Because I Love It
Encyclopedia
Because I Love It is the third studio album
by American R&B
singer-songwriter Amerie
. Originally set for an autumn 2006 release, and originally to be called None of the Above, the album was released in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2007. The album was released in the U.S. on different dates to various retailers. The album was made available as online exclusives for Walmart.com on July 3, 2007 and FYE on January 15, 2008, while its physical release did not hit the U.S. markets until September 30, 2008. All future singles and promotion were scrapped due to Amerie no longer being signed on to Sony BMG. As of 2009 worldwide sales stand at 307,000 copies sold according to IFPI tracking.
Despite mixed criticism towards its ballads, Spin
praised the album's sound and called it "R&B at its most dynamic". The Observer
gave it a favorable review, writing "It's no classic, but the obligatory ballads are mercifully few, allowing a series of punchy, soulpowered tracks to shine". The Guardian
gave it a 4 out of 5 stars while lauding Amerie as "one of the greatest singers in pop music" and that Because I Love It was a "spectacular work" because [Amerie] "catches the fleeting thrills and momentary rushes of intensity that permeate otherwise mundane days, and stretches those feelings out across four-minute songs without ever letting up." NME
gave Because I Love It a rating of 7/10, describing it as "bar-raising pop" and calling it a "whip-smart collection of retro R&B that’s more Winehouse
than Aguilera
".
" was the first and lead single from the album. The music video debut in the U.S. in December 2006. The song peaked on the Billboard R&B/Hiphop singles chart at number 66. The official remix featured South Korean pop singer SE7EN.
"Crush" was set to be a single in the UK, Europe and Australia. The single was sent to radio around November 2007, set with a commercial release date in early 2008. However for some unknown reasons the single was cancelled. A music video featuring the original version of "Crush" (produced by Johnny Douglas
) was used for the radio and the video version of the single. The Johnny Douglas mix was originally intended to be featured on the album, however due to legal issues it was not used, instead The Buchanans version was used in its place.
"Gotta Work
" was released as the albums second single. The single was used to help promote the NBA
and AXN
television. The single was released to international markets, however a promotional single was released in the US. The single peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Charts and number 6 on the UK R&B Singles Charts.
"That's What U R" was released in Japan as the albums third single only (forth over all). The radio version was a reworked version of the album adding rap verses by Fabolous
and Slim Thug
. The single was released as a promotional single only and did not receive a commercial release. The radio version can be found on some limited edition Asian Editions of "Because I Love It".
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
singer-songwriter Amerie
Amerie
Amerie Mi Marie Rogers , known professionally as Amerie or Ameriie, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She debuted in 2002 with the album All I Have, primarily co-written and produced by Rich Harrison, and was well-received in the urban market...
. Originally set for an autumn 2006 release, and originally to be called None of the Above, the album was released in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2007. The album was released in the U.S. on different dates to various retailers. The album was made available as online exclusives for Walmart.com on July 3, 2007 and FYE on January 15, 2008, while its physical release did not hit the U.S. markets until September 30, 2008. All future singles and promotion were scrapped due to Amerie no longer being signed on to Sony BMG. As of 2009 worldwide sales stand at 307,000 copies sold according to IFPI tracking.
Critical reception
Because I Love It received wide critical acclaim from various music critics. AllHipHop.com praised the album giving it 5 out of 5 stars, stating that Amerie has the "ability to convey excitement without sounding insane" but pointing out that "doesn’t fit neatly into any specific genre anyway, so she might as well leave the standard R&B fare to the army of standard R&B chicks available to sing them." Allmusic also praised the album; giving it 4½ out of 5 stars, stating that the album "lassoe[d] each song, whether it require[d] salt, sugar, heartache, delight, or any combination thereof." and further noting that "[s]he is the only female singer on the album, and hearing her backgrounds dance and swim around her leads is as moving as anything else in modern R&B".Despite mixed criticism towards its ballads, Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
praised the album's sound and called it "R&B at its most dynamic". The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
gave it a favorable review, writing "It's no classic, but the obligatory ballads are mercifully few, allowing a series of punchy, soulpowered tracks to shine". The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
gave it a 4 out of 5 stars while lauding Amerie as "one of the greatest singers in pop music" and that Because I Love It was a "spectacular work" because [Amerie] "catches the fleeting thrills and momentary rushes of intensity that permeate otherwise mundane days, and stretches those feelings out across four-minute songs without ever letting up." NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
gave Because I Love It a rating of 7/10, describing it as "bar-raising pop" and calling it a "whip-smart collection of retro R&B that’s more Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
than Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
".
Track listing
- AmerieAmerieAmerie Mi Marie Rogers , known professionally as Amerie or Ameriie, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She debuted in 2002 with the album All I Have, primarily co-written and produced by Rich Harrison, and was well-received in the urban market...
co-wrote all of the songs on the album; additional writers are listed below.
Samples credits
- "Forecast (Intro)" — "Farandole" by Bob JamesBob James (musician)Robert McElhiney James is a jazz keyboardist, arranger and producer.-Biography:During the 1970s, Bob James played a major role in establishing the smooth jazz genre. "Angela", the instrumental theme from the sitcom Taxi, is probably Bob James' most well-known work to date...
- "Hate 2 Love U" — "Give It Up" by Kool & the GangKool & the GangKool & the Gang are an American jazz, R&B, soul, and funk group, originally formed as the Jazziacs in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964.They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and...
- "Some Like It" — "World's Famous" by Malcolm McLarenMalcolm McLarenMalcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
- "Make Me Believe" — reworked version of the Curtis MayfieldCurtis MayfieldCurtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
song by the same title - "Take ControlTake Control"Take Control" is a song by American R&B singer-songwriter Amerie from her third studio album, Because I Love It . Written by Cee-Lo Green, Mike Caren, and Amerie and released as the album's lead single in late 2006, the Caren-produced track contains excerpts from Brazilian musician Tom Zé's 1970...
" — "Jimi Renda-Se" by Tom ZéTom ZéTom Zé is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who was influential in the Tropicália movement of 1960s Brazil. After the peak of the Tropicália period, Zé went into relative obscurity: it was only in the 1990s, when the musician and label head David Byrne discovered an album recorded...
and "You Make My Dreams" by Hall & OatesHall & OatesHall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."... - "Gotta Work" — "Hold On I'm Coming" by Mighty Dog Haynes
- "Paint Me Over" — "Mother's Theme (Mama)" by Willie HutchWillie HutchWillie McKinley Hutchison, known professionally as Willie Hutch was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s....
- "All Roads" — "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" by James IngramJames IngramJames Ingram is an American soul musician. He is best known as a vocalist. He is also a self-taught musician who plays piano, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards...
& Patti AustinPatti Austin-Life and career:Austin was born in Harlem, New York. She made her debut at the Apollo Theater at age four and had a contract with RCA Records when she was only five. Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington have proclaimed themselves as her godparents.... - "1 Thing1 Thing"1 Thing" is a song written by American R&B singer-songwriter Amerie and Rich Harrison for Amerie's second studio album, Touch . The song is influenced by go-go rhythms and features a prominent sample of The Meters' 1970 funk recording of "Oh, Calcutta!", written by Stanley Walden...
" — "Oh, Calcutta" by the MetersThe MetersThe Meters are an American funk band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Meters performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977... - "Losing U" — "Didi" by Khaled Hadj Brahim
Singles
"Take ControlTake Control
"Take Control" is a song by American R&B singer-songwriter Amerie from her third studio album, Because I Love It . Written by Cee-Lo Green, Mike Caren, and Amerie and released as the album's lead single in late 2006, the Caren-produced track contains excerpts from Brazilian musician Tom Zé's 1970...
" was the first and lead single from the album. The music video debut in the U.S. in December 2006. The song peaked on the Billboard R&B/Hiphop singles chart at number 66. The official remix featured South Korean pop singer SE7EN.
"Crush" was set to be a single in the UK, Europe and Australia. The single was sent to radio around November 2007, set with a commercial release date in early 2008. However for some unknown reasons the single was cancelled. A music video featuring the original version of "Crush" (produced by Johnny Douglas
Johnny Douglas
John "Johnny" William Henry Tyler Douglas was a cricketer who was captain of the England team and an Olympic boxer.-Early life:...
) was used for the radio and the video version of the single. The Johnny Douglas mix was originally intended to be featured on the album, however due to legal issues it was not used, instead The Buchanans version was used in its place.
"Gotta Work
Gotta Work
"Gotta Work" is a song by American R&B singer–songwriter Amerie, and is the second international single from her third studio album, Because I Love It . It samples Sam & Dave's 1966 song "Hold On, I'm Comin'", written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter and originally recorded by Reuben Wilson...
" was released as the albums second single. The single was used to help promote the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
and AXN
AXN
AXN is a Pay television, cable and satellite television channel owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, which was first launched on May 22, 1997. The network is now spread across several regions in the world, including Japan, Europe, other parts of Asia and Latin America...
television. The single was released to international markets, however a promotional single was released in the US. The single peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Charts and number 6 on the UK R&B Singles Charts.
"That's What U R" was released in Japan as the albums third single only (forth over all). The radio version was a reworked version of the album adding rap verses by Fabolous
Fabolous
John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...
and Slim Thug
Slim Thug
Stayve Jerome Thomas , better known as Slim Thug, Boss Hogg or Thug Boss, is an American rapper. He gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the popular single from rapper Mike Jones, "Still Tippin'"....
. The single was released as a promotional single only and did not receive a commercial release. The radio version can be found on some limited edition Asian Editions of "Because I Love It".
Charts
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| European Top 100 Albums European Top 100 Albums The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100... |
56 |
| French SNEP Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... Albums Chart |
159 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
65 |
| Japanese Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... Albums Chart |
13 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
42 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
17 |
External links
- Because I Love It at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Dancefloor Dynamite at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Album Review at About.comAbout.comAbout.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
- Album Review at UKMIX