MIC DONET

Breakout sensation of The Voice of Germany, Mic Donet, the Munich-born R&B singer, was no stranger to the stage when all four judges spun around to enjoy his performance at the televised blind auditions in 2012. This is why internationally renowned German soul singer Xavier Naidoo remarked that there was little to nothing for him to teach the eventual semi-finalist. However, after choosing to work with Naidoo, Mic Donet began to see the fruit of his labor after previous years of chasing his would-be-career in the music industry. His time with Xavier Naidoo at The Voice of Germany and the doors that opened as a result justified the frustration of producing his first English language album in 2008 yet receiving no offer of a recording contract. Aside from minor successes, like winning International Act of the Year at a Las Vegas talent show and accompanying stars such as Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder, and Erykah Badu, he had to wait four years for his chance to shine and the opportunity to finally release his breakthrough album, Plenty Of Love, following the hype from his stint at The Voice of Germany. For a while the buzz around Mic Donet died down providing him time to start writing new music, and now he’s back with his next album Rise And Shine.

The record opens with “Bulletproof”, a radio friendly pop hit that preaches forgiveness for the enduring woes of a romantic relationship and the gratitude for becoming impenetrable in the aftermath of a breakup. The song is in stark contrast to “Heartbreaker”, a brutally honest piano ballad at the album’s midpoint that channels deep vulnerability on the part of the vocalist as he croons hopelessly to a love interest “You better stay away”. Exploring a light 1980s throwback vibe, the song “Happy Again” is warm and reminiscent of a simpler time of pop music. The title track, “Rise And Shine” evokes the sort of inspiration that can be derived from the phrase itself, building up to a climatic full composition. “Children Of The Sun” is an anthem like arrangement that channels the energy of The Temptations’ “Ball Of Confusion” if it were covered by The 5th Dimension for the movie “Hair”. As far as “Who Is The Man?” is concerned, any time you have an introspective chorus with the words ‘man’ and ‘mirror’ in the lyrics, people are going to think of Michael Jackson’s classic “Man In The Mirror”, though it’s well-intended here as the song is dedicated to Mic’s childhood idol. The most touching songs on the album are “Back To You” and “Memories”, the latter which describes the moments of life that create the cyclical chain of beauty and pain that we all live for. While there are a handful of songs that fit the ubiquitous pop song format, Rise And Shine is an overall solid body of work ending poignantly with the piano ballad entitled “So Beautiful”. For a work that represents the emotional journey of soul searching through music, I am glad Mic Donet is having his turn. - Mai Perkins