LeToya (album)
LeToya | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 25, 2006 | |||
Recorded | 2003–06 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 52:18 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer |
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LeToya chronology | ||||
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Singles from LeToya | ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Blender Magazine | [3] |
Daily Record | [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | (favorable)[5] |
The Guardian | [6] |
Prefix Magazine | [7] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
SPIN | [9] |
Stylus Magazine | [10] |
The Phoenix | [11] |
LeToya is the debut studio album by American R&B singer and former Destiny's Child member LeToya Luckett, released by Capitol Records on July 25, 2006 in the United States. The album spawned three singles: "Torn", "She Don't" and "Obvious". Besides the officially released singles, LeToya's debut album also includes the promo singles, "U Got What I Need" and "All Eyes On Me". LeToya co-wrote 10 out of the 14 tracks. The album was the first solo release from LeToya following her departure from her former group, Destiny's Child, of which she was a founding member.
The album garnered mostly positive reception from music critics, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200,.[12] It was certified Platinum in December 2006.
Production
LeToya had "bottled up so many things, so many emotions, so many ideas" accumulated in many years away from the music world (as her claims on the Intro song "too much to tell ya"). Things like her dismissal from Destiny's Child, the deception with the shortly-formed Anjel and subsequent search for a new record deal has apparently made her a stronger person. Finally with a record deal, LeToya entered in studios recording songs for what would be her debut album. Finally about two years making, plans to the release the album came out- surprisingly becoming a number one album through the USA. Letoya worked with producers Dave Young, Scott Storch, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan Michael Cox, Just Blaze, Johnta Austin, Teddy Bishop, and JR Rotem. She also worked with artists such as Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Mike Jones and Rick Ross.
Commercial performance
LeToya debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first week sales of 165,000 copies and at number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart,[12] becoming the second Destiny's Child member to reach that position on SoundScan Mainstream Chart as a solo artist. To date, the album has sold over 1,399,000 copies according to Nielsen Soundscan,[13] and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for shipping over a million copies.
The first single from the album was "U Got What I Need", with non-commercial purpose, but "All Eyes on Me", the second single, is claimed as her "original" first single, as this is the first track that showcased her as a solo artist. "Torn", the first official single from the album which was released in March 2006 and soon became a hit having a high airplay and peaking at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[14] "Torn" became a hit on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, peaking at number two. It also entered the top twenty on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Adult R&B charts. In the same year, the song was finally released worldwide, namely the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia and became a moderate worldwide hit. Torn had one of its biggest successes on BET's 106 & Park. It reached number one in eleven days and stayed there for twenty-five days straight. It remained on the countdown for sixty-five days.
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | Gavin Luckett, Brandon Pitre | Gavin Luckett | 0:56 |
2. | "U Got What I Need" | LeToya Luckett, Barry White, Justin Smith, David Young | Just Blaze | 3:45 |
3. | "So Special" | Teddy Bishop, Luckett, Tamara Savage, Young | Teddy Bishop | 3:30 |
4. | "Torn" | Thomas Bell, Bishop, Linda Epstein, Luckett, Young | Teddy Bishop | 4:22 |
5. | "What Love Can Do" | Keri Hilson, Pierre Medor, Dwayne Nesmith, Patrick "J. Que" Smith | The Corner Boyz | 3:47 |
6. | "She Don't" | Yvette Davis, Walter Millsap, Candice Nelson | Walter "Lil' Walt" Milsap III | 4:04 |
7. | "Tear da Club Up (H-Town Version)" (featuring Bun B & Jazze Pha) | Phalon Alexander, Bernard Freeman, Luckett, Kayla Shelton, Young | Jazze Pha, Dave Young | 3:49 |
8. | "All Eyes on Me" (featuring Paul Wall) | Luckett, Jonathan Rotem, Stayve Thomas, Young | J. R. Rotem | 3:34 |
9. | "Hey Fella" (featuring Slim Thug) | H. Lang Jr., Thomas, Young | Flash Technology | 3:53 |
10. | "Gangsta Grillz" (featuring Mike Jones & Killa Kyleon) | Terry Allen, Shannon Graham, Mike Jones, Luckett, Kyle Riley, Shelton | Terry "T. A." Allen | 3:50 |
11. | "Obvious" | Bryan Michael Cox, Luckett, Young | Bryan Michael Cox, Dave Young | 3:55 |
12. | "I'm Good" | Luckett, Makeba Riddick, Scott Storch, Robert Waller | Scott Storch | 3:24 |
13. | "This Song" | Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Jontha Austin | Jermaine Dupri, Bryan Michael Cox | 3:16 |
14. | "Outro" | G. Curtis, G. Luckett, Luckett, Pitre | Gavin "Gavo" Luckett, Brandon "B-Don" Pitre | 1:37 |
15. | "Torn (So So Def Remix)" (featuring Mike Jones & Rick Ross) | Bell, Bishop, Epstein, Luckett, Young | Jermaine Dupri, James "LRoc" Phillips | 4:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
16. | "No More" | Nelson, Walter Millsap, Luckett | 4:06 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
16. | "A Day In the Life of LeToya" (enhanced video) | |
17. | "Torn" (music video) |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
16. | "Torn" (music video) | |
17. | "She Don't" (music video) | |
18. | ""LeToya in Japan" Special Footage" | 7:00 |
Sample credits
- "U Got What I Need" contains a sample of Love Unlimited's "Walking In The Rain (With The One I Love)".
- "Torn" contains a sample of The Stylistics's 1971 classic "You Are Everything".
- "She Don't" contains a sample of The Spinners's "We Belong Together" and samples from The Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye".
- "All Eyes on Me" contains a sample of Sweet Charity's "Hey, Big Spender".
- "Obvious" contains interpolations from "Break Hard, Dude" by AC/DC and samples Romeo Miller "Maybe".
- "This Song" contains interpolations from Curtis Mayfied's "Eddie, You Should Know Better".
- "Outro" contains an interpolations from Just A Prayer by Yolanda Adams and sample of Michael Jackson's 1982 "P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)".
Personnel
- Executive producers: LeToya Luckett, Carl "Mister C" Cole, Terry Ross, Executive Producer
- Mixing: Manny Marroquin (tracks 1, 6, 8–12, 14), Dave Russell (5), Kevin "KD" Davis (7), Jean-Marie Horvat (2, 3, 4), Jermaine Dupri (13, 15), Phil Tan (13, 15), Josh Houghkirk (assistant – 15)
- A&R/Album producers: Scott Storch (track 12), Jazze Pha (original version – 7), Wine-O (7), Dave Young (vocals – 11), Just Blaze (2), Walter Millsap III (6), Candice Nelson (6), Bryan-Michael Cox (All instruments- 11, 13), Candice Childress (coordinator – 11), J. R. Rotem (8), Terry Allen (10), Teddy Bishop (3, 4), Jermaine Dupri (13, 15), James "LRoc" Phillips (15), Tha Corna Boys (5), Steve Prudholme, Brandon "B-Don" Pitre (1, 14), Gavin "Gavo" Luckett (1, 14), Flash Technology (9)
- Recording Engineers: Phil Tan (track 15), Jermaine Dupri (15), Danny Cheung (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 14, additional music – 2, 11, 12), Walter Millsap (additional music – 6), Dave Lopez (6), Terrence Cash (10), Dave Ashton (8), Ryan West (2), Tadd Mingo (assistant – 15), Pierre Medor of Tha Corna Boys (5), Sam Thomas (11), Leslie Brathwaite (7), John Horesco IV (13, 15), Conrad Golding (12)
- Management: Terry Ross, Pamela Luckett
- Marketing: Jermaine Dupri
- A&R operation: Steve Prudholme, Josh Houghkirk, Jermaine Dupri
- A&R administration: Jermaine Dupri
- Art directions: Eric Roinestad
- Design: Eric Roinestad
- Photography: Dusan Reljin
- Featuring vocals from: Bun B (rap-track 7), Jazze Pha (rap- 7), Paul Wall (rap- 8), Slim Thug (rap- 9), Mike Jones (rap- 10, 15), Killa Kyleon (rap- 10), Rick Ross (rap- 15), Candice Nelson (additional background vocals- 6), Dave Young (additional vocals- 11)
Leftover tracks
- "Somethin' 4 Ya" (produced by Nisan) [iTunes limited time purchase]
- "When I Get Around Him" (produced by Teddy Bishop)
- "Nothing For Me" (produced by Mike City)
- "Tear Da Club Up (Original Mix)" (produced by Jazze Pha)
- "Keep It So Real" (featuring and produced by Jazze Pha)
- "The Truth"
Charts
Chart (2006) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian Albums (Billboard) |
66 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) |
37 |
UK Albums | 57 |
US Billboard 200 | 1 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) |
1 |
Release history
Region | Date | Edition | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | July 4, 2006 | Standard | EMI Japan | |
United States | July 25, 2006 | Capitol | ||
Canada | August 15, 2006 | EMI Music | ||
Australia | September 16, 2006 | |||
Europe | October 2, 2006 | |||
Puerto Rico | December 24, 2006 | |||
Japan | February 7, 2007 | Special | EMI Japan |
References
- ^ "No More - Single by LeToya". iTunes Store (US). Apple Music inc. Retrieved 18 July 2006.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Blender Magazine review[permanent dead link]
- ^ Daily Record review
- ^ Entertainment Weekly review
- ^ The Guardian review
- ^ Prefix Magazine review
- ^ Archived Rolling Stone review
- ^ SPIN review Archived 2006-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Stylus Magazine review
- ^ The Phoenix review
- ^ a b "LeToya Powers Right To No. 1 On Billboard 200". billboard.com. Retrieved 2006-02-10.
- ^ "Chart Watch Extra: What A Turkey! The 25 Worst-Selling #1 Albums". launch.com. Retrieved 2006-02-10.
- ^ "Artist Chart History – LeToya". billboard.com. Retrieved 2006-02-10.