In late February, I had the pleasure of witnessing Alice Smith at a live show. I didn’t see her or catch her – I witnessed her. She sauntered onto the stage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with no drums, no keyboard and no backup singer. It was just her and her guitarist. What followed was an experience. Her voice was a presence, dominating every inch of space in the room. This Alice Smith, I was thinking, is a problem.

In a video interview on her Myspace page, Smith revealed that one of the reasons she loves New York City is because a woman as tall as she can still blend in with the crowd. It’s funny, since women as tall and beautiful as Smith are anything but ordinary, yet NYC offers the type of populous so concerned with their own lives that you can walk 10 city blocks without making eye contact with the fellow humans brushing by every step of the way. Where Smith cannot possibly blend in or escape gawking eyes and dropped jaws or dumbfounded ears is on stage at a show or when listeners pump her profound debut, For Lovers Dreamers and Me. It is here where she belts out tsunamis of vocals and pens lyrics rich with introspection and wit. It’s the stuff of greatness.

Ciara’s cute, Beyonce’s a diva, and Amy Winehouse is naughty. These artists are cool and all, but if you’re looking for an otherworldly talent in one very unique package, a songstress that channels everyone from Erykah Badu to Lauryn Hill to Bjork to Joni Mitchell, then you gotta get hip to the phenom, Alice Smith. We hope you’re already very familiar with who was arguably the best new artist of 2006 (along with last month’s Who Is? subject Georgia Anne Muldrow). In the event that you aren’t, we had Lady Grace kick it with Alice Smith at the Alternative Soul Café. Pay attention - the sound may change your life…