Vanessa Williams - I'll Be The One (1988)

You all know fabulous diva Vanessa Williams, so I really don't need to go into much detail about her career: First black Miss America in 1983, dethroned for lewd Penthouse photos, then moved on to a hugely successful music and acting career. Though she is now likely known more for her acting career on Broadway, the big screen, and most especially for her TV roles in Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives, Vanessa's music career is really what put her on the map. Her first album The Right Stuff was released in 1988 and is likely her most fun and diverse album. The title track was her first Billboard appearance, but it was the ballad "Dreamin'", a remake of the 1986 song by R&B group Guinn, that was her first top ten single, reaching #8. Seven more albums followed, as did hits, including three top tens: the #1 hit "Save The Best For Last", "Love Is" with Brian McNight, and "Colors Of The Wind" from the animated movie Pocahontas. But of all of her songs, my favourite is from her first album, the overlooked freestyle scorcher "I'll Be The One", produced by the man behind Exposé and so many other freestyle hits, Lewis Martinée. This should have been a single. She even performed it on an episode of the TV movie 'Perry Mason And The Case Of The Silenced Singer', where she played an uber-diva who was murdered. Take a moment to appreciate!

Download I'll Be The One