Full Review

Cynthia Erivo, Ch. 1 Vs. 1 Review

Cynthia Erivo is a singer and actor that has been captivating audiences with her award-winning abilities on the stage and the screen. Erivo communicates narratives across mediums with a body of work that is poignant, focused on an emotional core, and transcend race, gender and cultural boundaries. Currently, Erivo is on “Holly Gibney,” a chilling HBO miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s, The Outsider, which garnered a record 19 million viewers in the first four episodes. Erivo portrayed Aretha Franklin in the third season of National Geographic’s Emmy® Award-winning global anthology series, Genius, with her episode titled “Genius: Aretha.” In 2019, Erivo received two Oscar® nominations—one for her role as Harriet Tubman in the Focus Features biopic Harriet, and the other for the film’s title track “Stand Up,” which she co-wrote. Her prolific performance as the American hero abolitionist also garnered nominations from the Golden Globes®, Screen Actors Guild and NAACP Image Awards. Erivo enthralled audiences in 2016 with her revelatory and star-making turn as “Celie” in the hit Broadway revival of The Color Purple, for which she won a Tony®, Emmy® and Grammy®. Erivo’s performance at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory, earned her an Evening Standard Theatre Award® nomination for Best Musical Performance and a WhatsOnStage Award® nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Her performance on Broadway has earned her several awards, including the Tony® Award for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical,” a Grammy® award as a principal soloist on the original cast recording of The Color Purple (“Best Musical Theater Album”), a Daytime Emmy® Award for “Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program,” a Drama Desk Award, a Theatre World Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award. The Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress, singer and producer, as well as an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and SAG nominee is now releasing her album titled Ch. 1 Vs. 1.

Bottom Line: With Ch. 1 Vs. 1, Erivo brings her commanding screen performances in Hollywood blockbuster films and unforgettable Broadway roles to her singing, making her a triple threat. The album is a twelve-song journey into a mental and emotional landscape. Individual songs deal with heartbreak and sadness, but also triumph and growth—Ch. 1, Vs.1 is a record of what writer Akwaeke Emezi calls “the unfolding of a self,” of what it means to do away with the pretense and masks we often wear as a means of survival. It’s eclectic, but not in the nice-nasty way “eclectic” is often used to convey displeasure. Rather, it’s the perfect soundtrack to a still-unfolding talent ready to be seen in her fullness, beyond the stage and screen and high fashion red carpet gowns and extravagant nail art.” “What In The World” has multiple layers of singing over a catchy pop beat. Erivo’s vocal is fluid, and her diction is wonderful. Each section is clear in the form and Erivo builds the storyline within the lyrics. “Alive” has a more R&B influence and the change in the instrumentation keeps the flow of the music interesting. “Day Off” is an Electro-pop in its sounds and structure, Erivo’s voice here is more processed, but still beautiful. “Tears” is built around a stunning vocal choir. Erivo’s singing floats over the choir as an electro-pop drumbeat enters to add energy. Overall, Ch. 1 Vs. 1 has a variety of sounds all supported by Erivo’s elegant singing. A singing that is part Broadway and part pop- combining to yield a fresh sound. That’s the short of it!