Bracket A
1)Beyonce’ vs. 9)Janelle Monae: While Queen B had it relatively easy in the first round this round should be a lot more competitive. Janelle is looking for an upset.
Vocal Ability-I really feel Beyonce’ is a great singer but Janelle is just as good. 5-5
Albums-This is kinda tough to call but not really. It’s another tie due to Janelle having only classics, and Beyonce’ having classics to match. 5-5
Collaboration- This round things look better in this category for B. She has had quite a bit more collabos. 7-3
Versatility-Janelle takes this category with a wide array of song styles. B is good here too tho. It’s a reasonable split. 4-6
Impact-This is closer than you might think. Both artists make some truly great music. Issa tie. 5-5
Comm. Success-This is where B tells you to “bow down b**ches” lol. It’s not a good look for Janelle here. 10-0
Beyonce’ wins 36 to 24. Janelle was more competition for Queen B but ultimately she loses here pretty badly. This battle started out close but nope. Bracket A has been decided!
Bracket B
4)Alicia Keys vs. 5)Aaliyah: I think this is gonna be a really close matchup. Alicia dropped a new self titled album while I was doing this tournament but for the sake of this matchup…I wont count it in her albums score.
Vocal Ability-These matchups are getting harder to call. I feel both artists are great in their own way so it’s a tie here. 5-5
Albums-Both artist have strong discographies….Aaliyah has 3 great albums but her best album is unmatched by anything Alicia has so I have to give a slight edge there. 4-6
Collaboration-Both artists have some great collabos. So much so I’ll just split this down the middle 5-5
Versatility-I love Alicia for her slower ballads and her mid tempos, while I really just Aaliyah’s faster tracks with a few slower ones….hmm. 6-4
Impact-I’m going to say Alicia Keys has a little more impact but not much more. Both artists have lots of hits and unfortunately Aaliyah passed away in 2001. I’m sure she’d have a lot more ya know….6-4
Comm. Success-Finally the Commercial success numbers are pretty comparable. Alicia has the advantage by a good 10 million or so. So it’s a category win. 6-4
Final Score: Alicia Keys 32 / Aaliyah 28. So that was a really close battle. I’d hate to see Aaliyah go but Alicia proved to be more dominant. She’ll need luck to make it past the semi finals tho.
Bracket C
2)Mariah Carey vs. 10) Toni Braxton These two might be the best singers in this tournament so it’s a shame they’re matching up so early. This should be close.
Vocal Ability-My job here is getting rough. They’re both so elegant and good vocally that they would dominate anyone else. But here, it’s a tie. 5-5
Albums-Mariah has the most albums of anyone here….Toni has some great albums in her own right. I gotta give a slight edge to Toni here. 4-6
Collaboration-Mariah has an edge here but the question is by how much. Toni did do well with Babyface on that one album…but its still like 7-3
Versatility-Tough to call again. Both legendary artists seem pretty even tho. Both are great at slower and midtempo songs. 5-5
Impact-Both singers have made some great music. But honestly I feel Toni’s music is a tad better. However Mariah has been better recently to my knowledge. 4-6
Comm. Success-Let’s break this down. Ironically both artists haven’t sold much in recent years. They’ve both sold an awful lot but Mariah has sold more. So its like a 6-4 split. Let’s see if that’s enough to give a win to the 2 seed.
Mariah Carey has 31 points/ Toni Braxton has 29 . Close battle but MC gets it done. This was very competitive. She’s gonna move on to the semifinals.
Bracket D
3)Rihanna vs. 11)Keyshia Cole: Theres no secret Keyshia is the underdog here. Maybe she can win….or at least keep it close. Riri was dominant in round 1. Leggo!
Vocal Ability-I like both artists vocally so as it seems to be going in Round 2, it’s a tie 5-5
Albums- Both singers have some great albums. Rihanna just has more of them. I do consider Good Girl Gone Bad better than Keyshia Cole’s best album, Just Like You. 6-4
Collaboration-Both artist have great features but I think Rihanna has the edge again here. 6-4
Versatility-Both artists are very versatile. Keyshia at her best is very versatile…but Rihanna excels more at club songs. 7-3
Impact- R&B excellency doesn’t seem so hard to find. While Rihanna’s music is endearing a lot of her stuff has more of a Pop sound. Keyshia takes this category barely. 4-6
Comm. Success-Keyshia went platinum a few times but Rihanna has done gangbusters lol. 8-2
Rihanna wins 36 to 24 . Well congrats to Keyshia for being a better opponent for Riri but she goes down easily still. Things will be much tougher Rihanna in the next round.