Next week marks the release of Brandy’s fifth CD, simply entitled “Human”. One would guess that there is some insinuation that Brandy Norwood IS just human, especially with the drama that her life seems to have attracted over the past couple of years. Management changes, fatal car wrecks, less-than-successful releases (“Afrodisiac”)…turns out that not everything she touches turns to Gold. I root for her, though, because I feel like she attempts to grow as an artist, rather than just sticking to a single formula. As far as I’m concerned, Brandy really doesn’t get the respect she deserves.

Single #2 from “Human” is the power ballad “Long Distance”, and I recently told someone that it’s as if she’s setting herself up for a European pop comeback, because the singles really seem to fit with what works over there. Whether that will translate into success here in the States remains to be seen, although there are positive signs. “Right Here (Departed)” continues to show a strong pulse at Pop radio, and “Long Distance” is off to a good start at R&B and Urban AC…

…which brings me to the video. The first half of “Distance” is simply beautiful. As I watched it, I thought “this is a great interpretation of the song”. Of course, the fact that the video impressed me that much means that I’m headed for a letdown, and I got it in spades. The video literally vomited all over itself, and just couldn’t recover from it. I promise you, if you watch the video, you’ll see what I mean.