Colette Lush is a Texas born, New York based, 24-year-old RnB singer whose persona and music oozes personality and creativity as she strives to achieve stardom. Receiving her big break during a 2016 tryout on American Idol, Colette received praise from all three of the judges; one of which being Jennifer Lopez, who compared her to 2005’s Idol winner Carrie Underwood. Since this exposure, Colette has been working on improving not only her music but her performance and marketing, creating some of the most stunning and visually interesting music videos I’ve seen from someone at her level. Her combination of raw talent, excellent visuals, and well-executed social media prowess (#TeamGinger) create a unique combination that almost guarantees a rise to stardom.
Originally, I discovered Colette when she did a feature with fellow RnB/Pop singer John Lindahl on his Christmas album A John Lindahl Holiday on a song called “My List”. The reason I chose to highlight Colette, despite her not being a rap artist, is that I genuinely find her talent to be above most people on her level of exposure. She has a presence that not many people can, or even attempt to, imitate and I find this originality and authenticity refreshing in a genre that can, at times, feel recycled and unoriginal.
She is always herself with everything she does and you can tell she is having a great time doing what she loves. I wholeheartedly support people following their dreams and Colette seems to be one of the few who I can comfortably say is actively chasing her dreams and improving each and every day.
While she is dedicated, Colette has a relatively small discography containing a handful of singles, an EP, and an album. On most of these projects she showcases fiery yet passionate songwriting that tells stories about love from both good and bad sides of the spectrum.
Seven-One is the culmination of those themes as it serves as an insight into the mind of Colette as she copes with the loss of a strong love and some of the complications that come with break ups.
“Don’t” is a heartbreaking piece containing a vocally distinguished chorus that lands itself between a cry for help and a powerful plea for forgiveness. Colette jumps between vocally belted and dynamic choruses alongside pseudo hip-hop verses that exhibit her versatility. This track is extremely catchy and I feel that it really delivers on its theme.
“Please” is another personal favorite that, in-concept, is almost identical to “Don’t” but differs in its execution. Colette creates a haunting echo-effect with her voice as she is again pleading for forgiveness as she admits that she is the reason her current love is failing. While “Don’t” feels like their may be a chance at retribution, “Please” feels almost like her time for forgiveness has come and gone and she knows this as she hopelessly tries one final time to salvage what was already lost.
Appearing on her EP Lush: The Experience, “Bounce” is another track that really stands out to me; solely because Colette tries her hand at rapping and she’s insanely good at it. Her switch up and vocals on this track are a wonderful combination that doesn’t come off as pandering, but genuine experimentation (and a good experiment at that). My only gripe with this track is that it’s relatively short, only running for two minutes, and it leaves me wanting more.
The last track I would like to highlight is another track from Lush: The Experience called “No Secrets”. While this track doesn’t vibe with my tastes like her others, I think this track is a great introduction to Colette and the vibe that she is going for in her music and persona. To me, this track comes off as something straight out of a mid-1900’s musical and it is extremely playful in nature. This is a great track for new fans that really sells the “experience” that the EP is aptly alluding to.
Colette is a great talent that I feel is currently undervalued and overlooked despite her undeniable talent and presence. Her talent and marketing are above what someone of her caliber is typically capable of. Her tracks are consistently raw, authentic, vulnerable, and powerful, which lend themselves well to their themes of love and heartbreak. While I wish Colette would try her hand at different themes, I am thoroughly enjoying what she has to offer so far.
Having announced a new album being in the works, I am excited to see where her evolution has taken her next and I hope that this release turns into her real big break.
Links to her socials:
Written By: Michael Miserendino
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