The Bridge (Melanie Fiona album)

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The Bridge
Studio album by Melanie Fiona
Released June 26, 2009
(see release history)
Recorded 2008–2009
Genre R&B, pop, soul
Length 45:06
Label SRC/Universal Motown
Producer Melanie Fiona, Andrea Martin, Rob Fusari, Peter Wade Keusch, Sidh Solanki, Vada Nobles, Bill Blast, Future Cut, Stereotypes, Dan Strong, JK, Jay Fenix, Affiliate
Melanie Fiona chronology
N/A The Bridge
(2009)		 The MF Life
(2012)
Singles from The Bridge
  1. "Give It to Me Right"
    Released: February 28, 2009
  2. "It Kills Me"
    Released: July 22, 2009
  3. "Bang Bang"
    Released: October 18, 2009
  4. "Monday Morning"
    Released: October 25, 2009
  5. "Ay Yo[citation needed]"
    Released: March 2010
  6. "Priceless[citation needed]"
    Released: April 2010

The Bridge is the debut album of Canadian R&B/soul singer Melanie Fiona, released under the SRC/Universal Motown label in June 2009. It was released in the United States on November 10, 2009. The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at #57 on the Billboard 200 chart, where it later peaked at #27. The album received generally favorable reviews. As of February 2012, the album has sold 350,000 copies in the United States.[1]

Contents

[edit] Background

The album is a mixture of soul, R&B, neo soul, reggae and hip hop music influenced by pop music. In an interview, Fiona described the album's sound as "pop soul".[2] On the album, she worked with Andrea Martin, Rob Fusari, Peter Wade Keusch, Sidh Solanki, Vada Nobles, Bill Blast, Future Cut, Stereotypes, Dan Strong, JK, Jay Fenix, Affiliate.

[edit] Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
About.com 3.5/5 stars[3]
Allmusic 3.5/5 stars[4]
Hot Press (favorable)[5]
The Observer (mixed)[6]
Planet Sound (7/10)[7]
Shields Gazette (8/10)[8]
Sunday Mercury (favorable)[9]
The Couch Sessions 4/5 stars[10]

The Bridge has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Edwin McFee of Hot Press called the album "an intelligent homage to ‘60s Motown, sampling soul classics while putting her own unique stamp on things".[5] Allmusic's Matthew Chisling gave it 3½ out of 5 stars and wrote that "where it does go, it goes masterfully", concerning its sound.[4] Despite noting a weakness in the album's cohesiveness, Mark Edward Nero of About.com wrote favorably of the album's production and commended Fiona for her vocal ability. "It Kills Me" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.[3]

[edit] Singles

"Sad Songs" was released in April 2009 in the UK only as a digital download, with the reggae-tinged songs "Somebody Come Get Me" and "Island Boy" as B-sides.[11] "Sad Songs" did not chart in the UK.

"Give It to Me Right" was the first official single from The Bridge. The song peaked at #41 in the UK but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. It did, however, reach #57 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at #41.

"It Kills Me" was Fiona's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, charting at #43.[12] The single was being the second from that album in the U.S. and charted at #1 on the U.S. R&B chart. It was released in Canada as the third single from the album and was released as the third single in the UK on 14 June 2010.

"Bang Bang" was sent to radio in the UK and Canada as the second single for top 40 and hot adult contemporary radio stations.

"Monday Morning" charted in Switzerland and Poland at number 1[13][14] and in Austria at number 5.[15] It was released as the third U.S. single (however, "Bang Bang" was sent to radio as the second Canadian single for Canadian top 40 & hot AC play), but due to "Priceless" not being released in Canada, "Monday Morning" will serve as the fifth single in Canada due to hot adult contemporary radio station CKZZ-FM (Virgin Radio 953) in Vancouver having the song on its playlist.

"Ay Yo" was released as the fourth official single from The Bridge, according to Fiona's website and Twitter. The music video premiered on April 12, 2010.[citation needed]

"Priceless" will be the fifth U.S. single due to airplay on urban adult contemporary stations. Due to "Priceless" not being released in Canada, "Monday Morning" will be serviced to Canadian stations as the fifth single, even though "Monday Morning" was released as the third American single.[citation needed]

[edit] Promotional singles

"You Stop My Heart" was released as a promotional single to coincide with Valentine's Day. The music video was released on Valentine's Day, 2010.

A music video was also released for "Bang Bang", and the song was used as the 2nd Canadian single. The song was featured in an episode of ABC's recently canceled television series, Ugly Betty.

[edit] Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Give It to Me Right"   3:43
2. "Bang Bang"   3:28
3. "Monday Morning"   3:38
4. "Please Don’t Go (Cry Baby)"   3:15
5. "Ay Yo"   3:18
6. "Walk On By"   3:31
7. "You Stop My Heart"   3:46
8. "Johnny"   3:42
9. "Sad Songs"   4:38
10. "Priceless"   3:47
11. "It Kills Me"   4:10
12. "Teach Him"   4:10

[edit] Charts

Chart (2009–2010) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart[16] 25
German Albums Charts[17] 35
Italian Albums Chart[18] 61
Swedish Albums Chart[19] 22
Swiss Albums Chart[20] 3
UK Albums Chart[21] 98
U.S. Billboard 200[22] 27
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 4

[edit] Year-end charts

Chart (2010) Position
Swiss Albums Chart[23] 99
US Billboard 200 117[24]

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Technical personnel

  • Andrea Martin – producer on tracks 1, 6, 9, 11–12
  • Rob Fusari – producer on track 2
  • Peter Wade Keusch – producer on track 3
  • Sidh Solanki – producer on track 3
  • Vada Nobles – producer on track 4
  • Bill Blast – producer on track 4
  • Future Cut – producer on tracks 5, 7 and 13
  • Stereotypes – producer on track 8
  • Dan Strong – producer on track 10
  • JK – producer on track 10
  • Jay Fenix – producer on track 11
  • Affiliate - producer on track 11

[edit] Release history

Region Date
Italy June 26, 2009
Canada June 30, 2009
United Kingdom July 20, 2009
United States November 10, 2009

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/sales_ur.cgi
  2. ^ Interview: Melanie Fiona Gives it To Us Right Killahbeez.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-14.
  3. ^ a b Nero, Mark Edward. Review: The Bridge. About.com. Retrieved on 2009-10-12.
  4. ^ a b Chisling, Matthew. Review: The Bridge. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-10-12.
  5. ^ a b McFee, Edwin. Review: The Bridge. Hot Press. Retrieved on 2009-10-12.
  6. ^ Spencer, Neil. Review: The Bridge. The Observer. Retrieved on 2009-10-12.
  7. ^ Earls, John. "Review: Melanie Fiona/The Bridge". Teletext. http://www.teletext.co.uk/planetsound/album-live-reviews/ec70279d6a1728bfeb99ea92fc1f31b8/Melanie+FionaThe+Bridge.aspx. Retrieved 22 July 2009. 
  8. ^ Columnist. "Melanie Fiona could be next big thing". 5 August 2009. http://www.shieldsgazette.com/music/Melanie-Fiona-could-be-next.5527010.jp. Retrieved 31 August 2009. 
  9. ^ Cole, Paul. Review: The Bridge. Sunday Mercury. Retrieved on 2009-10-12.
  10. ^ Dowling, Marcus. Review: The Bridge Retrieved on 2010-10-28.
  11. ^ Sad Songs: Melanie Fiona: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads
  12. ^ It Kills Me Songfacts
  13. ^ Steffen Hung. "Swiss Charts - Singles Top 75 12.02.2012". swisscharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/weekchart.asp. Retrieved 2012-02-08. 
  14. ^ Nielsen Music Control Poland Retrieved on 29 March 2010
  15. ^ Steffen Hung. "Melanie Fiona - Monday Morning". austriancharts.at. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Melanie+Fiona&titel=Monday+Morning&cat=s. Retrieved 2012-02-08. 
  16. ^ [1]
  17. ^ German Albums Chart
  18. ^ "FIMI - Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana". Fimi.it. http://www.fimi.it/. Retrieved 2012-02-08. 
  19. ^ Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan
  20. ^ swisscharts.com
  21. ^ "Melanie Fiona - The Bridge". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=14090. Retrieved 2012-02-08. 
  22. ^ "Music Albums, Top 200 Albums & Music Album Charts". Billboard.com. 2012-02-04. http://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200?tag=chscr1#/charts/billboard-200?begin=21&order=position. Retrieved 2012-02-08. 
  23. ^ "Swiss Year-End Charts 2009". Media Control. Hung Medien. http://swisscharts.com/year.asp?key=2009. Retrieved February 6, 2009. 
  24. ^ "Best of 2010 - Billboard Top 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/#/charts-year-end/top-billboard-200?year=2010. Retrieved 2010-12-31. 
Melanie Fiona
Studio albums
  • The Bridge (2009)
  • The MF Life (2012)
Singles
Featured singles
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