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Superhero (Brian McKnight album)

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Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Vibe[2]

Superhero is the 5th album by Brian McKnight released on August 28, 2001. It is the sixth studio album of his career. McKnight recorded this album to showcase his many musical influences and give listeners a glimpse into the past year of his life. Superhero mixes McKnight's usual R&B style with a touch of rock and roll and rap. Featured guests include Justin Timberlake, Nate Dogg, Fred Hammond, and the St. Lunatics.

Superhero debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 albums chart, moving 153,000 units in its first week. On October 24, 2001, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA. In 2002, three singles off of the album were nominated for four Grammy Awards.

Album Insight

In the CD booklet, Brian McKnight explains why he made the album: "Superheroes are people who do things everyday that go unrecognized... teachers, firemen, police, parents. That sort of grace is what I aspire to and what people should aspire to. These songs talk about those moments and frankly, the sort of man I hope to be. You can view this album as a diary of the past year of my life and these songs as a beacon for me to try to reach higher".[3]

The past year in Brian McKnight's life was full of family and music. With his wife Julia but being separated twice by this time, he was still something of a superhero to his children. His two sons BJ (Brian Jr., 10) and Niko (Cole Nikolas, 7) were following in his footsteps at this point in their life. In the July 2000 edition of Ebony, it states that "BJ has his own music studio in his bedroom. Like his dad, he writes music and shares his father's love of sports. Niko is musically inclined as well and has a drum set in his bedroom..." [4]

Brian McKnight has many influences. He lists them as Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Kenny Loggins because "he's a singer/songwriter/guitar player", David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, and Al Jarreau were his jazz influences, and The Police, Chicago (band), Toto (band), and Steely Dan were his rock/pop influences. McKnight's biggest influence was his older brother Claude V. McKnight III, the founder of the a Capella group, Take 6. Brian's motivation grew from seeing his brother's success. Take 6 was signed to Warner Bothers in 1987 and Brian was signed shortly after to Mercury in 1988.[5]

Critical Reception

Superhero garnered generally positive reviews. Cheo Tyehimba of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a 'B' grade and went on to say: "Combining that superpower with his formulaic, but potent songwriting skills, he's created an ambitious CD of mid-tempo hip hop, rock, and gospel grooves."[6] In addition, Lana K. Wilson-Combs of the Sacramento News & Review gave the album praise. She explained: "McKnight—who’s cut from the same old-school cloth as Teddy Pendergrass, Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross—specializes in sensuous love songs. Here he doesn’t disappoint." [7]

Awards

Brian McKnight was nominated for the 'Outstanding Male Performance' award at the 2002 NAACP Image awards for his work on Superhero. [8] In addition, McKnight was nominated for four Grammy Awards for his work on the album: [9]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Prelude"2:51
2."When You Wanna Come"4:39
3."What's It Gonna Be"4:28
4."My Kind Of Girl (featuring Justin Timberlake)"3:52
5."Love Of My Life"4:42
6."Whatever You Want"4:06
7."Everything"3:31
8."Get Over You"3:38
9."Superhero"3:08
10."Still"4:19
11."Don't Know Where to Start (featuring Nate Dogg)"4:37
12."Biggest Part Of Me"4:37
13."When Will I See You Again (featuring Fred Hammond)"5:18
14."For You"1:56
15."(Bonus Track) Groovin' Tonight (featuring St. Lunatics)"5:16

Singles

Charts

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Billboard 200[10] 7
Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[10] 4
Superhero & more...

Superhero & more...

In 2002 Brian McKnight reissued the album Superhero called Superhero & more... The imported version has a second CD with three audio bonus tracks and three bonus music videos. The Superhero and more... album features the Korean singer Cho-Kyu-Chan and the music group Urban Xchange.

Superhero & more... Bonus Audio Tracks

1. "Thank you (For Saving my Life) featuring Cho-Kyu-Chan" 2. "Over and Over Again" 3. "When You Wanna Come (featuring Urban Xchange)"

Superhero & more... Music Videos

1. "Still" 2. "Love of My Life" 3. "Thank You (For Saving My Life) featuring Cho-Kyu-Chan"

Personnel

[11]

References

  1. ^ Jonas, Liana. Superhero – Review. Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  2. ^ Erlich, Dmitri (2001). "Revolutions: Superhero album review". Vibe (10): 154.
  3. ^ Brian McKnight (2001). Superhero (Liner notes).
  4. ^ Collier, Aldore (July 2000), "Brian McKnight On Fame, Family, and Female Fans", Ebony, pp. 124–130
  5. ^ http://irockjazz.com/2012/06/the-real-brian-mcknight-pt-1/
  6. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C255019%2C00.html.
  7. ^ http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/brian-mcknight/content?oid=9811
  8. ^ http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0900802.html
  9. ^ http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-m/brianmcknight.htm
  10. ^ a b Superhero – Brian McKnight - Album Info. Billboard.com. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  11. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/superhero-more-mr0001265796/credits


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