New Orleans-bred singer Smith has the wide range and smoky soul-pop pipes of a gentler Jennifer Hudson or an edgier Norah Jones. Here she promises herself to her new beau, skipping effortlessly from an earthy folk guitar intro to a playful, swirling chorus with serenely confident vocals.

“Too Close”

Next was formed in Minneapolis when the uncle of Terry "T-Low" and Raphael "Tweety" Brown, who was a gospel choir director, introduced the brothers to Robert Lavelle "R.L." Huggar. Sounds of Blackness singer Ann Nesby groomed the R&B group before handing them over to Naughty by Nature's KayGee, who wrote and produced "Too Close." The idea for the song was sparked "from a conversation we had with several girls at a nightclub," explained T-Low. "It's talking about the club scene, with guys getting out of hand and the female telling him to back up, asking, 'What are you doing?'"