Top 5 Songs: Brandy

Time for a new blog theme, a Top 5 Songs from an established artist with a lot of hits. Up first, the ultra talented Brandy. I've loved her since her first release, 21 years ago. Wow, that made me feel old. Brandy is the kind of artist who's always had great singles, pieces of pop and R&B gold that were always memorable.

Narrowing down all of Brandy's great singles to just a top 5, is a hard task. For the past few days I've played all her tracks again, and remembered just how good these songs are. Brandy can sing, she has an amazing voice, and the production is wonderful. But to choose five, difficult. I was quite surprised that nothing from the excellent "Afrodisiac" and "Full Moon" albums made it on my list, as I love all those songs, especially the title tracks. I guess it shows how strong her work is when the exclusions are also great. But without further adieu, here are my 5 favourite Brandy songs:

5 - Right Here (Departed)

Brandy's 2008 "Human" album is criminally underrated. Though not a massive hit, "Right Here (Departed)" is clearly the best song on the album (though I also love "Long Distance"). This is a more adult sound from Brandy, with some amazing production from Rodney Jerkins. Lyrically it's also special, a beautifully positive track, "When your life is going too fast off the train tracks, I can slow it down". In fact it was hearing this song again last week that made me decide to make this list.

4 - Almost Doesn't Count

This stunning R&B ballad is one I used to play a lot, it always reminded me of a failed romance. It shows the strength of the vocals, lyrics and productions when people can place themselves in a song. Brandy sounds great here, and those words still give me the feels, 16 years later, "But every time you built me up, you only let me down. But everybody knows, almost doesn't count."

3 - The Boy Is Mine (with Monica)

Probably the most famous Brandy song, in fact the song is pretty damn iconic. A mid tempo pop / R&B track, this is a great duet with Monica. In fact, the song is so strong that is still relevant today. Both the women sound amazing on this song about competing for the same man. It's catchy, instantly recognisable and very easy to sing along with!

2 - Have You Ever?

This is such a stunning ballad from Brandy, was then, will always be. This song will always remind me of an unrequited love that I had the serious feels for. Written by ballad maestro Diane Warren, Brandy's vocals sound exquisite. It was a worldwide smash and really established Brandy as a serious artist with serious chops. All these years later, I hear it and it still makes me feel all kinds of emotions. And clearly I loved the "Never Say Never" album!

1 - I Wanna Be Down

I had no choice to put this track at number one on my list. Brandy's first release and still my favourite. There's something about this track I just love, maybe it's that lazy groove, maybe it's the great vocals or maybe the catchy lyrics? Sometimes you can't put your finger on why you truly adore a song, sometimes you just love it. I love "I Wanna Be Down", end of story. Amazing track!

So what's your favourite Brandy track? Tell me in the comments section below.