Braxton Back on Radar

Remember Toni Braxton? For years she was the featured artist on LaFace Records. After her multiplatinum career with that label, Braxton went on to Arista then Blackground Records where her albums (“More Than a Woman” and “Libra”) only went gold. For a former chart topping artist, that’s practically off the radar. However, that doesn’t mean that Braxton wasn’t busy musically. She performed on Broadway in “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aida” and also had a show on the Vegas strip. There was also a short stint on “Dancing With The Stars.” Braxton has also faced health crises related to herself and her son, who was diagnosed with Autism.

After being pushed back her latest album “Pulse”(from Atlantic Records) will be released in March. For the past several weeks, her single “Yesterday,” (written by M. White, T. Battle and J. Armstrong), has been on heavy music video and R&B airwave rotation. But it is the single featuring Trey Songz that makes this song stand out in a good way. Songz’s vocal contribution to the track keeps you interested. Without him, it’s your standard he-did-me-wrong-now-he’s-got-to-go song.

For someone who received solid reviews for her acting, it’s ironic that the music video has several awkward moments that are supposed to be romantic. Having said that, Braxton goes through several fierce hairstyle and wardrobe changes, which serve to make the song watchable.

How will her first studio album of original music do? With collaborations with Robin Thicke, and producer Ne-Yo, you’ll have to wait and see.