Album: Che’Nelle – Things Happen for a Reason

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Intriguing was the first thing that came to mind upon hearing Things Happen for a Reason, the debut release of Che’Nelle. Her heritage (Malaysian/Chinese/Indian/Dutch) is not what you would call a classic urban mixture waiting to happen and yet surprisingly it works.

Executively produced by American music veteran Charles Dixon, Che’Nelle co-wrote the majority of the 15 tracks much to her credit. And although that is quite lengthy in terms of a debut, it is generally quite fluid and easy to listen to. The result is an upbeat rhythmic album that crosses many genres (Reggaeton/Dancehall/RnB/HipHop) with a few ballads thrown in the mix.

First single is I Fell In Love With The DJ featuring Sham whilst other stand outs are ballad 2^nd Nature, Reggaetton inspired Stick With Me and party track Club Jumpin. Teach Me How To Dance featured on Take The Lead Soundtrack and the track Lookin’ sounds deceptively similar to Buttons by Pussycat Dolls.

Things Happen For a Reason is unashamedly an album wanting to get your booty shakin. And that it does. There are a few times when Che’Nelle goes for the money maker notes a bit too often, but she has a point to prove on her debut and for the most part she does it well. Worth a listen.

Available through Capitol Records