That's a very good question.
I'd never heard of "Kem" either, so I looked up his CDs on Amazon and listened to some sample tracks. He's a Soul/R&B singer with a voice somewhere between Luther Vandross and Macy Gray. Not bad at all, if you're into that kinda thing. His most recent CD "Album II" (released May 17) is currently ranked #68 on Amazon's music charts and has earned a solid 5-star customer rating overall.*
This could be interpreted as a sign of desperation on Fantasia's part, opening for a non-household name. Or it could be a move in the right direction. By pairing with Kem (who has a similar singing voice to Fantasia's--minus the screeching) she might be trying to reshape her career and move away from the hip-hop flop of her first album. But if together they can't get 2,000 people to attend a concert ... well. This might be the curtain call for Baby Mama.
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*Something interesting that I noticed: All of the customer reviews that I read for Kem's CDs were intelligent and thoughtful--and spelled correctly.
But several--not all--of Fantasia's reviews were barely legible. Like this one for example (the caps are not mine).
ANOTHA REPSENTA 4RM DA SOUF WHO WON AMERICAN DA SOUF IS REALLY HOLDIN IT DOWN ON AMERICAN IDOL I LIKE FANTASIA HER STYLE IS SO REAL I REALLY WANNA HEAR WHA SHE WRITE THO CUZ SHE DID NON ON DIS ALBUM BUT SHE IS STILL A GREAT SINGER
ROFLMAO!!! Ebonics strikes again. I'm not even going make a half-hearted attempt to translate that, LOL!
This could be interpreted as a sign of desperation on Fantasia's part, opening for a non-household name. Or it could be a move in the right direction.
Or if Kem is with RCA (I don't know who produces his stuff), maybe its an attempt to boost his career. Either way, it doesn't seem to be working.