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'Tuesday's Child' Has An Everyday Hit!
A Starpoynt Exclusive
There's something about her voice that is at once earthy and heavenly. The crystal-like quality of Abenaa's voice adds a compelling
flavor to the lovely lyrics of her tracks, be it the bubbly yet soulful pop-tinged "Journey" or the current sizzlin'
single, "Song 4 U." The melancholy madness of the chart-climbing cut could only be about love! And surely that is
the subject matter most prevalent on her 12-track CD, "Tuesday's Child" (on Nkunim/Red), whether she is cooing about
romantic love or laying down an inspirational track, such as "God Made You." Great songs tell a story, thus marks
many of the tracks on her debut CD, such as the striking "The Lonely Ones." Not only does she write good stories,
she "tells" them well, too.
As talented as she is, Abenna's road has not been a short one, yet she remains as sweet as a southern April breeze. The
mid-'90s found the aspiring songstress composing a Grammy-nominated song for Vanessa Williams and co-writing a Top 10 track
for Canadian pop star Kim Stockwood. A decade later, the Brooklyn-based West African native has a Top 30 radio hit of her
own with the gorgeous chrystaline "Song 4 U."
Traces of Celine Dion, whispers of Vanessa Williams and a taste of Melissa Etheridge characterize Abenaa's voice.
And like her vocal flavor she too is a combo of sorts - her father is from Ghana and her mother is from Trinidad, Caribbean.
Tthe singer, songwriter, musician and producer is a beauty inside and out.
The sumptious "Song 4 U" was a most-added on R&R's AC (adult contemporary) chart and a Top 5 most added
in its first two consecutive weeks of release - quite an accomplishment for a new artist who transcends neat genre classification.
The track, with string arrangements courtesy of Clare Fischer, (Prince, Paul McCartney, Toni Braxton) is a powerful follow-up
to "Natural," "Simple Life" and "Rain," all of which were embraced at college radio and on high-profile
specialty shows hosted by influential New York radio personalities such as WBLS-FM (107.5)'s Wendy Williams and "Quiet
Storm" legend
Vaughn Harper. The "Rain" video, directed by esteemed filmmaker Abel Ferrara ("King of New York," "New
Rose Hotel," "Bad Lieutenant") and the "Simple Life" video, filmed in Havana, Cuba, also found receptive
audiences on MTV2 and several other music video channels as well.
"We just sent out the 'Rain' video to get feedback," Abenaa recalls, "and the next thing I knew, it was
on the MTV show, 'Spankin' New Videos'."
Abenaa, who moved to the U.S. when she was six, hopes to return to Ghana to perform at a music festival.
Whether at the piano, with the guitar, or just on the mic, Abenaa is an extremely soulful and sincere artist who brings
to mind other brilliant storytellers, such as James Taylor, Curtis Mayfield and Nina Simone, but with a new millennium heartbeat.
An artistically courageous risk-taker, Abenaa includes a vibrant rendition of Led Zeppelin's celebrated "Stairway to
Heaven," which she christened "S2H," proving that she can take a song, even one of the most important ever
written, and make it her own. Her recording engineer, Perry Margouleff, reportedly played it for Zep guitarist Jimmy Page,
who is said to have given it his resounding approval, proof that a leap of faith is all it takes for this Tuesday's Child
to land gracefully among the blessings of the day.
She resonates a quiet beauty. Sitting in a posh W Hotel in an upscale Atlanta suburb, there is an air about her
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