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[title]Innuendo seems too nuanced for Trey Songz, whose seduction soundtracks take a brazen approach, leaving little to the imagination. It could come off as plainly crass, but he delivers his pleas with so many sensual trills that it seems like a reasonable enough proposition. Yet for all the virtuosity of his voice, the R&B crooner remains inextricably linked to R. Kelly, an influence he makes little attempt to hide. The newest set from Songz, Chapter V, offers plenty of evidence; the single “Dive In” dispenses with metaphors early on and takes us right to the endgame: to be “swimming in your body.”
Miguel’s breakout single, “Adorn,” plays like a 21st-century reimagining of “Sexual Healing,” from the spare synthetic pulse to the reverb-glazed vocal acrobatics. And though Marvin Gaye and Prince are Miguel’s most obvious reference points, the singer’s musical appetite is boundless; in the video for Wale’s “Lotus Flower Bomb,” (which gave him a big push ahead of “Adorn”), the back of Miguel’s denim jacket is plastered with a vintage Pat Benatar iron-on, and his impressive new album, Kaleidoscope Dream, sneaks in nods to the Zombies and Curtis Mayfield.
He shares some seedy common ground with tourmate Trey Songz, too, evidenced by cruder fare like “Pussy Is Mine.” The tune’s guaranteed to illicit the same response as Songz’s “Panty Wetter,” another slow jam à la Kelly, and both should go over well at the Arie Crown, assuming the room is filled with the same ladies Kelly himself sang to in October.