With a strong and sultry voice and penchant for incorporating a variety of styles into her neo soul-flavored pop music, it’s easy to see why Melanie Fiona’s reputation precedes her. That’s why Kanye West pegged her to open for his 2008 European tour before the Toronto songstress even had an album recorded. Now that her debut, The Bridge, has been released worldwide it’s time to see how the artist holds up on her own. The early results are promising–the track “It Kills Me” has received a 2010 Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance and yet another established star has her back as she’ll open for Alicia Keys’ upcoming spring tour.

Stylistically, The Bridge fuses many familiar elements of pop-tinged soul and R&B with Fiona’s varied influences that include reggae, hip-hop and the classic Motown Sound. Along with “It Kills Me,” the album’s strong points include Switzerland #1 hit “Monday Morning” and “Please Don’t Go,” which sounds most like the 1960s Motown hits. Fiona, whose personal touches come in the form of melismatic vocal flourishes and palpable sass as in the opening track “Give It To Me Right,” combines the juxtaposition of styles without flailing. The album’s Achilles heel may lie in that lack of continuity, but that my be more due to the numerous producers and writers that combined on the project rather than any shortcoming on Fiona’s part.

Many of the familiar tropes of popular neo soul are touched upon here, but yet again the cohesiveness of the album is a bit sacrificed by her many lyrical stances. She goes from being brazen to fumbling to heartbroken, all with full intensity. And while the human condition mimics this up-and-down–nobody can be expected to keep a perfectly even emotional keel–n has the side effect pf listeners coming away from The Bridge with a fragmented idea of the singer’s true personality and talents. We feel that Fiona is strongest, though, when her morale is high as in “Give It To Me Right.”

There is no question of talent here–Melanie Fiona is undoubtedly a vocal ace in an age where some pop musicians resort to the conveniences of technology to compensate for less than spectacular singing. But with endorsements like Keys and Kanye, The Bridge brings with it expectations that it will indeed make a significant effort to bridge the gap between the “pop soul” that Fiona refers to her music as and the popular R&B conventions that have evolved over the past few decades. While her debut album fails to make such a groundbreaking thud, it can undoubtedly be considered a success. With fans this side of the pond set to get a dose of the artist’s stage show, 2010 could prove to be another breakout year for Fiona, whose undeniable talent and ambitious musical sensibilities already have us awaiting another release.

– Nic Hernandez

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Nic Hernandez is a freelance writer based in Dallas, Texas. He does some of his best thinking on his bicycle. He also loves to interact and can be found wandering the digital wilderness at www.twitter.com/enoch11.