Powerful. Soulful. Impressive. Those are but a few words to describe the sounds of American-born R&B songstress, Erykah Badu, who will make her second performance in Jamaica on Friday, January 29, at the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival inside The Greenfield Stadium, Trelawny.

Erykah Badu burst on to the music scene with a highly anticipated and critically acclaimed 1997 debut album, Baduizm. That album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts, and its lead single, On & On, blazed through charts in the United States and the United Kingdom. Since then, not only has On & On become a soul/R&B anthem, but Badu has continued to record hit after hit and mesmerise audiences around the world with her voice.

Badu replaced American Idol sweetheart Jennifer Hudson, who pulled out of the festival after being asked by North American recording industry mogul Clive Davis to perform during a special tribute the Grammy's will be dedicating to him.

"We're disappointed that Jennifer cannot perform at the festival. She was asked by Clive Davis to give a special performance during the tribute that the Grammy's will be staging in his honour, and were she to perform here at the festival, she wouldn't be able to attend the rehearsals and get the preparatory work completed in time for that special performance," said Walter Elmore, the executive producer of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival.

Flair and style

Meanwhile, Elmore, who also heads TurnKey Productions, said that the addition of Erykah Badu to the festival is "more than what anyone could have asked for".

"When we heard Jennifer would be unavailable, we were wondering who could we get that could wow everyone and just take the festival to a whole new level. Erykah Badu is a great singer, a great performer, and she will bring her flair and style to the festival, and this is her second time performing in Jamaica," Elmore remarked when asked why Erykah Badu had been chosen.

Erykah Badu's repertoire of music includes five albums, and a sixth expected to be released in 2010.

The 2010 staging of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival will be a seven-day long celebration of the art of music that will see Montego Bay engulfed in the awesome sights and sounds of the TurnKey Productions event from January 24-30. The signature performance nights will take place from January 28-30 at The Greenfield Stadium, Trelawny, which is 12 minutes away from Rose Hall.

Having seen performances from the likes of Alicia Keys, Kenny Rogers, and many more, the festival stage will this year welcome Gladys Knight, Joss Stone, Erykah Badu, John Secada, Deborah Cox, Kelly Price, Tamia, Machel Montano HD, reggae crooner Billy Ocean, as well as reggae band Third World.