~Elle Shanice~ APPROVED ✔: Tamar Braxton "Love And War"

~Elle Shanice~ grade: A

SHE DID THAT!!!!! After years of waiting (not so patiently), Tamar Braxton has finally released her highly-anticipated sophomore album, Love And War. 

Tamar has been ready to record and release this album for a long time and has been worrying her manager-husband Vince about it in the process. He has always said to her that it has to be right before they released it and he was right.

Tamar has been having a busy year already: she gave birth to her first child, Logan, in June in the middle of celebrating the success of her first single, "Love and War". The couple also filmed the ups and downs of promoting the album while pregnant for the second season of their reality show, Tamar and Vince.

All that waiting has paid off for Tamar as she has delivered a high-quality R&B album. We all know she can sing (as can all her sisters) but this is a great album for her to make a breakout performance as an artist.

Even though I am a "Tamartian" and could not wait to hear the album, I was objective in listening for this review. However, I enjoyed the album, which talks about the ups and downs of relationships, in it's entirety. These are some of my FAV tracks:

1. "Hot Sugar"- This is my #1 JAM from the album...it just makes you feel sexy for your man! I have been waiting to hear this song fully since she recorded and performed it on last season of Tamar and Vince. I'm glad that it made the album and I hope she chooses it for her next single."          
2. "Sound of Love"- This is the love song of the album, and by love I mean love-making! This slow jam will set the mood for anyone. 
3. "Prettiest Girl"- This is a great song where she sings about how great her man is to her and I'm sure it's about Vince. This is how every girl (including myself) wants to be treated by her man: to feel like the "prettiest girl in the world". 
4. "All The Way Home"- After a big fight with her man, she jumps in her car to get away but can't help but think about him so she turns around to make up. 
5. "Where It Hurts"- In this song, she sings to her love that she wants to make the pain of his past relationship go away and that she isn't going anywhere. 

I'm happy for Tamar as she is finally seeing the success, both personally and professionally, that she has been talking about wanting all these years. Watch Tamar and Vince Thursdays at 9pm on WEtv and check out the video for Tamar's second single, "The One" below:

~Elle Shanice~ APPROVED ✔: Tamar Braxton "Love and War"

The highly-anticipated first single from WeTV reality star Tamar Braxton was released on iTunes today. "Love and War" is a ballad that was first heard on her hit show Tamar and Vince and I think that it will be a HIT.

One of the plot lines of this season was when Tamar's album would be released. It's been 12 years since her 1st solo album and Tamar makes it known that she's done with "doo-wop-bop-bopping" behind her older sister Toni Braxton and is ready to be a STAR.

I genuinely like Tamar and her show because just like my girl Nene Leakes, she's funny and crazy and says what she means. I was waiting to hear the finished product to this song since I heard it on the show and I think it is a great choice for a single. The lyrics are powerful and will bring her a lot of fans because they will be able to relate:

We stay on the front lines, but we’re still here after the ball drops

We go so hard, we lose control The fire starts, then we explode 

When the smoke clears, we dry the tears 

Only in love and war

Some of the initial reaction to the song is that it sounds a lot like Toni Braxton, and that the cover for the single resembles her as well. I'm one of the BIGGEST Toni Braxton fans so I know her voice and you can easily tell the difference between them.

First of all, Toni and Tamar are SISTERS so of course they resemble each other, moreso than any of the other Braxton sisters. Secondly, Tamar sang backup for Toni for YEARS and of course she may sound a little like her but you can definitely tell the difference if you really LISTEN.

Listen to Tamar Braxton's first single, "Love and War" below: