Zee Avi

On her self-titled debut Zee Avi delivers intimate tunes suggestive of Norah Jones—romantic and light in spirit. The singer, who was born in Borneo and raised in Kuala Lampur, brings a unique sound characterized by smokey vocals, the occasional ukelele, and a saturated emotional palette. Avi’s richly expressive voice carries the bare-bones lyrics and instrumentation to beautiful effect. Such a strong showing in her first album suggests good things to come for the bright 23-year-old who got her start on YouTube.