Patti LaBelle vs. Ledisi | Head 2 Head 🗣️

In the 50^th edition of Head 🗣️ 2 Head 🗣️ (2023), Patti LaBelle and Ledisi contend for the best rendition of “New Attitude.”  

Welcome to Head 2 Head! On Head 🗣️ 2 Head 🗣️, we pit at least two musicians singing the same song together, comparing their performances.  Then, after much deliberation, we deliver a verdict of which performance was the best, or at least, subjectively, which performance moved us more.  In the 50^th  edition of head 🗣️2 head 🗣️ (2023), 🎙 Patti LaBelle and 🎙 Ledisi contend for the best rendition of 🎵 “New Attitude”. So, without further ado, let the Head 2 Head commence!

1. Patti LaBelle, “New Attitude”

💿 Patti LaBelle’s Greatest Hits • 🏷 MCA • 🗓 1996

“Runnin’ 🏃🏾‍♀️ hot 🥵 / Runnin’ 🏃🏾‍♀️ cold 🥶 / I was runnin’ 🏃🏾‍♀️ into overload / It was extreme.” Ooh-wee, 🎙 Patti LaBelle!  The iconic, 🏆 Grammy-winning musician delivered a surefire bop in 1984 with her single, 🎵 “New Attitude”.  Originally, the 🎼 ✍ Bunny Hull, Jon Gilutin, and Sharon T. Robinson penned song appeared on the 🎦 Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack.  One of her most successful hits, it peaked at no. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. Naturally, it performed even better on the R&B charts, peaking at no. 3, one of 13 top 10 R&B hits by the chanteuse.  “Somehow the wires uncrossed,” she sings in the pre-chorus, adding, “The tables were turned / Never knew I had such a lesson to learn.”

Essentially, Patti LaBelle, or the character she portrays, experiences a paradigm shift – changes her attitude.  This is best exemplified in the chorus, the centerpiece:

“I’m feelin’ good from my head to my shoes 👠

Know where I’m goin’ and I know what to do

I’ve tidied up my point of view

I got a new attitude

I’m in control, my worries are few

‘Cause I’ve got love like I never knew

Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh

I got a new attitude.”

What a flex 💪! You know what else is a flex? Those powerful vocals by Patti LaBelle! Her performance is commanding, incredibly nuanced, and playful.  There is no shortage of personality and – wait for it – ATTITUDE! Her ad-libs are electrifying to the nth degree with Patti showing off her range.  Beyond the performance and the songwriting, the production (🎛 Howard Rice, Peter Bunetta, and Rick Chudacoff) is another selling point.  Gotta love those boxy 80s drums.  Furthermore, what about that driving synth bass line, and those ear-catching rhythmic synth, all idiomatic of the era.  The guitar 🎸 is rad too.  So much more can be said of 🎵 “New Attitude” but honestly, this Patti classic, which appears on 💿 Patti LaBelle’s Greatest Hits, speaks for itself.

Appears in 🔻:

• Patti LaBelle, New Attitude: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 180 (2023)

2. Ledisi, “New Attitude” 

🎵 “New Attitude (CMT Smashing Glass: A Celebration of the Groundbreaking Women of Music)” • 🗓 2023 

“I’m in control, my worries are few / ‘Cause I’ve got love like I never knew / Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh / I got a new attitude.” Oh, yeah! 🏆 Grammy-winner 🎙 Ledisi (Ledisi Young) honors iconic soul musician, 🎙 Patti LaBelle with a stirring rendition of her classic, 🎵 “New Attitude” via CMT Smashing Glass: A Celebration of the Groundbreaking Women of Music. Young, a seasoned artist in her own right, brought the heat 🥵. In the live performance, she owns the stage. Her presence is amazing, showcasing ample – wait for it – ATTITUDE! 

“Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh / I got a new attitude!” Ledisi delivers potent, incredibly powerful vocals. The edge and grit in her voice is effing amazing.  When Patti, I mean, Ledisi 😝, hits the high notes, it’s a spiritual moment 👏 👏 👏 – AMEN! Her ad-libs are on-point, as Young does indeed do her best to channel her inner Patti LaBelle.  In addition to her epic lead vocals, Young gets epic support from the background vocals.  Ultimately, this live cover of 🎵 “New Attitude” is sooo good it makes you wanna slap yo mama… well, something like that.  Check out the video and the icon herself, the one-and-only Patti LaBelle, eats it up 🔥.   

Appears in 🔻:  

• Ledisi, New Attitude: Covers No. 48 (2023) 

The Verdict 👨🏿‍⚖️  

Ah, it all comes down to this! Who did it better, 🎙 Patti LaBelle or 🎙 Ledisi? Ledisi put her foot into her live rendition of 🎵 “New Attitude,” PERIOD.  BUT, she was honoring a groundbreaking woman in music, and Patti LaBelle is untouchable.  So is Patti’s rendition of “New Attitude.” Nothing more needs to be said – the attitude speaks for itself!  

Patti LaBelle vs. Ledisi: Head 2 Head 🗣️ No. 50 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; CMT, MCA; Hernán Toro, Los Muertos Crew, RDNE Stock project, Thomas Ronveaux from Pexels]