My friends and I are country girls, pop princesses. We don't listen to soul music. I walked into work on Saturday, announcing to my two friends that I had a new CD that was soul music. I asked if they wanted to listen. They shrugged at me, and signaled to my laptop.

We waited patiently while I ripped Angie Stone's newest album, the Art of Love and War, onto my laptop, not sure what to expect. It began and we all grew silent, listening to this foreign music. We all seem to be thinking: "Toto, we are so not in Kansas anymore." This was different. But was it good different? After a minute or two, I started dancing. I didn't realize I was dancing; I just was. Angie Stone's The Art of Love and War was fun. One thing is for sure: the country and pop music I listen to may lose their monopoly.

"Take Everything In" starts off slow. It got faster; I started dancing after 33 seconds. It’s infectious, I swear. Her songs are really fun to dance to. Good way to start an album, I suppose.

"Baby" is an interesting song. Angie’s very talented vocally. It’s a pretty fast pace song, which I, historically, like better. Dance songs are always good. Songs like “Baby” put me in a good mood. They are so happy and fun.

"Here We Go Again" has the best melody of all the songs. There is something about Angie's voice that really works well with the melody. It's like peanut butter and jelly; they mesh well together. This is the one of the many songs I started dancing to. I'd probably sing along too, but I don't know the words. Besides, I'm a horrible singer.

From the beginning, I could tell that "Make It Last" would be one of my favorites. Some songs I can't tell if I'm going to like them, but this is clear. Angie and the melody work well together and deliver a very well-done song. It's one of those songs that clears my mind, so instead of thinking about the song I'm thinking about that cute boy in Physics and that stupid field trip to the arborium I have to take for my AP English class. Wow, I really like this song. It's up there with Rascal Flatt's "What Hurts The Most.” It’s that good.

"Sometimes" is another fast pace song. Sweet. Her voice is beautiful, as always. The lyrics are clear and they make the song more powerful. I hate when I can’t understand the lyris to a song. I also hate rap music, but that doesn’t really matter right now. I am really beginning to like soul music. I think I like it more and more every song.