Ashanti (album)
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[3] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [4] |
| Q | [5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
| Slant Magazine | [7] |
| Robert Christgau |  [8] |
Ashanti is the self-titled debut studio album by American R&B singer Ashanti, released by Murder Inc. Records and Def Jam Records on April 2, 2002 in North America and April 8, 2002 in United Kingdom. The album saw the singer active in songwriting and producing,[citation needed] with chiefly producers and rappers Irv Gotti and Chink Santana.
Ashanti debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with first-week sales of an impressive 503,000 units. The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 17, 2002. It earned Ashanti three Grammy nominations for Best New Artist, Best Contemporary R&B Album, and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Ashanti also received two additional Grammy nominations in the same year for other projects, both in the category of Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
Billboard magazine ranked Ashanti at number 100 on magazine's Top 200 Albums of the Decade.[9] Ashanti mentioned on Ustream that she plans to re-release the album for its 10th anniversary in 2012. She planned on adding Tracks such as "Down 4 U" and "The Pledge" to the album which were huge hits in 2002 the same time "Foolish" "Happy" and "Baby" were on the charts.
Chart performance
Ashanti debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart on April 20, 2002, and Billboard's Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart at number one with first-week sales of 503,000 units sold. The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 17, 2002, and remained on Billboard 200 albums chart for 55 weeks. Ashanti has sold 3.6 million copies in the United States alone,[10] according Nielsen SoundScan. Worldwide, the album sold over six million copies by the end of 2002. [11]
Singles
Ashanti spawned three singles: The album's lead single, "Foolish", became Ashanti's biggest solo successes to date, spending ten consecutive weeks on top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It was eventually ranked first on the Billboard 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 2002 year-end charts for ten straight weeks (Tying with Nelly's "Dilemma", but not for ten straights weeks). It was a breakthrough hit internationally entering the top five in the United Kingdom, the top ten in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany and Japan and the top twenty in Switzerland and the Netherlands. Follow-up single "Happy" peaked at number eight on Billboard Hot 100 and number six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single became Ashanti's second top ten hit solo. It was a moderate success internationally, it reached the top ten in the Netherlands, the top twenty in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the top forty in Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, and France. The third single "Baby", peaked at number fifteen on Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single became Ashanti's third top forty hit solo. The forth Single was "Unfoolish" released only for radio adds. No Video, although a video was planned as a conclusion to the "Foolish" Video. The fifth, and final single was "Dreams" which was released as a promo single with a Live Performance Music Video with Clips of Ashanti's career at that point.
Track listing
All songs co-written by Ashanti Douglas
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | J. Atkins, 7 Aurelius, T. Crocker, I. Lorenzo, J. Cartagena, A. Parker, C. Rios, T. Green, R. Gill | 7 Aurelius | 1:25 |
| 2. | "Foolish" | 7 Aurelius, I. Lorenzo, E. Jordan, M. DeBarge | 7 Aurelius, Irv Gotti | 3:47 |
| 3. | "Happy" | R. Calhouh, A. Parker, I. Lorenzo | Chink Santana, Irv Gotti | 4:22 |
| 4. | "Leaving (Always on Time Part 2)" (featuring Ja Rule) | 7 Aurelius, I. Lorenzo, J. Atkins | 7 Aurelius, Irv Gotti | 3:55 |
| 5. | "Narrative Call" (skit) | Irv Gotti | I. Lorenzo | 0:36 |
| 6. | "Call" | 7 Aurelius, I. Lorenzo | 7 Aurelius, Irv Gotti | 5:05 |
| 7. | "Scared" (featuring Irv Gotti) | A. Parker, I. Lorenzo | Chink Santana, Irv Gotti | 4:43 |
| 8. | "Rescue" | 7 Aurelius, I. Lorenzo | 7 Aurelius, Irv Gotti | 7:25 |
| 9. | "Baby" | 7 Aurelius, I. Lorenzo, M. Dean, B. Jordan | 7 Aurelius | 4:25 |
| 10. | "Voodoo" | 7 Aurelius, I. Lorenzo | 7 Aurelius, Irv Gotti | 4:37 |
| 11. | "Movies" | 7 Aurelius, I. Lorenzo, R. Wright, J. Thomas | 7 Aurelius, Reggie Wright* | 4:09 |
| 12. | "Fight" (Over skit) | I. Lorenzo | Ashanti, Irv Gotti | 1:18 |
| 13. | "Over" | A. Parker, I. Lorenzo | Chink Santana, Irv Gotti | 5:34 |
| 14. | "Unfoolish" (featuring Notorious B.I.G) | 7 Aurelius, I. Lorenzo, E. Jordan, M. DeBarge, S. Combs, D. Jones, R. Kelly, C. Wallace | Irv Gotti | 3:14 |
| 15. | "Shi Shi" (skit) | 0:14 | ||
| 16. | "Dreams" | 7 Aurelius, I. Lorenzo, M. DeBarge | 7 Aurelius | 4:18 |
| 17. | "Thank You" | A. Douglas | 1:18 |
*Co-producer
Samples
- "Foolish" contains a sample of DeBarge's 1983 "Stay with Me".
- "Happy" contains a sample of Gap Band's 1983 "Outstanding".
- "Baby" contains a sample of Scarface's 1997 "Mary Jane".
- "Unfoolish" contains a sample of The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 "Fuck You Tonight".
- "Rescue" contains a sample from Michael Jackson's 1987 "Smooth Criminal"
Release history
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
| United States | April 2, 2002 |
| United Kingdom | April 8, 2002 |
Charts and certification
| Chart (2002) | Provider | Peak position |
Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese Albums Chart | Media Control Charts | 4 | Gold | 100,000 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | Media Control | 36 | ||
| Australian Albums Chart | ARIA | 10 | Gold | 35,000 |
| French Albums Chart | SNEP/IFOP | 29 | ||
| New Zealand Albums Chart | RIANZ | 17 | ||
| Canadian Albums Chart | CRIA/Nielsen SoundScan | 15 | 2x Platinum | 200,000 |
| German Albums Chart | Media Control | 10 | ||
| Swiss Albums Chart | Media Control | 15 | Gold | 20,000 |
| UK Albums Chart | BPI/The Official UK Charts Company | 3 | Platinum | 300,000 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | Billboard | 1 | 3x Platinum | 3,600,000+ |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 1 |
Year-end charts
| Year | Chart | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Billboard 200[12] | 12 |
| Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[13] | 4 | |
| 2003 | Billboard 200[14] | 160 |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | BET Awards | Best New Artist | Nominated |
| Lady of Soul | Best R&B/Soul New Artist | Won | |
| Aretha Franklin Entertainer of the Year | Won | ||
| Best R&B/Soul Single - "Foolish" | Won | ||
| R&B/Soul Album of the Year - Ashanti | Won | ||
| R&B/Soul Song of the Year - "Foolish" | Nominated | ||
| R&B/Soul Song of the Year - "Foolish" | Nominated | ||
| Best R&B/Soul Music Video - "Foolish" | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Breakout Artist | Won | |
| Best New Artist | Won | ||
| Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Single - "Foolish" | Nominated | ||
| MOBO | Best R&B Act | Won | |
| Best Newcomer | Won | ||
| Best Album - Ashanti | Nominated | ||
| MTV Video Music Awards | Best Female Video - "Foolish" | Nominated | |
| Best R&B Video - "Foolish" | Nominated | ||
| Best New Artist in a video - "Foolish" | Nominated | ||
| Billboard Music Awards | Female Artist of the Year | Won | |
| Top New Pop Artist of the Year | Won | ||
| Hot 100 Singles Artist of the Year | Won | ||
| R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year | Won | ||
| R&B/Hip-Hop Female Artist of the Year | Won | ||
| New R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year | Won | ||
| R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year - "Foolish" | Won | ||
| R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Artist of the Year | Won | ||
| 2003 | ASCAP Pop Music Awards | Award-Winning Pop Songs - Foolish | Won |
| ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards | Top R&B/Hip-hop Song - "Foolish" | Won | |
| Award-Winning R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - "Baby" | Won | ||
| American Music Awards | Favorite New Artist in Pop/Rock | Won | |
| Favorite New Artist in Hip-Hop/R&B | Won | ||
| Best Duo or Group - Ashanti | Won | ||
| Fans Choice Award | Nominated | ||
| Favorite Female Artist in Hip-Hop/R&B | Won | ||
| Favorite Album - Pop or Rock 'n Roll Music - Ashanti | Nominated | ||
| Favorite Album - Hip-Hop / Rhythm & Blues Music - Ashanti | Nominated | ||
| Grammy Awards | Best New Artist | Nominated | |
| Best Contemporary R&B Album R&B - Ashanti | Won | ||
| Best Female R&B Vocal Performance R&B - "Foolish" | Nominated | ||
| NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding New Artist | Won | |
| Outstanding Female Artist | Won | ||
| Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards | Best New Artist | Won |
Credits
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References
- ^ "Dreams - Ashanti". Allmsuic. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
- ^ "Allmusic review". Retrieved August 2011
- ^ Caramanica, Jon (2002-04-26). "Ashanti Review". Entertainment Weekly: 148. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Many Happy Returns to Form - Page 2 - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 2002-04-21. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
- ^ "Music: Ashanti (CD) by Ashanti (Artist)". Tower.com. 2002-04-02. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
- ^ Ex, Kris (2002-04-10). "Ashanti: Ashanti : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Ashanti, slantmagazine.com. Retrieved August 2011
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Best of the 2000s - Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/news/ask-billboard-ashanti-nelly-chate-moore-1003885994.story#/news/ask-billboard-ashanti-nelly-chate-moore-1003885994.story
- ^ Norment, Lynn (2005). "Ashanti: answers critics & doubters". Ebony.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ [3][dead link]
- ^ [4][dead link]