Alicia Keys invades the music scene with her latest album, “Girl on Fire.”

This time around, Keys puts much effort into making her latest effort stand out from those before without straying to far from her roots. Listeners get a taste of various musical styles: from pop to jazz. She collaborates with three other artists, adding a variance of influences typically unheard of in her music. She strides past the limited material of her previous effort (“The Element of Freedom”). Along with the changes, Keys still manages to grace the piano with her prodigy hands. In fact, her presence on the piano significantly increased from her previous album

Where Keys falls of the wagon with her latest effort is her lyricism. Many songs hatch out the same tired, trite descriptions of love and heartbreak. Longtime fans may pain at the words of “Tears Always Win.” They may fall to the temptation of comparing her earliest work with this album. The beautiful, poetic lyricism that acquired Keys fame rarely rears its head on “Girl on Fire.” Even the title track feels overtly simplistic. Keys abilities only shine in the song “101.” Her voice low and dripping with emotion, the musical poetry that shot her to stardom finally shows itself.

Of all of Keys’ albums, this album is the one most likely to bring in new fans. The album is more accessible to pop and hip-hop music fans than any of her previous work. Nicki Minaj raps on the album version of the popular song “Girl on Fire.” Not to mention the single version is receiving massive attention. 50  ent samples Keys’ song “New Day” in his latest track.

“Girl on Fire” is a beautifully constructed, but for the most part, a poorly written album. Average music listeners may like this album if they pay little attention to lyrics. Hardcore Keys fans may be disappointed with her latest release. All negativity aside, Keys album towers over the majority of the major R&B albums released this year.