Onitsha 'Church Girl'

LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Still Waters Label) - After backing a bevy of big-name acts (Mary Mary, Destiny's Child), Onitsha emerges as an artist of true star caliber all her own. Veteran hit man Crawford (Whitney Houston, Yolanda Adams) is a perfect creative foil, co-writing most of the material with his young diva and casting her one-in-a-million voice in diverse musical settings, each a compelling, custom fit. A smooth, retro-soul groove ("He Is") slides into sassy hip-hop ("Don't Give Up") and feel-good funk ("My Life"), all conveyed with the presence and poise of a master.

"Search Me" treads dangerous turf, as Crawford re-engineers Mahalia Jackson's original recording into the 21st century, with Onitsha daring to duet with the Queen of Gospel herself. She pulls it off-gloriously-on an album that suggests great things still to come. -Gordon Ely