MUSIC REVIEW: Scarlette: Where I Belong

Scarlette is a singer / songwriter who was born and raised in Wellwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, but listening to her music you could be forgiven for thinking she is a product of the Nashville production line – she has a country feel to the music she creates but this is modern country and therefore has what I would describe as an infusion of pop music and rock music.

She has already had much success since starting out in 2002, she topped the US Billboard Chart twice in her career and has been playlisted twice by Radio 2 and has been a support act for the likes of Robbie Williams, Ollie Murs, Girls Aloud and Caro Emerald.  She has also played the iconic Bluebird Café in Nashville which is every country singer’s dream.  This success has, however, not catapulted her to the recognition and stardom that you might expect.  She does have a strong, loyal following and has had many positive comments from the music media but still she runs a little under the radar.

Her latest release “Where I Belong” is a story of a girl who meets the girl of her dreams and they live happily ever after – more than a hint of biographical content as she has recently married the love of her life Ezel. It’s a true love song that comes directly out of Scarlette’s country roots and has that Nashville feel that I referred to earlier.

Scarlette has an incredible vocal range and this track brings this out in full force. She has enlisted the production help of J.R Richards from US rock band Dishwalla and his backing vocals are a real treat here, but this is very much Scarlette’s song and this is clear throughout.  She moves seamlessly in and out of ballad vocal tones to full on rock song range – it is by far the biggest demonstration to date of how versatile her voice really is.

She has an album due out later this year and if this is a hint of what we can expect from the bigger release then I cannot wait for that release.  This feels like it might be a key point in Scarlette’s career where things go from strength to strength and she gets more of a mainstream breakthrough than we have seen to date – she definitely deserves it based on this single.

As a songwriter you can hear the passion and drive in her voice that you simply don’t hear from some artists singing others songs. She really means every single word she sings and whilst I am yet to see Scarlette perform live in person, I hope this happens once the album is released and she plays to some very decent crowds around the UK.  Country music is once again fashionable and this could be the perfect platform for Scarlette to grow into.

Reviewer - John Fish