T-Pain, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake And More Are Our Favorite R&B Acts Of 2007

T-Pain, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake And More Are Our Favorite R&B Acts Of 2007

Top 10 R&B Acts of 2007

1. T-Pain
So 'hood, so good, Teddy P. was to R&B what Lil Wayne was to rap: a track showstopper whose versatile talent made his guest vocals a must-have for a plethora of artists. His presence was persistent, and while he'll never be heralded among the great voices of all time, you can't forget that the hits came incessantly. Pain's reign saw his computer-enhanced vocals pop up on records by top-of-the-food-chain acts like Kanye West and R. Kelly (twice) as well as street warriors DJ Khaled and Plies.
More importantly, Pain established his songwriting and producing acumen on Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss," as well as on T-Pain's entire LP, Epiphany, which spawned the smashes "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" and "Bartender."

2. Beyoncé
B bodied everybody. Her competition had to throw in the towel this year when she established that no one is in her lane when it comes to this thing we call entertainment. B'Day (released in September 2006) continued to sell like Blue Magic on a Harlem, New York, street corner in the 1970s; her Beyoncé Experience tour was sold out across the country (hey, she still deserves a standing ovation for falling down all those stairs in Florida and hopping back up); and those videos ... have mercy! Fans couldn't get enough of "Get Me Bodied," "Irreplaceable" and "Upgrade U."

3. Justin Timberlake

How can the Prince of Pop be on an R&B list? Did you listen to the album? Justin's FutureSex/LoveSounds (released in September 2006) stormed into '07 on the strength of Timbaland's mud-sopped funk, brutal bass and clean synths and Timberlake's suburban-rebel charm. "My Love," "LoveStoned" and "Summer Love" rocked every iPod, stereo player and stadium on his tour. Meanwhile, JT and the SoundScan Killer himself, 50 Cent, hooked up for "Ayo Technology."

4. Akon

He threw a kid offstage, got nasty with an underage girl in a club and probably cost Gwen Stefani a few million in sponsorship money, but alas, Akon remained a worldwide draw. "I Wanna Love You" and "Smack That" carried over from last year, while "Don't Matter," "Mama Africa" and guest spots on records such as DJ Khaled's "We Takin' Over," Plies' "Hypnotized" and Wyclef's "Sweetest Girl" sustained his popularity this year. Plus — and it's a very big plus — his scouting continued to pay off with the overwhelming success of the man he signed to a recording contract, T-Pain. We'll see if new additions to his roster, such as Brooklyn MC Red Café and TLC's Chili, pay off in '08.

5. R. Kelly

"Did she say there was other guys there? Were there other guys therrrrre?" The outlandish writing stayed at a premium for the King of Rhythm and Blues throughout his Double Up LP ("Real Talk," "Sex Planet," "Sweet Tooth," "Same Girl" and its remix) and the new chapters of "Trapped in the Closet." When he stepped outside of his own projects, Kells levied an onslaught of memorable guest spots including Snoop Dogg's "That's That," Young Jeezy's "Go Getta," Ciara's "Promise" remix and Fat Joe's "Make It Rain" remix. Even Michael Jordan didn't win the MVP every year — but that doesn't mean his game wasn't lethal.

6. Rihanna

Rih Rih chopped her curls into a slick bob, ditched the cute singles in exchange for sexy anthems and in the process became a tabloid target and ubiquitous presence on magazine covers. It started with her sexy hit "Umbrella" and the even sexier accompanying visuals that netted her a VMA win for Video of the Year. The Barbadian beauty's rumored romances with Shia LaBeouf and Josh Hartnett made headlines and helped her break away from the pack of teen starlets, putting her in the company of superstars like Beyoncé, Fergie and Gwen Stefani. Her third single, the Ne-Yo duet "Hate That I Love You," helped to showcase Rihanna's maturing vocal chops and proved she's not a one-hit wonder-er-er-er.

7. Alicia Keys

Since her debut, we've watched Miss Keys evolve from Harlem's ghetto songbird, cooing about the pains of love, into a global voice of indignation, raising the spirits of women and rallying against social injustices. She's as likely to fight for the rights of AIDS patients as she is to fight against radio formats. "No One," the lead single from her third album, As I Am, sounds nothing like a top 40 or R&B hit, yet the song has rested comfortably near the top of both charts. Add in the acting credits under her belt, including this year's "The Nanny Diaries," and there's no question about Keys' ability to push the R&B game to even further heights.

8. Chris Brown

One of these days C. Breezy is gonna become the first artist to literally dance his way into people's living rooms. There's no way cameras and TV sets are gonna be able to keep containing the Virginia native's explosive star power at the rate it's rising. Brown released his sophomore album, Exclusive, which features the MJ-esque "Wall to Wall" and the T-Pain-assisted smash "Kiss Kiss." He stole the show at this year's Video Music Awards with his rousing performance. And then he took his act to the big screen with a breakout role in the ensemble cast of "This Christmas." It's time to start watching ya back, Ursh.

9. Ne-Yo

He was great on his tour with R. Kelly ... all two dates of it. Oh well. Despite his differences with the Pied Piper (Ne-Yo alleges he got kicked off the tour because he was upstaging Kelly), everybody else loves the Las Vegas native. He has another platinum certification on his résumé thanks to Because of You, and his reputation as a writer was boosted with Beyoncé's irrevocably dope "Irreplaceable" and his duet with Rihanna, "Hate That I Love You." Still, the perennial overachiever hit us upside the head for good measure with Fabolous' "Make Me Better," a track he co-wrote and on which he sang.

10. Amy Winehouse

Amy, baby! Rich with throwback soul and lyrics so real that many of them have replayed themselves in tabloid headlines, Winehouse's Back to Black may just be the R&B album of the year. The British songstress had everything in place: The artistically bountiful music (from a chick whose personality came across as real as any MC from the 'hood) was rewarded with multiple Grammy nominations, critical coos and a platinum plaque.