Jazmine Sullivan recently returned to the spotlight after a four year hiatus, and she’s back like she never left. However, as happy as she is to return, she knows that she has yet to earn the same appreciation as her peers.
The 28-year-old has been nominated for eleven Grammy Awards for her three albums and has yet to win a coveted golden statue. Although her third studio album “Reality Show” was a big hit among fans, it doesn’t take a scientist to see that race plays a role in the difference between her success and Adele’s.
Yes, her album debuted at number 2 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, but “Reality Show” only sold 30,000 copies in the first week. Jazmine’s three singles from the album, “Dumb”, “Forever Don’t Last” and “Let It Burn” didn’t make much of an impact on the charts either.
When compared to artists like Adele, Jazmine is trumped. Three months after Adele released her latest single, “Hello”, it’s still #1 on Billboard for the tenth week straight and her third album, “25”, has sold over 15 million copies worldwide.
Sullivan is well aware that white artists who sing “blue eyed soul” are received better than their equally talented black counterparts. Sullivan said in an interview with the AP, “I guess I’m glad that people are recognizing me in some way, and kind of see there’s a little injustice in how black soul artists are received. But, at the same time, I try not to focus so much on the negativity.”
She goes on to say that the people who listen to her “may not be as many people (who) listen to Adele. there are people who are listening. There are people who appreciate me. There are people who love my music.”
Jazmine knows that in order to be taken seriously as an artist, she must up her game and polish her brand. She says that she must gain her confidence and mojo back, “I think it’s just a matter of making myself known to more people. I think it’s about spreading Jazmine Sullivan’s brand, I guess, to more people,” she said.
Sullivan is appreciative of the fans who support her. “The tours were sold out and I just felt so much love,” said Sullivan. “I don’t get too much into album sales and anything like that. What I do tend to do is, if I go to a show, and it’s sold out, and if people are singing the lyrics to the songs, that’s the kind of stuff that makes what I do so great.”
We’ll be rooting for Jazmine’s success in 2016 and we’re hoping that she walks away with the Grammy she deserves. The Grammy Awards will air live Feb. 15 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
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