Alicia Keys: Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready) (Single Review)

“Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready)” is the latest single off of Alicia Keys‘ 2009 album The Element of Freedom, and it is very, very good.

Although she’s previously established herself as a belter on tracks like “Fallin’” and “If I Ain’t Got You,” Keys takes a few steps back from the mic with her new single, allowing a slow, sultry electronic groove to fill in the blanks and carry Keys’ soft coos. “You give me a feeling that I never felt before,” Keys half sings, half moans on her way to the chorus, “and I deserve it, I think I deserve it.”

Not that doesn’t sing here–of course, she does–but it’s the slow, slinky Janet-style crooning here that’s absolutely intoxicating.

The video for the song is equally well done, as the singer tackles the (still often controversial) topic of interracial dating from an alternating past/present perspective.

Perhaps what I like most about the video is that it does not include Drake, who happens to be featured on the background vocals of the song. The move would have drawn attention away from both the message and the singer herself.

Good choice!