"I'm dat chick," crows Kelly Rowland on the opening track of her third album. Is she, though? Rowland has always been dat other chick, unable to shake the shadow of former Destiny's Child co-star Beyoncé. On Here I Am, the title telegraphs the message—ladies and gentlemen, the real Kelly Rowland—but the 2011 model sounds just about the same as the Rowland of Ms. Kelly (2007). She's a strong, agile R&B vocalist who generates little excitement—adept, but not convincing, playing the club diva (in the David Guetta-produced Euro smash "Commander") and the sexual aggressor ("Work It Man"). Rowland is at her best when she's milder, on her Number One R&B/hip-hop hit "Motivation," with Lil Wayne, and the lovelorn ballad "Keep It Between Us." She's not quite dat chick—but not everyone has to be an alpha female, after all.

Listen to "Motivation":

Related
• Random Notes, Rock's Hottest Photos

“Ambling Alp”

The "Ambling Alp" was the nickname of the six-and-a-half-foot-tall Primo Carnera. Though the song is named after the Italian-born 1930s heavyweight champion, Yeasayer are actually paying tribute to boxing legend Joe Louis with this first-person psychedelic dance-rock tune. “I was always interested in writing a song that had boxing mythology in it,” Yeasayer’s Chris Keating said. “It’s pretty fascinating: There were so many amazing characters, and it was so closely entwined with 20th century history.” Yeaseyer also invokes German champ Max Schmeling and hints at the historical significance placed on the historic bouts between the Nazi-era boxer and the African-American Louis.