Sullivan delivers beyond expectations on Love Me Back — a vibrant, musically diverse collection that sets soulful R&B melodies to inventive, hip-hop-inspired beats. The album is a rich showcase for Sullivan’s powerhouse vocals and unique storytelling gifts on songs like “Redemption,” “Good Enough,” and the Missy Elliott-produced “Holding You Down (Goin’ In Circles)” (which climbed to No. 4 on the Urban Mainstream chart), and the “you-done-me-wrong”-themed “10 Seconds.”

Sullivan’s positive mood is apparent on the exuberant love songs “Stuttering,” “Excuse Me,” “Love You Long Time,” and “Don’t Make Me Wait,” which boasts an ’80s-style rhythmic backdrop that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Prince album. Where Fearless boiled over with struggle and heartache, Love Me Back brims with joy and confidence. “I think you see a softer side of me,” she says. “When I wrote Fearless, I had just ended a really tough relationship, which set the tone because I was angry, so I wrote songs like ‘Bust Your Windows.’ This album is a lot lighter. Of course I still have trying times, but, for the most part, I’m happy and that’s reflected in the album.”

Once again, Sullivan co-wrote every song, collaborating with her early champions Missy Elliott and Salaam Remi, as well as Ne-Yo, Toby Gad, Chuck Harmony, No-ID, Anthony Bell, and Cainon Lamb, who bring out the best in this self-assured performer whom Vibe has called “every inch the soul star.”