UK Release Date: Monday 28th November 2011
Label: Universal
Remember in ‘Work’ when all Kelly Rowland wanted you to do was “put it in”? To cut a long story short, she ain’t got any less horny since then.
The wholesome X Factor mama pants “When we’re done I don’t wanna feel my legs” on ‘Motivation’, brazenly declares ‘When it comes to you, I can make love on the floor” on ‘Down For Whatever’ and even utlises her infamous XF catchphrase on ‘Lay It On Me’ by demanding her lover to “Put it down on me”.
So, as you can see, Here I Am is a dirty, sweaty, cock-starved mixture of on-trend Euro-dance and filthy R’n'B, complete with cameos as broad as Big Sean, David Guetta and Lil Wayne. The UK edition straddles the two genres much better than the US version, released back in August, because, despite the front 10 tracks being exactly the same on both editions, the addition of further hits such as ‘When Love Takes Over’ and ‘What A Feeling’ make songs like ‘Commander’ sound less out of place than it did when pitted purely against tracks like ‘Motivation’.
Kel’s voice is in fine fettle throughout, mastering the intimate purr and the almighty belt to equally high standard, and the production keeps the output on just the right side of generic. It’s all good fun, with enough variation to keep the energy up from beginning to end.
