DIONYZA: “Quite Like Me,” Sophisticated Generational Bridge

by Leigh Silbernagel in Album Reviews, Celebrity News, Editorials, Musician Reviews, News, Opinion Posts, Reviews, Song Reviews

DIONYZA

“Quite like Me”

Little Dizzy Records

DIONYZA has a polished sophistication to her skilled, soulful, modern R&B styled music. The daughter of Motown singer/songwriters Michael and Brenda Sutton is a welcomed newcomer to counterbalance the dime-a-dozen-divabots that are taking over the music scene. Her lyrical content and style heralds back to Chante Moore and Maysa Leak.

After years of doing background vocals for High School Musical 2, Vanessa Hudgens, Raven Symone, Latoya London, Sugar Babes (UK), Pop Stars 2, Christina Aguilera, Shanice, and Jon B (Cool Relax tour), the Los Angeles native Dionyza’s debut album, “Quite Like Me” (Little Dizzy Records), shows she has the possibility to keep making songs for a lengthy and successful career.

The expertly crafted and unforgettable, “If it Kills” with its combination of melismatic drums with her resolute & determined yet mellifluous vocals (that I LOVE, by the way, and could listen to a million times and not get sick of it), is the standout track. Her vocal control and range is melodic and controlled, as it consists of lyrics akin to a female Kanye West (808s and Heartbreak). Note to Dionyza, do more songs like this, but amp up your powerhouse quality to break out of the ‘background vocalist’ sound on the other tracks. Go for more empowerment and self swagger (like on the title track, “Quite Like Me”- the other song that I was impressed by).

The rest of the album is comprised of very sweet baby-making ballads about love: “Give it to me,” has a Mariah Carey’s “Touch my Booty” sound to it, and “Whole” has striking repetitive melodic phrasing of the keyboard/piano paired with sweet, melodic lyrics: “am I good enough to take your hand, am I blessed enough to be a part of your plan, as God as my witness, …I will stand by you, as we are getting old… I will be loving you whole.” The uptempo, cute & catchy “Stir it up,” the uplifting, “If this Love could be,” and “Practice makes Perfect;” have modern R&B stylings and a sweet Maysa Leak sound to them. “Today Will Soon Be Yesterday” showcases her skill and potential and “Waiting” is a self swagger tribute that gives the album its bonus points.

FUN FACT! The Playa-bashing “I told Myself” Dionyza co-wrote with Robbie Nevil: “what makes ‘I told myself’ even more special is the music track. Back in the 1970s, Motown vocal quartet The Originals, recorded one of Michael & Sutton’s songs titled, “Sunrise.” That song was sampled by producer Kanye West and then Dionyza sampled Kanye’s flip of the track that he did for rappers Scarface & Jay Z’s “Guess Who’s Back” (2002) for her song ‘I told Myself.’

As stated, she still has a “background vocalist” sound to her on this CD. She needs to break out and show off more of a powerhouse quality but the skill, talent and potential are there, leaving the listener looking forward to see what she does next. –leigh Silbernagel.