Charmbracelet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Charmbracelet | ||||
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| Studio album by Mariah Carey | ||||
| Released | December 3, 2002 May 2, 2003 (tour edition) February 1, 2003 (DVD edition) January 7, 2003 (DVD tour edition) March 24, 2003 (UK version) |
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| Recorded | 2001-2002 | |||
| Genre | Pop, R&B | |||
| Length | 63:12 68:21 (Japanese edition) 73:05 (UK special edition) 18:35 (tour edition bonus CD) |
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| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | Mariah Carey (also executive) Lyor Cohen (executive) Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Just Blaze, Randy Jackson, Jermaine Dupri, Damizza, Dre & Vidal |
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| Professional reviews | ||||
| Mariah Carey chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Charmbracelet | ||||
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Charmbracelet is the twelfth album and ninth studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on December 3, 2002 by Island Records. It was her first album on the label and was also her first following the release of her film Glitter (2001) and its accompanying soundtrack album Glitter, both of which were critical and commercial disappointments. Sales of Charmbracelet were an improvement over those of Glitter, but were still lackluster. The album was unable to garner any U.S. hits, as none of its singles made the top 80 of the Billboard Hot 100. She once again collaborated with many artists on this album such as rappers Cam'ron, Jay-Z, Freeway, Westside Connection and R&B artists Kelly Price and Joe.[1] Charmbracelet has sold an estimated 4.5 million copies worldwide.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Background and production
Following the sales failure of both her previous album and film Glitter, and the public breakdown that soon followed, Virgin Records dropped Carey from the label and withdrew the $80 million deal they had offered her. She was left without a record deal for several months before signing a much more modest contract with Island Records. Executive Lyor Cohen immediately made her new album a priority.
Cohen, who wanted the album to be almost "back to basics", oversaw Carey writing an "I Will Survive"-esque anthem of overcoming adversity. With her pianist Lionel Cole, Carey wrote "Through the Rain", which reflected on her personal struggles during the past year. She co-produced the track with her writing partners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and a remix of the song was created by Just Blaze and Randy Jackson. The remix contains vocals from Joe and Kelly Price. Carey also worked with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on another album track, "Yours". This was at one point supposed to feature vocals from Justin Timberlake, but his record label chose not to pair him up with Carey at this time so the song was released with only Carey's vocals.
Having scaled back greatly on her work with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Carey began to work with American Idol judge Randy Jackson for the first time. Together they co-produced "My Saving Grace", "Sunflowers for Alfred Roy", and "I Only Wanted". Jackson also suggested that Carey cover the Def Leppard song "Bringin' On the Heartbreak", and the two co-produced it.
Carey enlisted Just Blaze to help her create some uptempo tracks for the album. She had been impressed with the Cam'ron song "Oh Boy" and soon pursued Cam'ron himself and Just Blaze to help her use the song in a sample-led "reply song". The pair eventually helped Carey re-create "Oh Boy" as "Boy (I Need You)". Impressed with the "chipmunk-style vocals" of "Boy (I Need You)", Carey and Just Blaze also created "You Got Me" with another pitch-altered vocal.
As Cohen had set out for Carey, the album was her response to the public following her struggles the previous year. Although Carey has said she does not like making "diss" tracks, she decided to address rumors and publicly respond to claims made by the rapper Eminem. He and Carey had previously enjoyed a friendship that was rumoured to be more than just platonic. However, Eminem stated he found a "phoniness" to Carey and dissed her in his song "Superman". As a response, Carey created the track "Clown", in which she criticizes his conflicts with his mother. Also with Dre and Vidal, Carey created the downbeat "Lullaby", which was rumoured to be about Carey's ex-boyfriend Derek Jeter, who had previous ended the relationship with Carey, and related its lyrics to her past single "The Roof (Back in Time)" (1997).
Also following Cohen's "back to basics" plan, Carey decided to write and produce some songs with an old friend and frequent collaborator, Jermaine Dupri. The two created "You Had Your Chance" and the aborted single "The One". Carey also worked with another frequent collaborator, Damizza, on "Irresistible (Westside Connection)" which contains raps from the Westside Connection.
Contrary to Cohen's plan, Carey wanted to try out some new things in addition to the rock feel of "Bringin' on the Heartbreak", and soon decided to work with the urban producer, 7. Following years of studio work, Carey wanted to create a more organic sound with the use of live instruments. The pair created several tracks including "Subtle Invitation" and "There Goes My Heart." Only "Subtle Invitation" made the final cut, although "There Goes My Heart" was later released as a non-U.S. bonus track. Carey also wrote and produced several tracks with DJ Quik, but they too were not used.
As the album neared completion, Carey felt that she needed a theme to represent it. During the recording of the album, Carey's father, Alfred Roy Carey, died. She had been estranged from him for years, but the two had reconciled shortly before his death. She and Randy Jackson wrote the memorial "Sunflowers for Alfred Roy" to celebrate the life of her father. Carey decided to name the album Charmbracelet because, to her, the charm bracelet represented a part of a person or thing, that helps her stay in touch with who she was and also to celebrate those she loved and cherished. Versions of the album with the bonus tracks "I Know What You Want" and/or "Miss You" bear the 'parental advisory' label, due to the explicit nature of "I Know What You Want", making this Mariah's first and (to date) only album with the 'parental advisory' label.
[edit] Promotion and chart performance
To help promote the album, Carey made guest appearances on television shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, The View, and The Late Show with David Letterman. As with the creation of the album, Lyor Cohen's plan was for Carey to quickly erase her image and public stigma with a "back to basics" approach. As a result, she wore her hair very curly (something she had not done in years) to make the public think of her debut album, Mariah Carey (1990). Carey was the subject of an MTV special, Shining Through the Rain. In all her public appearances, she spoke about her breakdown, and the failure of her film Glitter and its soundtrack. Cohen hoped that the public would relate with her anthem of overcoming struggle, "Through the Rain", to help her regain credit with the public. "Through the Rain", however, only peaked at number 81 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, but it was more successful in Canada and the UK where it reached the top ten. It also hit number 1 on the U.S. sales and dance charts.
The album debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 241,200 copies sold in its first week, just behind Tim McGraw's Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors which held the number two spot in a second consecutive week after selling over 250,000 copies, and Up! by Shania Twain which held the top spot for the third consecutive weeks with 317,000 copies sold.[3] Charmbracelet remained in the top twenty for just three weeks and on the chart for twenty-three. Island Def Jam quickly tried to release a second single to recover from the subpar performance of "Through The Rain", and "The One" was eventually chosen. "The One" had not picked up substantial radio airplay from promotional efforts, so it was decided in the last minute that "Boy (I Need You)" should be the next single. Despite numerous television appearances to promote the song, "Boy (I Need You)" received limited airplay, and failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. Another track from the album "Irresistible (Westside Connection)" peaked at number 81 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Following the mediocre sales of the album and both of its singles, Carey decided to stage a concert tour to promote the album and spark sales. The Charmbracelet World Tour: An Intimate Evening with Mariah Carey was the biggest tour of Carey's career, lasting over eight months with more than sixty shows across many countries (Carey's previous two tours had been restricted to a few European countries and the U.S., usually consisting of only around fifteen shows). While on tour, Carey's public relations department suggested that "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" may appeal to her pop rock/Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks audience, but it failed to pick up much radio airplay when it too was released as a single. Despite the tour, sales of the album declined. The album was re-released in Asia and Europe to support the concert tour under the title Charmbracelet: Limited Edition with four bonus, unreleased tracks and videos for "Through the Rain" and "Boy (I Need You)".
Charmbracelet was certified platinum by the RIAA and sold 1.2 million copies in the U.S.[4] On May 18, 2005 "My Saving Grace" was solicited as a promotional single to gospel radio stations across the U.S. with "Fly Like a Bird", a song from Carey's fourteenth album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). Neither song received substantial airplay and only the latter was eventually released to other formats.
"You Got Me" also appeared on collaborator Freeway's debut album, Philadelphia Freeway, released in February 2003.
[edit] Singles
- "Through the Rain" was released as the first single. It peaked at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100, Carey's lowest peak for a lead single to date. In other countries, the song managed to reach the top twenty. And it hit number 1 on the U.S. sales and dance charts.
- "Boy (I Need You)" was the second single to be released from the album. It failed to chart in the Billboard Hot 100, but hit 57 on the U.S. sales chart and the top 20 in the UK.
- "I Know What You Want" was a single released by Carey and Busta Rhymes. It features the Flipmode Squad as the other rappers who appeared in the song. It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Carey's highest peaking single since 2001's "Loverboy". It was a bonus track on the re-release of the album.
- "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" is the fourth and final single from the album. It was an original by Def Leppard, and was produced by American Idol judge Randy Jackson. It failed to chart in the Billboard Hot 100, but made number 5 on the U.S. dance chart.
- Other songs
- "The One" was the aborted second single from the album. Footage for the video was shot and directed by Joseph Kahn while Carey was in Japan, but due to the label's decision of changing the single, the shot footage was used for "Boy (I Need You)".
[edit] Reception
In general, the critical response to Charmbracelet was mixed to average. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 43, based on 13 reviews. The album was nominated in the category Rock and Pop Album of the Year at the 2003 Japan Gold Disc Awards.[5] According to Metacritic, it is the 33rd worst album since 2000. [6]
In 2003 for the 45th Grammy Award ceremony, the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis' production of the song "Through the Rain" was nominated for Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, but lost to Arif Mardin's Come Away with Me.[7]
[edit] Track listing
- Mariah Carey co-wrote most of the songs on the album; exeptions are marked with: (*); additional writers are listed below.
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Through the Rain" | Lionel Cole | Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Mariah Carey & James "Big Jim" Wright (co-producer) | 4:40 |
| 2. | "Boy (I Need You)" (featuring Cam'ron) | Justin Smith, Norman Whitfield | Just Blaze & Mariah Carey | 5:09 |
| 3. | "The One" (featuring Jermaine Dupri) | Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox | Jermaine Dupri, Mariah Carey & Bryan-Michael Cox (co-producer) | 4:03 |
| 4. | "Yours" | James Harris III, Terry Lewis, James "Big Jim" Wright | Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Mariah Carey & James "Big Jim" Wright (co-producer) | 5:06 |
| 5. | "You Got Me" (featuring Jay-Z & Freeway) | Shawn Carter, Smith, Leslie Pridgen | Just Blaze & Mariah Carey | 4:20 |
| 6. | "I Only Wanted" | Cole | Mariah Carey & Randy Jackson | 3:35 |
| 7. | "Clown" | Andre Harris, Vidal Davis, Maryann Tatum | Dre & Vidal & Mariah Carey | 3:20 |
| 8. | "My Saving Grace" | Kenneth Crouch, Randy Jackson, Trevor Lawrence | Mariah Carey & Randy Jackson | 4:08 |
| 9. | "You Had Your Chance" | Cox, Dupri, Leon Haywood | Jermaine Dupri, Mariah Carey & Bryan-Michael Cox (co-producer) | 4:19 |
| 10. | "Lullaby" | Davis, Harris | Dre & Vidal & Mariah Carey | 4:55 |
| 11. | "Irresistible (Westside Connection)" (featuring Westside Connection) | O'Shea Jackson, Quincy Jones III, Theodore Life, Dexter Wansel, Damion Young | Mariah Carey | 4:22 |
| 12. | "Subtle Invitation" | 7 Aurelius, Randy Jackson, Kenneth Crouch, Lloyd Smith, Rob Bacon | Mariah Carey & 7 Aurelius | 4:19 |
| 13. | "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" (*) | Pete Willis, Steve Clark, Joe Elliott | Mariah Carey & Randy Jackson | 4:31 |
| 14. | "Sunflowers for Alfred Roy" | Cole | Mariah Carey & Randy Jackson | 2:56 |
| 15. | "Through the Rain" (Remix featuring Kelly Price & Joe) | Randy Jackson & Kenneth Crouch | Just Blaze & Mariah Carey | 3:34 |
[edit] Bonus tracks
- 16. "Miss You" (featuring Jadakiss) (Carey, Cox, Dupri, Terry M. Etlinger, Linda Laurie, Jason Phillips) – 5:09 (UK/Japanese bonus track)
- 17. "I Know What You Want" (with Busta Rhymes featuring the Flipmode Squad) (Busta Rhymes, Rah Digga, Rampage, Rick Rock, Spliff Star, L. Jones) – 4:44 (UK bonus track)
Special tour edition bonus disc
- 1. "There Goes My Heart" – 4:11
- 2. "I Know What You Want" (with Busta Rhymes featuring the Flipmode Squad) – 4:44
- 3. "Got a Thing 4 You" (with Da Brat featuring Elephant Man) – 5:02
- 4. "The One" (So So Def Remix) (featuring Jermaine Dupri and Bone Crusher) – 4:38
- 5. "Through the Rain" (video)
- 6. "Boy (I Need You)" (video)
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart | Peak position |
Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart[8] | 42 | ||
| Austrian Albums Chart[9] | 34 | ||
| Belgian Flandres Albums Chart[10] | 48 | ||
| Belgian Wallonia Albums Chart[11] | 28 | ||
| Brazilian Albums Chart | Gold | 50,000[12] | |
| Canadian Albums Chart[13] | 12 | Gold | 50,000[14] |
| Dutch Albums Chart[15] | 30 | ||
| French Albums Chart[16] | 12 | Gold | 100,000[17] |
| German Albums Chart[18] | 32 | ||
| Italian Albums Chart[19] | 22 | Gold | 40,000[20] |
| Japanese Albums Chart[21] | 4 | Platinum | 200,000[21] |
| Spanish Albums Chart[22] | 24 | Gold | 50,000[23] |
| Swedish Albums Chart[24] | 50 | ||
| Swiss Albums Chart[25] | 9 | Gold | 20,000[26] |
| UK Albums Chart[27] | 52 | Gold | 100,000[28] |
| U.S. Billboard 200[29] | 3 | Platinum | 1,200,000[4] |
[edit] Personnel
- Asif Ali - Engineer
- Florian Ammon - Digital Editing, Mixing
- Giulio Antognini - Assistant Engineer
- Bobby Ross Avila - Guitar
- Robert Bacon - Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
- Karen Elaine Bakunin - Viola
- Charlie Bisharat - Strings, String Quartet
- Printz Board - Trumpet
- Oswald "Wiz" Bowe - Assistant Engineer
- Denyse Buffum - Viola
- Eve Butler - Strings, String Quartet
- David Campbell - String Arrangements
- Darius Campo - Strings, String Quartet
- Mariah Carey - Vocals (bckgr), Producer
- Dana Jon Chappelle - Engineer
- Susan Chatman - Strings
- Lionel Cole - Piano, Synthesizer Bass
- Larry Corbett - Cello
- Bryan-Michael Cox - Producer
- Kenneth Crouch - Organ, Synthesizer, Piano, Keyboards, Fender Rhodes
- Melonie Daniels - Vocals (bckgr)
- Vidal Davis - Mixing
- Joel Derouin - Strings, String Quartet
- DJ Vice - Programming
- Jermaine Dupri - Vocals (bckgr), Producer, Mixing
- Elizabeth Dyson - Cello
- Brian Frye - Engineer
- Matt Funes - Viola
- Armen Garabedian - Strings, String Quartet
- Paul Gregory - Engineer
- Kevin Guarnieri - Overdubs, Digital Editing
- Mick Guzauski - Mixing
- Dawn Hannay - Viola
- Andre Harris - Mixing
- David Ryan Harris - Guitar
- Steve Hodge - Engineer, Mixing
- John Horesco IV - Assistant
- Jimmy Jam - Producer, Instrumentation
- Jay-Z - Rap
- Eric Johnson - Guitar (Acoustic)
- Just Blaze - Producer, Instrumentation
- Suzie Katayama - Cello, String Contractor
- Steve Kempster - String Mixing
- Peter Kent - Strings, String Quartet
- Ann Kim - Violin
- Lisa Kim - Violin
- Myung Hi Kim - Violin
- Melissa Kleinbart - Violin
- Soo Hyun Kwon - Violin
- Trevor Lawrence - Percussion, Drums, Drum Programming
- Jeanne LeBlanc - Cello
- John Lemkuhi - Sound Design
- Ken Lewis - Engineer, Mixing
- Terry Lewis - Producer, Instrumentation
- Trey Lorenz - Vocals (bckgr)
- Bob Ludwing - Mastering
- Rob Mathes - Conductor, String Arrangements
- Jeremy McCoy - Bass
- Colin Miller - Engineer
- Ann Mincieli - Assistant Engineer
- Tadd Mingo - Assistant Engineer
- John Mitchell - Drum Programming
- Bill Molina - Engineer
- Billy Odum - Guitar
- Tim Olmstead - Assistant Engineer
- Suzanne Ornstein - Violin
- Alyssa Park - Strings, String Quartet
- Sara Parkins - Strings, String Quartet
- John Patitucci - Bass
- Dave Perini - Assistant Engineer
- Kelly Price - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
- Michele Richards - Strings, String Quartet
- Steve Richards - Strings, Cello
- Alexander Richbourg - Vocal Programming
- Robert Rinehart - Viola
- Tom Rosenthal - Viola
- Jeff Rothschild - Assistant Engineer
- Laura Seaton - Violin
- 7 Aurelius - Programming, Producer
- Andrew Sherman - Piano
- Jaime Sickora - Assistant Engineer
- Dexter Simmons - Mixing
- Fiona Simon - Violin
- Carl "Butch" Small - Percussion
- Jon Smeltz - Engineer, Mixing
- Dan Smith - Strings, Cello
- Xavier Smith - Assistant Engineer, Assistant
- Brian Springer - Engineer
- Brian Sumner - Assistant Engineer
- Phil Tan - Engineer, Mixing
- Mary Ann Tatum - Vocals (bckgr)
- Lesa Terry - Strings, String Quartet
- Michael Hart Thompson - Percussion, Strings, Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Steel), Synthesizer Bass, Guitar (Nylon String)
- Jeremy Turner - Cello
- German Villacorta - Assistant Engineer
- Seth Waldman - Assistant Engineer
- Evan Wilson - Viola
- John Wittenberg - Strings, String Quartet
- Mary Wooten - Cello
- Jason Wormer - Assistant Engineer
- James "Big Jim" Wright - Producer
- Sharon Yamada - Violin
- Jung Sun Yoo - Violin
- Bradley Yost - Assistant Engineer, Assistant
- Antony Zeller - Assistant Engineer
[edit] References
- ^ Mariah Carey: Charmbracelet, Guardian, November 29, 2002, http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,11712,849863,00.html
- ^ "Mariah Carey Tickets - Mariah Carey Concert Tour Schedule Show Tickets Broker". Ticketspecialists.com. http://www.ticketspecialists.com/concerts/mariah_carey_tickets.htm#moreLink. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ Susman, Gary (2002-12-11). "Shania fends off Mariah on the album chart | Charmbracelet | In the News | Music | Entertainment Weekly". Ew.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,398770,00.html. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ a b "About Mariah Carey". Ticketspecialists.com. http://www.ticketspecialists.com/concerts/mariah_carey_tickets.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "RIAJ". RIAJ. http://www.riaj.or.jp/e/data/gdisc/2003.html. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "Metacritic Music High and Low Scores". Metacritic.com. http://www.metacritic.com/music/bests/. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ http://www.planetky.com/grammy2002.html
- ^ "Australian Albums Chart". Ariacharts.com.au. http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display.asp?chart=1G50. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "Austrian Albums Chart". Oe3.orf.at. http://oe3.orf.at/charts/. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "Flandres Albums Chart". Ultratop.be. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/weekchart.asp?cat=a. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "Wallonia Albums Chart". Ultratop.be. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/weekchart.asp?cat=a. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "ABPD". ABPD. http://www.abpd.org.br/certificados.asp. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "Canadian Albums Chart". Jam.canoe.ca. 2009-10-11. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "CRIA". Cria.ca. http://www.cria.ca/goldplat.php/. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ Steffen Hung (2009-03-06). "Dutch Albums Chart". Dutchcharts.nl. http://dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp?cat=a. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "French Albums Chart". Chartsinfrance.net. http://www.chartsinfrance.net/charts/albums.php. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "SNEP". Disqueenfrance.com. http://www.disqueenfrance.com. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "German Albums Chart". Musicload.de. http://www.musicload.de/officialcharts. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ Italian Albums Chart[dead link]
- ^ "FIMI". Fimi.it. http://www.fimi.it/. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ a b http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ea/w/
- ^ "Spanish Albums Chart". Promusicae.es. 2007-03-05. http://promusicae.es/english.html. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "Promusicae". Promusicae.es. 2007-03-05. http://promusicae.es/english.html. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "Swedish Albums Chart". Hitlistan.se. http://www.hitlistan.se/. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Swiss Albums Chart". Hitparade.ch. http://www.hitparade.ch/weekchart.asp?cat=a. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "IFPI Switzerland". Swisscharts.com. http://www.swisscharts.com/awards.asp?year=2009. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ www.devstars.com. "UK Albums Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/top40_albums.php. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "BPI". BPI. http://www.bpi.co.uk/. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ^ "U.S. Albums Chart". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?g=Albums&f=The+Billboard+200. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
