Lotusflower (album)
Encyclopedia
Lotusflow3r is the twenty-sixth studio album by American musician Prince
, released March 24, 2009 on NPG Records
. A triple album set, it contains two Prince albums, LOtUSFLOW3R and MPLSºUND, as well as Elixer, the debut album of Prince protegée Bria Valente
. The three albums are sold exclusively in the US at Target
as a 3-disc set, and in Europe from more online music stores.
The album debuted at #2 on the US Billboard 200
chart, selling 168,000 copies in its first week. Along with the set's other albums, Lotusflow3r received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics.
: a cover of "Crimson and Clover
", "4ever", "Colonized Mind" and "Wall of Berlin". A month later in a Los Angeles Times
article, further song titles were mentioned, namely "Hey Valentina" (written for Salma Hayek
's daughter), "Better with Time" (an ode to Under the Cherry Moon
co-star Kristin Scott Thomas
), "Love Like Jazz", "$" (about "the most popular girl in the whole wide world"), and "77 Beverly Place".
To generate excitement, Prince launched mplsound.com in December 2008 offering an instrumental of "(There'll Never B) Another Like Me", later replaced by the finished track. A month later, the site was shut down and replaced with an announcement of a new interactive website (lotusflow3r.com), proclaiming it will allow fans to "listen, watch and buy" music and videos featuring Prince and guest artists. The site, possibly acknowledging early reviews that the new music hearkens back to his Purple Rain
days (and the fact that 2009 marks its 25th anniversary), featured a thrown-down television set on a cliff with a frame from the movie. The site had three songs for listening: "Crimson and Clover", "Here Eye Come", and "(There'll Never B) Another Like Me". A couple of weeks later, it was updated again with more interactive content. The songs were changed contained 60 second samples of three songs: "Chocolate Box", "Colonized Mind", "All This Love". On January 31, more changes were set with a new instrumental available for listen, as well as a "teaser" video. The site also had three full songs for listening: "Colonized Mind", "Discojellyfish" (an instrumental non album track based on "Chocolate Box"), and "Another Boy", which is sung by Valente.
The album contains a few songs previously known by fans. "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful" was posted on Prince's now-defunct NPG Music Club
website as a one minute demo in 2006, "U're Gonna C Me" is a remake of a track from Prince's 2002 album One Nite Alone...
and "Kept Woman" is a track from Prince's unreleased 2006 project with Támar
called Milk and Honey. Originally intended to be released together with Prince's 3121
album, the project was eventually leaked onto the internet by Támar on her website. "Here I Come" had been posted on Prince's now-defunct 3121.com site in 2007. An excerpt of the song "Home" was posted on drfunkenberry.com in 2008 and the track "Another Boy" was debuted on radio and iTunes in 2008.
On March 11, 2009, it was announced on Billboard.com that Prince would perform on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno three nights in a row, March 25-27. He performed "Ol' Skool Company", "Dreamer" and "Feel Better, Feel Good, Feel Wonderful". Prince also performed "Crimson and Clover" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
and along with Bria Valente gave a two-part interview on the Tavis Smiley
show in which he revealed he was born epileptic. During a fourth Tonight Show appearance on May 28, in celebration of the end of Leno's first run as host of the show, Prince also performed "Somewhere Here on Earth" from his 2007 Planet Earth
album.
On March 23, a demo of the song "Chocolate Box" (without Q-Tip
) was leaked onto the internet. On March 24, at 7:07 pm PST, lotusflow3r.com opened officially. Members who joined early and paid the $77/year fee got to view streaming video (including the cover of Radiohead
's "Creep" performed at the 2008 Coachella
festival) and music video
s for the tracks "Chocolate Box", "Crimson and Clover" and "Everytime", download all three albums (detailed below), were sent a "founding member" t-shirt, and were able to buy tickets to future concerts Prince would be doing in the LA area, including the Tonight Show performances. Later in 2009, Prince performed two shows in Montreux
during the Montreux Jazz Festival
, and released a rerecorded version of the 1986 outtake "In a Large Room with No Light" to promote the concerts. Later Prince, also performed three shows in Monaco
. On October 15 Prince performed on French television to promote Lotusflow3r after playing three concerts in Paris. He performed the songs "Dance 4 Me", "No More Candy 4 U", "1999
" and "Controversy
", helping the album reach #1 on the French iTunes Albums Chart.
The album was released as a physical release a few days later as a Target exclusive for the price of US$11.98. Even though the album was only released in the US, many copies were exported for sale in Europe. Warner Music released the album in France on September 7, as a single CD ("MPLSound") and a limited 3 CD. "Dance 4 Me" was digitally released on August 31 as a single, reaching #38 on the French digital singles chart. Three remixes ("Icon Remix", "Tribal Drum Remix" and "Dominatrix Remix") of the song remain as yet unreleased. The "Icon Remix" was leaked onto the internet and a "making of" for the remix was posted on YouTube.
The song "Crimson and Clover" was replaced by the 2006 outtake "The Morning After" on the digital version of the album.
, selling 168,000 copies in its first week and becoming Prince's fourth consecutive Top 3 album in the U.S. The album narrowly missed the #1 spot, selling 3000 copies less than Keith Urban
's Defying Gravity. The album however topped some other charts leading Prince to suspect the charts were tampered with which he specifically stated on the Tavis Smiley interview. As of October 3, 2010, the album has sold 483,392 units, according to Soundscan.
Upon their release, Lotusflow3r and MPLSound received generally mixed to positive reviews from most music critics, based on aggregate scores of 61 and 62/100 from Metacritic
. However, Bria Valente's Elixer received generally mixed or average reviews from most music critics, receiving an aggregate score of 49/100 from Metacritic.
; except "Crimson and Clover", written by Tommy James
and Peter Lucia, Jr..
.
and Bria Valente
.
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, released March 24, 2009 on NPG Records
NPG Records
NPG Records is the current active record label owned by Prince, founded in 1993 to release his music after Paisley Park Records. Paisley Park was shut down by Warner Bros. Records in 1993. Warner Bros. distributed one NPG release in 1995, The Gold Experience. "NPG" is short for "New Power...
. A triple album set, it contains two Prince albums, LOtUSFLOW3R and MPLSºUND, as well as Elixer, the debut album of Prince protegée Bria Valente
Bria Valente
Bria Valente is an American singer. A protégée of Prince, Valente released her debut album, Elixer, as part of a three-album set with Prince's LOtUSFLOW3R and MPLSoUND on March 29, 2009. The collection debuted at #2 on the top Billboard albums chart.Valente was born and raised in Minneapolis,...
. The three albums are sold exclusively in the US at Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
as a 3-disc set, and in Europe from more online music stores.
The album debuted at #2 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, selling 168,000 copies in its first week. Along with the set's other albums, Lotusflow3r received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics.
Release and promotion
In December 2008, four songs were premiered on Los Angeles radio station Indie 103KDLD
KDLD is a commercial radio station in Santa Monica, California, broadcasting to the Los Angeles area on 103.1 FM. KDLE is a commercial radio station in Newport Beach, California, broadcasting to the Orange County area on 103.1 FM....
: a cover of "Crimson and Clover
Crimson and Clover
"Crimson and Clover" is a 1968 song by American rock band Tommy James and the Shondells. Written by the duo of Tommy James and drummer Peter Lucia Jr., it was intended as a change in direction of the group's sound and composition....
", "4ever", "Colonized Mind" and "Wall of Berlin". A month later in a Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
article, further song titles were mentioned, namely "Hey Valentina" (written for Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek
Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
's daughter), "Better with Time" (an ode to Under the Cherry Moon
Under the Cherry Moon
Under the Cherry Moon is a 1986 film directed by and starring Prince as a gigolo named Christopher Tracy and Time member Jerome Benton as his partner, Tricky. Together, the pair swindle wealthy French women...
co-star Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin A. Scott Thomas, OBE is an English actress who has also acquired French nationality. She gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in Bitter Moon, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient....
), "Love Like Jazz", "$" (about "the most popular girl in the whole wide world"), and "77 Beverly Place".
To generate excitement, Prince launched mplsound.com in December 2008 offering an instrumental of "(There'll Never B) Another Like Me", later replaced by the finished track. A month later, the site was shut down and replaced with an announcement of a new interactive website (lotusflow3r.com), proclaiming it will allow fans to "listen, watch and buy" music and videos featuring Prince and guest artists. The site, possibly acknowledging early reviews that the new music hearkens back to his Purple Rain
Purple Rain (album)
Purple Rain is the sixth studio album by Prince, the first to officially be credited to Prince and The Revolution, and is the soundtrack album to the 1984 film Purple Rain.Purple Rain is regularly ranked among the best albums in pop music history...
days (and the fact that 2009 marks its 25th anniversary), featured a thrown-down television set on a cliff with a frame from the movie. The site had three songs for listening: "Crimson and Clover", "Here Eye Come", and "(There'll Never B) Another Like Me". A couple of weeks later, it was updated again with more interactive content. The songs were changed contained 60 second samples of three songs: "Chocolate Box", "Colonized Mind", "All This Love". On January 31, more changes were set with a new instrumental available for listen, as well as a "teaser" video. The site also had three full songs for listening: "Colonized Mind", "Discojellyfish" (an instrumental non album track based on "Chocolate Box"), and "Another Boy", which is sung by Valente.
The album contains a few songs previously known by fans. "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful" was posted on Prince's now-defunct NPG Music Club
NPG Music Club
NPG Music Club was an official website of Prince. Prince won a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award for the site in 2006. The site was launched at Studio 54 nightclub.Membership was either $7.77 for Basic Monthly access or $100 for a premium annual membership...
website as a one minute demo in 2006, "U're Gonna C Me" is a remake of a track from Prince's 2002 album One Nite Alone...
One Nite Alone...
One Nite Alone... is the twenty-fifth studio album by Prince. It features him on piano and vocals with a few embellishments here and there. It was released online in 2002 through the NPG Music Club and it was never even available in stores. Many fans have only heard the album through MP3...
and "Kept Woman" is a track from Prince's unreleased 2006 project with Támar
Támar
Támar is an American R&B singer who came to prominence through the artist, Prince. She sang the co-lead vocals on his Grammy-nominated song "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed" from his 2006 album, 3121 and on backup vocals throughout the album...
called Milk and Honey. Originally intended to be released together with Prince's 3121
3121 (album)
3121 is the thirty-first studio album by Prince. The album, released March 21, 2006 in the U.S., is distributed through Universal Records.-Album information:...
album, the project was eventually leaked onto the internet by Támar on her website. "Here I Come" had been posted on Prince's now-defunct 3121.com site in 2007. An excerpt of the song "Home" was posted on drfunkenberry.com in 2008 and the track "Another Boy" was debuted on radio and iTunes in 2008.
On March 11, 2009, it was announced on Billboard.com that Prince would perform on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno three nights in a row, March 25-27. He performed "Ol' Skool Company", "Dreamer" and "Feel Better, Feel Good, Feel Wonderful". Prince also performed "Crimson and Clover" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
and along with Bria Valente gave a two-part interview on the Tavis Smiley
Tavis Smiley
Tavis Smiley is a talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of...
show in which he revealed he was born epileptic. During a fourth Tonight Show appearance on May 28, in celebration of the end of Leno's first run as host of the show, Prince also performed "Somewhere Here on Earth" from his 2007 Planet Earth
Planet Earth (album)
Planet Earth is the twenty-fifth studio album by American musician Prince, first released July 15, 2007 in the UK as a free covermount with The Mail on Sunday national newspaper. This was followed by the album's worldwide distribution...
album.
On March 23, a demo of the song "Chocolate Box" (without Q-Tip
Q-Tip (rapper)
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...
) was leaked onto the internet. On March 24, at 7:07 pm PST, lotusflow3r.com opened officially. Members who joined early and paid the $77/year fee got to view streaming video (including the cover of Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
's "Creep" performed at the 2008 Coachella
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...
festival) and music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s for the tracks "Chocolate Box", "Crimson and Clover" and "Everytime", download all three albums (detailed below), were sent a "founding member" t-shirt, and were able to buy tickets to future concerts Prince would be doing in the LA area, including the Tonight Show performances. Later in 2009, Prince performed two shows in Montreux
Montreux
Montreux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.It is located on Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps and has a population, , of and nearly 90,000 in the agglomeration.- History :...
during the Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
, and released a rerecorded version of the 1986 outtake "In a Large Room with No Light" to promote the concerts. Later Prince, also performed three shows in Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
. On October 15 Prince performed on French television to promote Lotusflow3r after playing three concerts in Paris. He performed the songs "Dance 4 Me", "No More Candy 4 U", "1999
1999 (song)
"1999" is a song by Prince, the title track from his 1982 album of the same name. The song is one of Prince's best-known, and a defining moment in his rise to superstar status....
" and "Controversy
Controversy (song)
"Controversy" is the title track and lead single to the 1981 album by Prince. One of his most respected classic funk songs, "Controversy" addresses certain speculation about Prince at the time such as his sexuality, religion and racial background, and how he could not understand the curiosity...
", helping the album reach #1 on the French iTunes Albums Chart.
The album was released as a physical release a few days later as a Target exclusive for the price of US$11.98. Even though the album was only released in the US, many copies were exported for sale in Europe. Warner Music released the album in France on September 7, as a single CD ("MPLSound") and a limited 3 CD. "Dance 4 Me" was digitally released on August 31 as a single, reaching #38 on the French digital singles chart. Three remixes ("Icon Remix", "Tribal Drum Remix" and "Dominatrix Remix") of the song remain as yet unreleased. The "Icon Remix" was leaked onto the internet and a "making of" for the remix was posted on YouTube.
The song "Crimson and Clover" was replaced by the 2006 outtake "The Morning After" on the digital version of the album.
Reception
The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, selling 168,000 copies in its first week and becoming Prince's fourth consecutive Top 3 album in the U.S. The album narrowly missed the #1 spot, selling 3000 copies less than Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...
's Defying Gravity. The album however topped some other charts leading Prince to suspect the charts were tampered with which he specifically stated on the Tavis Smiley interview. As of October 3, 2010, the album has sold 483,392 units, according to Soundscan.
Upon their release, Lotusflow3r and MPLSound received generally mixed to positive reviews from most music critics, based on aggregate scores of 61 and 62/100 from Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. However, Bria Valente's Elixer received generally mixed or average reviews from most music critics, receiving an aggregate score of 49/100 from Metacritic.
Lotusflow3r
All songs written by PrincePrince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
; except "Crimson and Clover", written by Tommy James
Tommy James
Tommy James is an American pop-rock musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as leader of the 1960s rock band Tommy James and the Shondells.-Early life and career:...
and Peter Lucia, Jr..
- "From the Lotus..." – 2:46
- "Boom" – 3:19
- "Crimson and CloverCrimson and Clover"Crimson and Clover" is a 1968 song by American rock band Tommy James and the Shondells. Written by the duo of Tommy James and drummer Peter Lucia Jr., it was intended as a change in direction of the group's sound and composition....
" – 3:52 - "4ever" – 3:47
- "Colonized Mind" – 4:47
- "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful" – 3:52
- "Love Like Jazz" – 3:49
- "77 Beverly Park" – 3:04
- "Wall of Berlin" – 4:16
- "$" – 3:57
- "Dreamer" – 5:30
- "...Back 2 the Lotus" – 5:34
MPLSound
All songs written by PrincePrince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
.
- "(There'll Never B) Another Like Me" – 6:01
- "Chocolate Box" (featuring Q-TipQ-Tip (rapper)Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...
) – 6:14 - "Dance 4 Me" – 4:58
- "U're Gonna C Me" – 4:36
- "Here" – 5:15
- "Valentina" – 3:59
- "Better with Time" – 4:54
- "Ol' Skool Company" – 7:30
- "No More Candy 4 U" – 4:14
Elixer
All songs written by PrincePrince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
and Bria Valente
Bria Valente
Bria Valente is an American singer. A protégée of Prince, Valente released her debut album, Elixer, as part of a three-album set with Prince's LOtUSFLOW3R and MPLSoUND on March 29, 2009. The collection debuted at #2 on the top Billboard albums chart.Valente was born and raised in Minneapolis,...
.
- "Here Eye Come" – 4:28
- "All This Love" – 4:39
- "Home" – 4:26
- "Something U Already Know" – 5:44
- "Everytime" – 3:50
- "2nite" – 5:02
- "Another Boy" – 3:56
- "Kept Woman" – 4:15
- "Immersion" – 4:02
- "Elixer" (with PrincePrince (musician)Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
) – 4:00
Chart history
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) | 44 |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia) | 78 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 23 |
| French Albums Chart | 14 |
| US Billboard 200 | 2 |
| US R&B Albums | 1 |
| US Top Independent Albums | 1 |
External links
- Lotusflow3r 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...
- Lotusflow3r, MPLSound, Elixer at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- 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....