This is a continuation of Music When I Was Younger I .

When I was about 12, I first came across the song One in a Million by Aaliyah through my cousins. I started liking Aaliyah but it was only after I listened to the song Journey to the Past from the animated Disney movie Anastasia that I fell in love with her. I really loved the song and the words really resonated with me at the time:

'Heart don't fail me now
Courage don't desert me, don't turn back now that we're here
People always say life is full of choices
No one ever mentions fear
or how the road can seem so long
how the world can seem so vast
courage see me through'

and also this verse:

One step at a time
One hope then another
Who knows where this road may go?
Back to who I was
On to find my future
things my heart still needs to know
Yes, let this be a sign
Let this road be mine
Let it lead me to my past
courage see me through
heart I am trusting you
to bring me home
At last! At last!

So I tracked her down and the first ever cassette (wonder if you guys still remember cassettes!) that I bought with my own money was Aaliyah's One in a Million.

I heart the R&B and funk style. Her voice is so sweet and melodious and her singing sounded so effortless. Simply beautiful. I also loved her street style and she was my fashion inspiration at the time with her loose / baggy pants and tight tops. She was probably the first young female artiste when she exploded on the scene and was peerless in her music because she had her own style. Even now, I don't think there are any artistes who come close to her originality. Most female pop artistes today are merely pale imitations of Aaliyah and fail to emulate her style. Of course at that time I was also into Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston but Aaliyah brought a whole new kind of music. I cried when she died in the plane crash years later :(


She had more to offer but her time came sooner than her fans expected.

Till my next post.