Norah Jones sure gets around. Who could resist that soulful, sensual voice of her? Even musicians want a piece of Norah Jones. A compilation of 18 tracks …Featuring Norah Jones showcases her collaborations with a wide range of artists from jazz to country to blues to hip-hop. Whether trading bars with Willie Nelson on “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” supporting Q-Tip on “Life is Better,” “Creepin’ In” with Dolly Parton, mourning next to Ryan Adams on “Dear John,” or “Taking Off [Her] Cool” with André 3000, Norah Jones remains at ease, which allows her smoky timbre to lend its way into the duets. Throughout Featuring, what makes Norah Jones a great partner is that she stands out and blends in at the same time.

The Romantic Kelly finally reveals in Love Letter. On the soulful “When a Woman Loves,” R. Kelly pours his heart out as if he recognizes the power of love and not just sex. R. Kelly has been known for his use of in-your-face sexual metaphors in the past, but on the string-ladden “Music Must Be a Lady,” his choice of comparisons are much more elegant: “Music, hello sweet soprano, Miss Music / I want you to meet Mister Tenor.” R. Kelly pays tribute to Michael Jackson with a heartfelt rendition of “You Are Not Alone,” a phenomenal hit he wrote for MJ in 1995. With sweet, sensual, sentimental ballads, Love Letter takes a break from R. Kelly’s freaky business to bring listeners back to the great old souls like Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Sam Cooke and Frankie Lymon.

Vietnam Idol 2010 winner Uyen Linh and diva My Linh took on R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” and literally butchered the song with their wailing vocals. Uyen Linh’s English isn’t so bad, but My Linh’s just kills it. As if the voices aren’t high enough, the soprano saxophone adds another layer of irritation. This is just unbearable.

Before T.I. could release King Uncaged, he was caged again for another eleven months on a parole violation. Although the album has been changed to No Mercy, some of his deep thoughts are about redemption. On “Get Back Up,” he offers his “apologies to [his] fans and [his] closest friends / I’m sorry for letting you down, I won’t take you down this road again.” As much as he tries to sound sincere, the track turns out to be irrelevant for the obvious reason: T.I. has done some dumb shit again.

No Mercy offers some softer sides of T.I., but with half-assed delivery. He is at his best when he talks shit. He rips through “I Can’t Help It” with his virtuosic swag about getting money. “Amazing” is a compelling track that laced with some of the most pornographic rhymes ever: “Turn her to a dick monster, nut muncher / sperm cum dumpster, left amongst her / Bitches in the past, pretty titties, plenty ass / they just drink up what we give them / Take shots without any glass / fuck her in the face till it fall off her till she gas, gas, gas.” Sure, his misogynistic lyricisms sound so wrong on many levels, but his flow is just too damn incredible.

That’s it? Two years in making Li Ti and Tung Duong could only come up with six songs. To make the album sounds complete, he has to add two instrumental tracks.While the quality of the productions are superb, what makes Li Ti a disappointment is the lack of inventiveness.

Whereas his previous album, Nhung O Mau Khoi Lap Phuong, was an imaginative exploration of electric music, Li Ti is more like running on electric circulation. As if NOMKLP was way too far out, Tung Duong dumbs down his music for a wider audience. The lead-off “Troi Cho” is impressive in setting up the ambient vibe with rock, but the rest aren’t up to Tung Duong’s envelop-pushing, evolving style. He sounds restraint on “Con Co.” His delivery doesn’t flow with the orchestration, which would have made a gorgeous score alone. In contrast, Tung Duong’s flow is fantastic on “Giang To” but the production never takes off. The title track, on the other hand, goes nowhere vocally as if the composition was not written for singing.

While Li Ti is much more accessible than his previous releases, it is also the dullest. In addition, Li Ti is a sign that Tung Duong’s electric experimentation has run dried. It’s time to return to the acoustic blues and jazz styles that he was so damn good at.

I was at Barnes & Noble this morning for some last minute holiday shopping and overheard a Puppinized rendition of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas.” I headed over to the music department and treated myself a copy of Christmas With The Puppini Sisters. Right off the opening track, the Sisters “Step Into Christmas” with a joyful, up-swinging tempo. Then “Santa Baby” gets a Puppini’s soulful, sexy makeover. While “White Christmas” gets into the cold, winter spirit, “Mela Kalikimaka” gets a sunshine season’s greeting from the land where palm trees sway. “Holy Night” closes out the whimsical album with the Sister’s wonderful harmonized vocalization.

Wishing you all a joyful spirit for the holidays. Thanks for hanging out with me at Visualgui.com. Now go spend time with your family.

Who would have known, Nao Co Ai Biet, Phuong Thanh and Duc Tri make a fruitful collaboration? From a producer standpoint, Duc Tri makes a wise decision to record an acoustic album of his own tunes. The intimate setting showcases Phuong Thanh’s rough voice and raw emotion. Accompanied by Duc Tri’s sentimental strumming guitar, Phuong Thanh pours her heart out on slow ballads including “Co Bao Gio,” “Nao Co Ai Biet” and “Khi Giac Mo Ve.” On more powerful ballads, however, Duc Tri gives Phuong Thanh more room to do her roaring. “Ta Chang Con Ai” and “Co Quen Duoc Dau” takes listeners back to Phuong Thanh’s golden days when she stormed the pop scene with her vigorous voice. Nao Co Ai Biet displays the platonic connection between the two musical friends.

Before Duc Tuan, singers who get Duong Thu’s approval for his music were mostly women: Hong Nhung, My Linh, Khanh Linh, Thanh Lam, Tran Thu Ha, Nguyen Thao and Bang Kieu. To this reviewer’s ear, Hong Nhung and Nguyen Thao were the two most successful in articulating Duong Thu’s nature-inspired lyricism. They sing his music in a very easy-going approach. Duong Thu coached Duc Tuan to do the same in Bay Gio Bien Mua Dong, Duc Tuan’s latest album. Unlike Hong Nhung and Thao Nguyen, Duc Tuan has lost that natural instinct after his second album. The major different between Duc Tuan and the two female singers is that he forces himself to sound effortless. Throughout the album, but “Bai Ca Dao Mua Dong” and “Cua So Mua Dong” in particular, listeners can tell that he tries his hardest not to break a sweat. Bay Gio Bien Mua Dong is a proof that natural singing is something that cannot be trained. You either have it or you don’t.

Unlike your distance “twin,” you understand the meaning of “cay” (spicy), but you don’t believe us when we tell you so. At several Pho houses, you kept pointing to the Sriracha hot chili sauce bottle and say ketchup. You insisted on dipping it with the meatball. Mom finally let you tasted yesterday at Pho 495 and now you know not every red-looking condiment is ketchup.