Calming, soothing Jodie Brooke Wilson

You may not have heard of her but Jodie Brooke Wilson already has a lot of hits as a songwriter. Most of these were big sellers in Europe and her native Australia like I Want What She’s Got, Higher than Heaven, used as the theme for the Sydney 2000 Olympics and in the Rugrats movie soundtrack, Show Me Now from the film Scary Movie. She has also collaborated with many international writers.

But given her good looks and breathy singing style, it was inevitable that Jodie would also venture into performing and recording her own album. Titled Halfway to Paradise, the CD was released early this year and is getting the big promo push. I am not familiar with most of her works but it looks like she has chosen some of her dreamiest, most romantic compositions for inclusion in her own album. In a world where girl singers and songwriters get more and more jaded by the minute, Jodie still writes about things that render females weak in the knees – that is, if they will acknowledge it.

"Completely lost in your touch, defenses falling away," she sings in Completely which opens the album. "Two trees that grow together till the roots are inseparable," goes Temporary Madness. "Lying beside you, still there’s one thing missing. I need to hear you say if this feeling’s gonna stay," is the refrain of the title cut Halfway to Paradise. I Know How the River Feels has "Holding fast, home at last, knowing the journey’s through, lying here with you, I know how the river feels." "Hey Mr. Moon, how are you, welcome to the evening," from Mr. Moon. Hearing words like these sung by a voice like hers has a calming, soothing effect on the listener. There is indeed a lot of Karen Carpenter in her singing, plus bits of Eva Cassidy and Norah Jones.

It also helps that she sings At Seventeen, the Janis Ian hit from the ’70s that accurately voiced out the pains of an ugly girlhood. I haven’t heard this one in a long time and Jodie does a great job with the song. It is even better that she also sings the Hoagy Carmichael classic Stardust. Considered by many as the greatest song to come out of the 20th century, Stardust has been recorded by so many singers that I doubt if the publisher has counted every one of them. So it must have taken Jodie a lot of guts to come up with her own version. She does it simply, with only a guitar accompaniment. It sounds very new, like something those "acoustic" singers around might want to try. Incidentally, these two are the only songs that Jodie did not write in her album.

Jodie was born in Sydney. Her mother was the star of a long-running hit TV series and her grandmother won a singing competition at age nine in 1914. Jodie now lives in the UK. Someday, she hopes, she will be able to record a duet with her favorite singer Michael McDonald and write a song with her idol and inspiration, pop legend Carole King.

Meanwhile, don’t forget to check out Jodie’s Halfway to Paradise. It also has other songs like Dream Maker, I Can See Forever, Promise Me, Home and Love Called My Name.

Hits In The Us

Here are the hits of the moment in the US of A as per the Billboard tabulation. The singles: Crazy in Love by Beyonce featuring Jay-Z; Right Thurr by Chingy; P.I.M.P.by 50 Cent; Shake Ya Tailfeather by Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee; Never Leave You–Uh Ooh, Uh Oooh! by Lumidee; Into You by Fabolous featuring Tamia or Ashanti; Frontin by Pharrell featuring Jay-Z; Get Low by Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring Ying Yang Twins; Unwell by the matchbox twenty; and In those Jeans by Ginuwine.

The albums: Bad Boys II, the soundtrack featuring various artists; Now 13, the latest in the popular hit compilation series by various artists; Fallen by Evanescence; Dangerously in Love by former Destiny’s Child Beyonce; Jackpot by Chingy; Get Rich or Die Tryin’ by 50 Cent; Come Away with Me by Norah Jones; What the World Needs Now is Love by Wynnona; Chapter II by Ashanti; and Meteora by Linkin’ Park.