FanMail
FanMail | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 23, 1999 | |||
Recorded | April–December 1998 | |||
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Length | 63:31 | |||
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TLC chronology | ||||
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Singles from FanMail | ||||
FanMail is the third studio album by American girl group TLC. It was released on February 23, 1999, by LaFace and Arista Records. The title of the album is a tribute to their fans who sent them fan mail during their hiatus. FanMail debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 318,000 copies in its first week of release, and spent five weeks at number one.
The album received eight nominations at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including one for Album of the Year, winning three. It has been certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold 14 million copies worldwide. FanMail is TLC's second best-selling album after 1994's CrazySexyCool. To promote the album, TLC embarked on their first concert tour, the FanMail Tour. It was the group's last album released during Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes' lifetime before she died on April 25, 2002, as she was killed in a car crash prior to the release of their fourth studio album.[1]
Background
After all three TLC members filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 3, 1995, the group went on a recording hiatus. The suit was eventually settled on November 25, 1996.[2] Preliminary work on their third studio album was delayed when friction arose between the group and their main producer Dallas Austin, who was at the time dating member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, and helped to raise their son Tron. Austin wanted $4.2 million and creative control to work on the project, resulting in a stand-off between the producer and the group. TLC eventually entered recording studios in April 1998 to start work on their then-untitled third album with Austin, who came back with a handshake agreement. While he contributed the most to the album and served as the executive producer, they also collaborated with long-term producers Babyface and L.A. Reid, as well as with Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.[3] FanMail was initially scheduled for release on November 10, 1998, but was pushed back to February 23, 1999.[4][5]
Meanwhile, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes had written and composed eight original songs for the album, only to have them all rejected by Austin.[citation needed] As a result, she decided to work on a solo album with assistance from Erick Sermon, which was to be released before TLC's third studio album. This further caused tension among the group.[3] Lopes eventually returned to the group to complete the album, using a slightly deeper vocal delivery and intonation for her raps than in previous recordings.[citation needed] However, she was still not completely satisfied with the finished product due to the lack of creative input she was granted for the project; in particular only receiving writing credits and vocal contributions for five songs and the album version of "No Scrubs" omitting her rap verse.[citation needed] In a 1999 interview with Vibe, Lopes publicly derided her involvement in TLC:[3]
I've graduated from this era. I cannot stand 100 percent behind this TLC project and the music that is supposed to represent me. This will be my last interview until I can speak freely about the truth and present myself on my solo project.
Recording and production
During the recording of FanMail, the group were offered many songs that would eventually be recorded by other artists such as 702's "Where My Girls At?",[6] Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel",[7] and "...Baby One More Time", which was recorded by Britney Spears for her debut album of the same name and released as her debut single. Thomas stated that the group considered recording each track but were worried that it did not represent them well. Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins reiterated Thomas' reasoning in an interview with MTV News, stating that the song was not good for them despite appreciating and respecting Spears' decision to record it.[8]
Watkins decided to begin writing poetry to deal with her emotions after being in and out of hospital due to sickle cell disease. She took her collection of poems to Austin, who helped her adapt one into the song "Unpretty", while another was adapted by Babyface into "Dear Lie". While writing and recording "I'm Good at Being Bad" in Minneapolis, Watkins had been inspired by grunge band Nirvana's loud and soft dynamic shifts in their discography, and wanted to create a song in a similar style for TLC. Jam encouraged her to hum the melody while he played the beat in the recording booth, which was unlike her usual process of listening to the beat and writing out the lyrics. She stated that the technique influenced her as a songwriter. She sought to have Lopes rap the pre-chorus herself, but Lopes insisted that Watkins' thicker voice should be used for the track. Watkins also contributed to writing two more songs for the album, co-writing "If They Knew" and "Shout" with Austin and Lopes. Two of the album's tracks, "Come on Down" and "I Miss You So Much", were originally written for Watkins to sing lead. However, she decided that Thomas would be more suited as the lead vocalist after attempting to record them. During the recording of the latter, Thomas was suffering from a sinus infection. She asked to re-record the song the next week despite it being near the album's deadline, but Babyface decided that the vocal take she had recorded would be suitable for the final version. "No Scrubs" was the last track recorded for the album in December 1998. It was originally written by Kandi Burruss, Tameka Cottle, and Briggs for the former two to record together as part of the girl group Xscape. However, Austin persuaded Briggs to give the song to TLC as their first single for FanMail, with Thomas singing the lead vocals. Austin further emphasized that it was a breakthrough for her, as he believed that she was more capable than being relegated to a secondary vocalist.[9]
Composition
FanMail took on a new, futuristic style, due to the rapid advancement in technology heading into the new millennium such as the Y2K bug and Napster.[10] This was effectively portrayed in the album's most popular song "No Scrubs" along with the music video, which embraces a modern emphasis on female strength and independence.[7] It contains several tracks featuring vocals by the computer modulated voice Vic-E, a talking android which is reminiscent of the "tour guide" on A Tribe Called Quest's 1993 album, Midnight Marauders.[10] Initially, the android was created through the Macintosh's greeting voice as a replacement for Lopes, as she refused to work with the group. However, once she reconciled with them, she approved of the android and decided to include it on the album as a character.[9]
Throughout the album's 17 tracks, TLC brought up the issues of sexuality, insecurities, self-reliance, and vulnerability with resistant messaging.[10] On the first track "FanMail", Dallas Austin used multiple samples from the internet and movies in order to create a "space sound" that "will sound like what the album cover looks like". The background noise consisting of typewriters and printers was incorporated to represent the fan letters and fan mail, while Austin added a sample from an interview with Lopes commenting "all these conflicting fan mail", and created a hook with it.[11] The song consisted of a sneaking bassline, vocal stutters, and glitches similar to that of dial-up Internet.[7] However, in contrast to the album's dominating technological sound, "Unpretty" is an alternative pop song that describes the insecurity caused by body-shaming. The song was inspired by a poem written by Watkins. "Communicate (Interlude)" establishes the connection between the thoughts and feelings of people nearby through technology. The lyrics from the song, "There's over a thousand ways/ To communicate in our world today/ And it's a shame/ That we don't connect" describe the lack of interaction between humans, which in turn has increased the rate of depression among adolescents.[10] It combines the typing of a keyboard in the background with Left Eye's vocals, "will you communicate with me?".[7]
Artwork, packaging, and title
The album's cover featured a custom font design, cover art with decode-able binary code, along with pictures of the group members in metallic skin tones.[7][10] The photographer, Dan Levy, shot the silver-painted group members without any digital alterations.[9] The CD insert folds out to form a large poster featuring a picture of TLC and the names of thousands of people who sent them fan mail throughout their career.[12] A limited edition of the album was released, and had an insert with a lenticular version of the cover placed in front of the original booklet in the jewel case.[13]
The album title is a tribute to TLC's fans after their five-year hiatus. It came from Lopes, who also coined the group's first two album titles Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip and CrazySexyCool, and initially wanted to name the album Fan2See.[3][9] She stated to the group, "let’s write and sing one big fan letter. Let’s put fan names on everything – all the singles, the album cover, T-shirts, mugs. Just show our appreciation."[10]
Singles
"FanMail", "Silly Ho", "I'm Good at Being Bad", and "My Life" served as promotional singles for the album. Those songs charted on the US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
"No Scrubs" was the official lead single and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks, becoming TLC's biggest commercial success in years. It also ranked at number two on Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 of 1999.
Follow-up single "Unpretty" also topped the Billboard Hot 100, spending three weeks at number one and placing at number 20 on the Year-End Hot 100.
Originally, "Shout" was planned to be a single in the United States, while "Dear Lie" would be a single internationally, but only the latter would end up being released as a single with an accompanying music video. It peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B−[15] |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Muzik | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 8/10[19] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | 6/10[22] |
USA Today | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The album received generally positive reviews. Ann Powers of Rolling Stone declared FanMail "equal parts steely bitch and sweet sister, superfreak and misty romantic, self-centered coffee achiever and spiritualized earth mama."[21] Muzik's Tony Farsides wrote that it was "a real grower of an album in every respect compared to what else is out there."[18]
However, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly criticized the group's direction of overemphasizing the music in their songs to "compensate for the lack of personality in the women’s voices",[15] while Joshua Clover from Spin stated that the album was "a burning, physical message that looks like a spectacle but reads like sexual politics."[22]
Commercial performance
In the United States, FanMail debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts with 318,000 copies sold in its first week, becoming TLC's first number-one album on both charts.[24] On June 21, 2000, it was certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[25] According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album had sold 4.8 million copies in the United States as of June 2017;[26] it had sold an additional 877,000 copies through the BMG Music Club as of February 2003.[27] Internationally, the album reached the top 10 in New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. FanMail had sold over 10 million copies worldwide as of December 2011.[28]
Track listing
Credits adapted from the liner notes of FanMail.[13]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "FanMail" | Dallas Austin | Cyptron | 3:59 |
2. | "The Vic-E Interpretation – Interlude" | Austin | Cyptron | 0:19 |
3. | "Silly Ho" | Austin | Cyptron | 4:15 |
4. | "Whispering Playa – Interlude" |
| Austin | 0:52 |
5. | "No Scrubs" | Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs | 3:34 | |
6. | "I'm Good at Being Bad" | Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis | 5:39 | |
7. | "If They Knew" |
|
| 4:04 |
8. | "I Miss You So Much" |
| 4:56 | |
9. | "Unpretty" |
| Austin | 4:38 |
10. | "My Life" |
|
| 4:01 |
11. | "Shout" |
| Austin | 3:57 |
12. | "Come On Down" | Diane Warren |
| 4:17 |
13. | "Dear Lie" |
| Babyface | 5:10 |
14. | "Communicate – Interlude" | Austin | Austin | 0:51 |
15. | "Lovesick" |
| Austin | 3:52 |
16. | "Automatic" | Austin | Austin | 4:31 |
17. | "Don't Pull Out on Me Yet" | Austin |
| 4:33 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
18. | "U in Me" | Austin | Austin | 3:50 |
Digital download track
- "I Need That" – 3:52
- Released online by TLC exclusively on MP3.com to promote the FanMail Tour. Produced by Rico Lumpkins for PWPX, LLC. Written by R. Lumpkins, L. Lopes, and S. Chunn. Left Eye's rap was later expanded and re-recorded on the track "Gimme Some" from Toni Braxton's album The Heat, as well as being completely reused and shortened on the track "Whoop De Woo" from the compilation Now and Forever: The Hits, originally intended for the group's fourth album 3D.
Notes
Sample credits
- "I'm Good at Being Bad" contains elements from "Slippin' into Darkness" by War.
- "Automatic" contains portions from the Neil Armstrong "Moon Landing" speech.
- On initial pressings of the album, "Whispering Playa – Interlude" contained a sample of "Cold Blooded" by Rick James playing in the background. The sample was removed on subsequent editions, with the background music being a clip of another TLC song "U in Me", instead.
- The song "I'm Good at Being Bad" originally contained interpolated lyrics from "Love to Love You Baby" by Donna Summer, but the interpolated lyrics were later removed on later pressings of the explicit version.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of FanMail.[13]
Musicians
- Dallas Austin – arrangements (tracks 1, 3, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15–17); gang vocals (tracks 3, 11)
- T-Boz – background vocals (tracks 1, 11, 13, 16); gang vocals (track 3)
- Chilli – background vocals (tracks 1, 5, 8, 11, 16)
- Debra Killings – background vocals (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7–13, 15–17); bass (tracks 9, 12, 17)
- Rick Sheppard – MIDI, sound design (tracks 1, 3, 9, 11, 15, 17)
- Vic-E – speech (track 2); rap (track 3)
- Leslie Brathwaite – gang vocals (tracks 3, 11)
- Ty Hudson – gang vocals (tracks 3, 11)
- Joi Gilliam – gang vocals (track 3)
- Peach – gang vocals (track 3)
- Sonji – gang vocals (track 3)
- Carolyn Paige – gang vocals (track 3)
- Kevin Wales – gang vocals (track 3)
- "Big" Stan Smith – gang vocals (track 3)
- Papi – playa (track 4)
- Kandi Burruss – background vocals (track 5)
- Tameka "Tiny" Cottle – background vocals (track 5)
- She'kspere – MIDI, sound design (track 5)
- Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – arrangements, all other musical instruments (track 6)
- Mike Scott – guitar (track 6)
- Alex Richbourg – drum programming (track 6)
- Jerry Lumpkins – additional keyboards (track 7)
- Babyface – drum programming, acoustic guitar (tracks 8, 13); keyboards, electric guitar (track 13)
- Greg Phillinganes – piano (track 8); Wurlitzer (track 13)
- Michael Thompson – acoustic guitar (track 8); electric guitar (track 13)
- C.C. Thomas – bass (track 8)
- Necia Bray – background vocals (track 8)
- Tomi Martin – guitar (tracks 9, 17)
- Tom Knight – drums (track 9)
- LaMarquis Jefferson – bass (track 10)
- Marde Johnson – gang vocals (track 11)
- Koko Watkins – gang vocals (track 11)
- Solomon Jackson – gang vocals (track 11)
- James Killings – guitar (track 12)
- Nathan East – bass (track 13)
- Paulinho da Costa – percussion (track 13)
- Colin Wolfe – bass (track 15)
- Melvin M. Jones – trumpet (track 17)
- Gregory Hudspeth – saxophone (track 17)
- Anthony Roberson – trombone (track 17)
Technical
- Cyptron – production (tracks 1–3)
- Carlton Lynn – recording (tracks 1–5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17); recording assistance (tracks 1, 7, 11, 12, 15, 16); mixing (tracks 2, 4, 14)
- Leslie Brathwaite – recording (tracks 1, 3, 9, 11, 15–17); mixing (tracks 5, 11, 17)
- Jeff Griffin – recording assistance (tracks 1, 11, 15)
- Sejoon Kahng – recording assistance (tracks 1, 11, 15)
- Alvin Speights – mixing (tracks 1, 3, 7, 9, 12, 15, 16)
- Vernon J. Mungo – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15–17); recording assistance (track 13); recording (track 17)
- Ty Hudson – recording assistance (tracks 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 17); mixing assistance (tracks 14, 17)
- Dallas Austin – production (tracks 4, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14–17); executive production
- Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs – production (track 5); additional vocal production (track 17)
- Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – production (track 6)
- Steve Hodge – recording, mixing (track 6)
- Xavier Smith – recording assistance, mixing assistance (track 6)
- Dave Rideau – vocal recording (track 6)
- Gordon Fordyce – vocal recording assistance (track 6)
- Dylan Dresdow – vocal recording assistance (track 6)
- Ricciano Lumpkins – production (track 7); recording (tracks 7, 12, 16)
- John Horesco IV – mixing assistance (track 7); digital editing (track 17)
- Babyface – production (tracks 8, 13); executive production
- Daryl Simmons – production (track 8)
- Paul Boutin – recording (tracks 8, 13)
- Thom "TK" Kidd – lead vocals recording (track 8)
- Kevin Lively – lead vocals recording assistance (track 8); mixing assistance (track 10)
- Ralph Cacciurri – lead vocals recording assistance (track 8)
- Jon Gass – mixing (tracks 8, 13)
- Ivy Skoff – production coordination (tracks 8, 13)
- Jermaine Dupri – production, mixing (track 10)
- Carl So-Lowe – co-production (track 10)
- Brian Frye – recording (track 10)
- Phil Tan – mixing (track 10)
- Diane Makowski – production coordination (track 10)
- Debra Killings – production (track 12)
- Aman Junaid – recording (tracks 12, 17)
- E'lyk – mixing assistance (track 13)
- Claudine Pontier – recording assistance (track 15)
- Herb Powers Jr. – mastering
- Antonio M. Reid – executive production
- TLC – executive production
Artwork
- TLC – creative concept
- D.L. Warfield – art direction, design
- Cherie O'Brien – creative coordination
- Nigel Sawyer – layout assistance
- Seb Janiak – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Certifications and sales
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[68] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Belgium (BEA)[69] | Gold | 25,000* |
Canada (Music Canada)[70] | 4× Platinum | 400,000^ |
France (SNEP)[71] | Gold | 100,000* |
Japan (RIAJ)[72] | Million | 1,000,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI)[73] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[74] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[75] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[77] | Platinum | 395,877[76] |
United States (RIAA)[25] | 6× Platinum | 5,677,000[i] |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI)[79] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
Worldwide | — | 10,000,000[28] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
See also
Notes
- ^ Tracks 1–5, 7, 9, 11 and 13–17
- ^ Tracks 1, 11 and 15; vocals on track 6
- ^ Track 6
- ^ Vocals on track 6
- ^ Tracks 8 and 13
- ^ a b Track 8
- ^ Track 10
- ^ Tracks 11 and 15
- ^ As of June 2017, FanMail had sold 4.8 million copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan,[26] which does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music Club,[78] where it had sold 877,000 copies as of February 2003.[27] Combined, it has sold over 5,677,000 copies in the US.
References
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- ^ a b c d e f Whaley, Natelegé (February 23, 2019). "20 Years Of TLC's 'FanMail': A Futurist Prelude To Digital Era Intimacy". Vibe. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
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{{cite AV media notes}}
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- ^ a b Clover, Joshua (May 1999). "TLC: Fan Mail". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 5. pp. 146–7. Retrieved January 22, 2017 – via Google Books.
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- ^ "Japanese album certifications – TLC – FanMail" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved July 1, 2019. Select 2002年11月 on the drop-down menu
- ^ "Dutch album certifications – TLC – FanMail" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved August 23, 2018. Enter FanMail in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2000 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
- ^ "New Zealand album certifications – TLC – FanMail". Recorded Music NZ. October 31, 1999. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Fanmail')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ "Najlepiej sprzedające się albumy w W.Brytanii w 1999r" (in Polish). Z archiwum...rocka. Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
- ^ "British album certifications – TLC – Fanmail". British Phonographic Industry. September 9, 1999. Retrieved August 8, 2012. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Fanmail in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (January 25, 2008). "Ask Billboard: 'Good' Is Not So Good". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
- ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1999". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 2, 2014.