A household name since her very first single, Alicia Keys has had a lot to live up to. In her latest effort, As I Am, Alicia puts out a sound deliberately different than her previous two albums. She certainly distinguishes herself from the Alicia Keys fans may have been expecting and from the rest of today’s popular R’B artists.

As the album title suggests, Keys shows herself simply as is-without heavy hip-hop beats or hit-making formulas. Instead, Keys unexpectedly channels the likes of Coldplay (namely the X’Y album) and John Mayer (who contributed to the track “Lesson Learned”), providing a lyrical range from empowering to laid-back in ballads like “No One,” “Lesson Learned” and “The Thing About Love.”

On a few tracks like “Go Ahead,” “Wreckless Love” and “Prelude to a Kiss,” Keys momentarily returns to the street-wise pianist we’ve grown so fond of, infusing the tracks with moody melodies and delightfully soulful riffs.

With talent like hers, it’s hard to go wrong. Accordingly, her album isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s pretty good. With past tracks such as the immaculate “Fallin’,” “How Come You Don’t Call Me” and “If I Ain’t Got You,” Keys has proven her ability to give R’B a timeless yet fresh edge.

On her latest effort however, Keys doesn’t quite achieve the same feat. The stand-out songs like “Go Ahead,” the current single, “No One” and “Wreckless Love” are solid efforts, but they leave the listener nostalgic for the old even more soulful, even more powerful Alicia Keys of the previous albums.

As I Am is an average album in her own library of music, but compared to what today’s R’B charts have to offer-Chris Brown, Keisha Cole, and Rihanna-Alicia Keys’ voice still reigns refreshing and exceptional above the rest.