o f these. Brandy didn’t w ant to sing for a very simple reason, a reason that proves w hy she’s the dynam ic yet down-to-earth vocalist that stars are made of: She just didn’t feel it. A nd if she didn’t feel it, she couldn’t sing it. Artists talk all the time about “keeping it real.” Brandy was ready to do just that. She refused to take the easy w ay out; she ow ed her fans som ething real, som ething heartfelt, som ething different. “ If I can ’t feel it, then I w o n 't sing it,” says the 19 y ear old singer, w ith a firm shake o f her braids and a sm ile that show s that she m eans business. “A nd • a.’ A TASTE O F P O R T L A N D CHEAP TRICE RICHIE TAMBORA Brandy m an y o f the songs 1 heard w ere not ’m e.’ T h ey d id n ’texpressw hatlw anted to say at this point in m y career. A nd [critiq u ed m y self, l ’m n o tth e little g irl I w as w hen 1 m ad e m y first record. M y voice is a stro n g erin stru m en t now , my v o cals co m e from b o th m y heart and m y diaphragm . M y heart, because I’ve m atu red in th e four years since the last album , L m m oreem otionallythere. The d iap h rag m , b ecau se I’ve been practic ing, d o in g m o re scales w ith m y father, ju s t stren g th en in g m y sou n d .” F rom th e sassy opener, “T h e B oy Is M in e,” a d u et w ith M onica, to the slinkly, stylish funk o f the title track, to ow n youthful insecurities about life as th ejo y o u s, p ercussive g roove o f “Y ou M ake M e H appy." N ever Say N ever is a do cu m en t form the soul of a young w om an on the m ove, figuring out the w in d in g ro ad s o f rom ance, th e sure footed initial steps to independence, th e ex hilaration and freedom o f her she m akes her w ay in the w orld. O ver a slam m ing persuasive beat and a funky scratch guitar, she sings, “Just try in ’ to be me, d o in ’ w hat I got to do/Just try in ’ to b e m e, p rovin’ w hat 1 gotta prove/S om e people think that I ’m just siftin’ on top o f the w orld.” B ecause, for B randy, sittin’ on top o f the w orld is not w hat it’s all about. E ach project sh e ’s taken on through out her career has been a challenge- hard w ork and sacri tice-that m akes the beautiful m om ents w orth it all. o w n soaring vocals. P erhaps th e m ost telling tack is a sure tire hit called "T o p O f l he W orld”- w hich feature h iphop star M ase-in w h ich B randy m anages to both a d dress h e t critics w h o say she "thinks sh e ’s too g o o d ” as w ell as co n q u er her FREE MOVIE PREMIERE C u s to m F r a m in g compliments of (th e ^ o r t la n ì » (© b s e ru e r STRONGS MA&PA 4134 N. Vancouver Portland, OR 97217 INVITES YOU AND A GUEST TO SEE ANY REGULAR SHOWING OF "HALLOWEEN H20" CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS FOR SHOW IIMES This summer, terror won’t be taking a vacation. * X * J .v The power of an immortal The soul of a human. The heart of a hero. ..< -, W ESLEY S N IP E S S T E P H E N « « « « « • . M i n n . '* ’»' « r J Ä T Ä Ä ■ I V|,-K1\ /X M it I I I I I I W IIIIW V S IL I I I t 11 K I I S 1~ < > VV B MDV H ’ DI n \ \ IIW N b M -P t ' k l l l l » A 1X1 lO M I’ H |O M I [ J 1 U M H I Gp u i x > \ 11 \ 11 IIX K IM I D O R F F Ä TUESDAY, AUGUST 18TH 7:30 pm DIVISION STREET THEATRE Pick up your free pass while supplies last at B oulevard M o to rs 6 * Music Galore & Galore Paging 7062 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 3213 NE MLK Blvd. Limit one pass per person (each pass admits two). No purchase necessary. No calls, pltase. I niployees of New Line Cinema and th ru ap -n ces an no, ehg.Ne f c ow 1 fiREhOX •ippt ¡al Olympic. «■ Corey GErer • Color Me 6add Cake Pobillard • The Tories Thrillbilly * Tommy Tatoae H it Explosion • Cartis Salgado Portland Seng Writers Stage & mach more! 4IÔ N. Killings^ortb Portland. Oregon 97211 I A M I I ‘ ; e. 90 Bands • 5 Stages P/CK UP FOUR F R E E P 4 5 5 P S A T Jp ô H- 20 Restaurants 20 Oregon Wineries S h o w in g A t T h e a tr e « E v e r y w h e ' BLADE OPENS IN THEATRES EVERYWHERE ON FRIDAY ÄLTEST 2 N August 141516 WA.TEPFEONTPA.EK Nooa to llpm Daily ^unnani. Budweiser • Voicestream Wireless • Millstone Coffee • Oil Can Henry's • Pepsi • Oregonian's A&E • KOIN TV6 • Yoshida's 119OKEX-ZlOO-K-news-K1O3 V- T* • *
