Nakia

Loving reappraisal for Nakia's 2009 debut Water to Wine rides atop the same soulful ballads that carried him into the semifinals of NBC's The Voice. Behind the local vocal powerhouse, "Pharmacy" welcomes fans and newcomers alike with a heavy love punch whose beat keeps asking you to catch up, but a lyric accentuated by Nakia's dry and powerful pipes that never tires. The rest of The "Water to Wine" Outtakes continues the theme. "The thought of being by myself ... quickly freezes the blood in my veins," he cries on "Cold," his anguish emphasized through the lack of melody so that the lyrics cut deeper. He ends with "Touch, Feel & Lose," a case of unrequited love that starts soft then builds up to him repeatedly shouting out "cry," leaving you picking up the pieces of Nakia's shattered heart.