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"Right Here (Departed)" (CD single)
Common Sense Media says
Brandy returns with an emotional new single.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Brandy sings about depressing, overwhelming emotions but then reassures listeners that "I will be right here with you, you'll be right here with me." The video for the song takes this theme one step further by showing grieving family members being visited by a spirit-like Brandy, who comforts them.
What's the story?
It's been four long years since Brandy released an album. In that time, she appeared as a judge on the popular TV series America's Got Talent and, perhaps more notably, was involved in a freeway accident that claimed the life of another driver. She hasn't really been heard from in public since -- until this summer, when the first song off of her newest LP, Human (set for a November release) appeared online. RIGHT HERE (DEPARTED) is a thoughtful, comforting song about surviving difficult times.
Is it any good?
It takes a certain level of guts for a singer whose career has been marred by a tragic car accident to come back with a single that opens with the lines, "Oh when you feel your heart's guarded, and you see the brakes started ...When your life is going too fast, off the train tracks, I can slow it down."
But the gamble seems to have paid off. Brandy sings with confidence and spirit. Given her past, her refrains of "You'll be right here with me, I'll be right here with you" seem less like pop platitudes and more like reassurances from someone who's survived hard times. That, plus the mix of a fast, disco-style chorus and smooth R&B standards, makes this enjoyable track worth a listen.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about Brandy returning to the musical spotlight after several years -- a hiatus that included her 2006 involvement in a car accident in which another driver was killed. Do you think a tragedy like that affects how the public perceives someone in the public eye? Should it?
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