More fireworks from Norah

Daring was what I thought of Norah Jones’ debut album Come Away with Me. It was not daring of Norah who knew what sort of music she wanted to do. It was daring of Capitol Records to give what could have been a small art collection on its jazz label Blue Note the push usually reserved for potential pop big sellers. And that is although it was the first by an unknown artist who didn’t have the makings of a Britney, Beyonce or Christina and not even Dido.

On the other hand though it was not like Norah Jones was a piano-playing blues singer uprooted out of a small-town saloon and thrust into the big-time spotlight. I do not think they did that because she has this whispery voice with a sweet inflection and her skill on the keyboard. Those are her major qualities I have to admit, but talent alone do not make the star. Media needs something to play with with new personalities that come along and Norah, despite her reluctance over accepting the trappings of fame, profferred up a lot.

She is after all, Ravi Shankar’s daughter. You may not know what a sitar looks like but you hear the name and you think George Harrison and you think the Beatles and right away you want to check out this girl. It also helps that she has exotic good looks which people find so appealing now that the world has turned its sights on things Asian. She is part Indian. Now, there must be thousands of girls with similar credentials around but Norah made it because somebody dared to gamble on her being different. And won, in a big way.

Despite its eight Grammy wins, I still did not think Come Away with Me offered anything new. Young artist singing and writing adult songs? Harry Connick Jr., was doing that at 18. Great expressive voice? Lots of that around too from Sarah to Dido to Allison, etc., etc., etc. She plays the piano well. Alicia does that too. So what is Norah doing up there? She is a media darling who refuses to be one and you have to agree that that can be very attractive.

I am very glad to find out though that Norah Jones is treating the opportunities presented to her with so much love and care. In fact she used her phenomenal popularity to put together a second album that is pure genius. More bluesy than jazzy, more country than pop, Feels Like Home reads like a collection of prize-winning short stories written with a sure hand and filled with understated charm. Listening to it feels like watching fireworks bursting way, way up in the sky without the noise and the danger of the explosion. So quiet, so lushly-designed, so precise in symmetry, so full of colors, so rich in tones and so beautiful.

Norah Jones has more than lived up to her promise and isn’t it great her success is allowing her to show off the superb artist she really is? Eight Grammys for Come Away with Me? Feels Like Home deserves more.

Norah’s Feels Like Home entered the US charts at number one when it was released two weeks ago. It retains the top position as of this writing. Meanwhile, her album Come Away with Me, which also made number one, has already sold eight million units. That means it is now Platinum eight times over. It is positioned at number 23 in the Billboard album chart after 104 weeks in the market. The rest of lists:

The albums: Feels Like Home by Norah Jones; The College Dropout by Kanye West; Fallen by Evanescence; Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by Outkast; When the Sun Goes Down by Kenny Chesney; Closer by Josh Groban; I Don’t Want You Back by Eamon; Kamikaze by Twista; The Very Best of Sheryl Crow by Sheryl Crow; and A Crow Left of Murder by Incubus.

The singles: Yeah! by Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris; Slow Jamz by Twista featuring Kanye West & Jamie Foxx; The Way You Move by OutKast featuring Sleepy Brown; One Call Away by Chingy featuring J. Weav; Me, Myself & I by Beyonce; Hey Ya! OutKast; Hotel by Cassidy featuring R. Kelly; Tipsy by J-Kwon; Splash Waterfalls by Ludacris; and Sorry 2004 by Ruben Studdard.