CrazySexyCool

CrazySexyCool
Studio album by TLC
Released	November 15, 1994 (1994-11-15) (see Release history)
Recorded	March–September 1994
Genre	R&B, pop, hip hop
Length	56:10
Label	LaFace, Arista
Producer	Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, Babyface, Organized Noize, Tim & Bob, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Chucky Thompson
TLC chronology
Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip (1992) CrazySexyCool (1994) FanMail (1999)
Singles from CrazySexyCool
"Creep" Released: October 31, 1994 "Red Light Special" Released: February 21, 1995 "Waterfalls" Released: May 29, 1995 "Diggin' on You" Released: October 30, 1995

CrazySexyCool is the second studio album by American R&B group TLC, released by LaFace Records on November 15, 1994 (see 1994 in music) in North America. CrazySexyCool peaked at three on the Billboard 200 and at two on the Billboard Top R&B Albums Chart selling 127,000 copies in that week, spawned four top-five singles on the Billboard Hot 100, two of which were chart toppers, and won the group two Grammy Awards.

The album was certified Diamond by the RIAA, making TLC the first (and to date only) female group in history to ever be awarded diamond status by the RIAA. In 2003, the album was ranked number 377 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Background

Production and title

The group entered the recording studios in 1994 to start work on their then-untitled second album with producer Babyface, Dallas Austin and his protoges Tim & Bob. They both contributed most to the album and moreover served as its executive producer, The group also received production help from producers including Jermaine Dupri, Organized Noize, Arnold Hennings, and The Hitmen. Other contributors to the album include Busta Rhymes and André 3000 of OutKast. For the album TLC received production help from a number of A-list R&B and hip hop, and also dance-pop and new jack swing influences and with some ballads accompanied by producers including Babyface, Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, Organized Noize, and The Hitmen.

TLC decided to tone down the boisterousness of their debut album in favor of a smoother, more mature presentation on their second album.^{[citation needed]} They were more involved in crafting their own material. The album's sound was more of a blend of R&B/soul and hip hop music that became the commercial and critical high point of the group's career.^{[citation needed]} The title refers to the different attributes that make up the personalities of each group member, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes having more of the crazy side in her, Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas representing the sexy element of the group, and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins being the cool member. The three words together create one word, "CrazySexyCool", which describes all girl's personalities.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Entertainment Weekly	(A−)
Robert Christgau	B+
Rolling Stone
Uncut
Sputnikmusic
Yahoo! Music	(favorable)

While most professional reviewers liked the album's powered new jack and hip-hop beats, the album was praised for Left Eye's rap connections, smooth, seductive collection of contemporary soul reminiscent. The group's second album became a global success: It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart. According to Nielsen SoundScan it sold 7.2 million copies in the united states. It was eventually certified diamond and 11× Platinum by the RIAA for shipping 11 million copies in the US. While the album managed to enter the Top Ten in the U.S., in the United Kingdom it was a top ten success also and in the majority of the charts it appeared on. The album became one of the first R&B albums to achieve multiple chart hit singles, such as "Creep", "Waterfalls", "Red Light Special", and Diggin' on You" all topped the MTV Hitlist during the nineties.

Awards and nominations

CrazySexyCool won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. The group also won the Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "Creep" and was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Record of the Year for "Waterfalls". Besides the Grammys CrazySexyCool received multiple wins and nominations for several Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards and Soul Train Awards. In 1995, the video for their single "Waterfalls" won 4 MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year and the Viewer's Choice Award.

In 2003 CrazySexyCool was listed as one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time at number 377. Rolling Stone said that "Things were not well with TLC during the making of CrazySexyCool: Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes was lighting fires, and the group was in a financial slide that would end in bankruptcy proceedings. But they emerged with the most effervescent and soulful R&B pop anyone had seen since the Supremes."

In 2010 CrazySexyCool was listed as one of Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Albums of the 90s at number 43. The commentary along with the album said: "Left Eye, Chilli and T-Boz looked like a one-shot when they first emerged from the nascent Atlanta with 1992's Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg. But CrazySexyCool was a real shocker, packed bumper to bumper with great songs, sassy vocals and voluptuous beats for burning down the house. "Creep" celebrates the kicks of illicit lust on the down low, "Waterfalls" digs deep into Memphis soul and "If I Was Your Girlfriend" does Prince better than The Artist has all decade. The showstopper: "Red Light Special", an impossibly steamy make-out ballad that undresses and caresses everyone with ears to hear it. CrazySexyCool established TLC as pop pros who could do it all, combining the body slam of hip-hop and the giddy uplift of a jump-rope rhyme without breaking a nail."

Singles

"Creep" topped the U.S. Hot 100 for four weeks, which made it one of the biggest singles of the 1990s and the third-most successful Hot 100 single of 1995, according to Billboard's year-end charts. It sold over a million copies in the U.S., also reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The second single, "Red Light Special" became another top ten hit on the U.S. Bilboard Hot 100, that peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. Outside the States, "Red Light Special" reached the top 10 in Canada and the United Kingdom and among others. "Waterfalls" was the third single that peaked at number one on the Hot 100. It became the second-most successful Hot 100 single of 1995, according to Billboard's year-end charts. Follow-up single "Diggin' on You" was released as the album's fourth and final single the same year, reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100.

Track listing

1. "Intro-Lude" (featuring Phife Dawg) – 1:01 (Jermaine Dupri)
2. "Creep" – 4:28 (Dallas Austin)
3. "Kick Your Game" – 4:14 (Dupri, Lopes, Seal)
4. "Diggin' on You" – 4:14 (Babyface)
5. "Case of the Fake People" – 4:04 (Dallas Austin)
6. "Crazy Sexy Cool - Interlude" – 1:42 (Combs, Thompson, Watkins)
7. "Red Light Special" – 5:04 (Babyface)
8. "Waterfalls" – 4:39 (Lopes, Ethridge, Organized Noize)
9. "Intermission-Lude" – 0:43 (Dupri)
10. "Let's Do It Again" – 4:16 (Babyface, Jon John)
11. "If I Was Your Girlfriend" (Prince) – 4:36
12. "Sexy - Interlude" (featuring Puff Daddy) – 1:34 (Combs, Thomas)
13. "Take Our Time" – 4:33 (Hennings, Killings)
14. "Can I Get a Witness - Interlude" (featuring Busta Rhymes) – 2:57 (Combs, Rhymes, Thomas)
15. "Switch" – 3:30 (Dupri, Lopes, Seal)
16. "Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes" (featuring Dré of OutKast) – 4:23 (Benjamin, Lopes, Ethridge, Organized Noize)

Charts and certifications

• These are the peak positions and certifications from chart providers.

Chart (1994)	Provider	Peak position	Certification
Canadian Albums Chart	CRIA/Nielsen SoundScan		8× Platinum
UK Albums Chart	BPI	4	Platinum
U.S. Billboard 200	Billboard	3	11× Platinum
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums		2

End-of-decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard 200	25

Personnel

• L.A. Reid – producer
• Rico Lumpkins – engineer
• Leslie Brathwaite – engineer
• Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins – vocals
• Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas – vocals
• Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes – vocals
• Debra Killings – background vocals
• Dave Way – mixing

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States