The Breakthrough
Encyclopedia
The Breakthrough is the seventh studio album
by American R&B
recording artist Mary J. Blige
, released December 20, 2005, on Geffen Records
. The album opened with over 729,000 units in the United States, becoming her highest first week sales of her career, and the second-highest first-week sales by a female R&B artist, only behind Alicia Keys
' As I Am
. The album is certified three-time Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
and sold 7,000,000 copies worldwide. Upon its release, The Breakthrough received positive reviews from most music critic
s.
Production on the album included Blige herself, Rodney Jerkins
, will.i.am
, Bryan-Michael Cox, 9th Wonder
, Davel "Bo" Mckenzie, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
, Raphael Saadiq
, Cool and Dre
, and Dre & Vidal
, and the album includes a duet with U2
on the cover of their 1992 hit, "One
", which was released as the second single in Europe
and Latin America
.
", the lead single from the album, proved to be a major return for Blige to her prime. It quickly raced up both the R&B and pop singles charts. "Be Without You" topped the R&B singles chart for a record-setting 15 consecutive weeks, and peaked at number 3 on the Hot 100. "One
" was released as the second single in the U.S. on July 17, 2006. The song features Bono
as vocal. In the UK, the song gave Mary her biggest hit to date, peaking at #2 on the Top 40.
"Enough Cryin
", the album's third single, peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100
. It fared particularly well on the R&B charts, hitting #2 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart. The song was originally supposed to feature rapper Foxy Brown, but Mary went on to record the verse herself because of Brown's sudden hearing loss. This launched the "Brook Lynn" rapping alter ego which went on to appear on other tracks (e.g. the remix of Busta Rhymes
's "Touch It"). "Take Me as I Am" was the album's fourth single. It reached #3 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart.
" was released as a radio only single prior to the release of Be Without You. It features the voice of rapper 50 Cent on the chorus. Due to strong airplay, the song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #75, before the first official single, "Be Without You" was released from "The Breakthrough". Another song, "Ain't Really Love", reached number 73 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart in the U.S., although it was not released as a single.
' As I Am
sold 742,400 copies, a solid 13,400 more.
The album has been certified 3x platinum by the RIAA for shipments of more than 3,000,000 copies in the United States. It has been proclaimed as her comeback album (after the disappointment of Love & Life
). The album has shown signs of longevity, remaining in the top five of the Billboard 200 for 11 consecutive weeks (including 2 weeks at #1). The album also went gold in Australia on the ARIA charts.
s. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 76, based on 20 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Allmusic editor Andy Kellman gave it four-and-a-half out of five stars and commented that "Beat for beat, the album features the best round of productions Blige has been handed since the mid-'90s". Entertainment Weekly
s David Browne
noted a return of "drama to her music" and wrote that "its messy sprawl of conflicted emotions feels true to her fierce, prickly personality (not to mention life itself)". Jon Pareles
of The New York Times
complimented its themes of "tribulations and true love" and stated "Blige brings together hip-hop realism and soul's higher aspirations, hip-hop's digitized crispness and soul's slow-building testimonies". Rolling Stone
writer Barry Walters noted its "particularly classy material" and commented that "what ultimately differentiates Blige's seventh studio album from previous discs is that its ballads truly matter". Stylus Magazine
's Thomas Inskeep viewed it as a "return to form" for Blige, dubbing it her "finest full-length since '99's Mary".
However, Tom Breihan of Spin
commented that "nearly all of its tracks sound like odes to her new husband" and criticized its production, writing that "too often, Blige’s voice doesn’t get the space it needs to cut loose with emotion [...] Because Blige never quite connects with the awkwardly programmed drums and cluttered synthetic arrangements of would-be club jams like 'Can’t Hide From Luv' and 'Gonna Breakthrough,' the songs’ chin-up aphorisms ring false". Slant Magazine
's Sal Cinquemani described the album as "the epitome of formulaic, giving you the feeling that you've heard this all before", and stated "it sports the kind of yucky, literal sentiment [...] that, however true it may be, should not be put to tape". Jason King
of The Village Voice
viewed that the album "improves on 2003's Diddy-helmed misfire Love & Life but lacks the character of 1999's eclectic Mary", adding that "Mary's jones for hermetic, clinically slick production values doesn't complement her soul-baring aura". Blender
stated "Her ardent love songs ultimately come off not as love songs but standard ache-and-pain Mary tracks". BBC Online's Matilda Egere-Cooper noted the album production's "ahigh quality", but viewed that it lacks the "attitude" of Blige's previous work.
Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian
expressed a mixed response to Blige "celebrating no more drama in her life", but complimented its "compellingly dark, percussive setting" and "the stunning power of [Blige's] voice", writing that "The lyrics may be wet, but she sings with cool conviction, not wasting a note". Despite viewing many of its songs as overlong, Los Angeles Times
writer Natalie Nichols commended its producers for "adeptly weaving beats and live instruments, vocals and rapping, melody and rhythm in configurations alternately stark and lush". Mojo
gave the album three out of five stars and commented that it "reveals a still intense and enthralling grittiness to her performances". Dimitri Ehrlich of Vibe noted classicist soul music
influences in "Blige's nostalgic flair". Dele Fadele of NME
gave the album an eight out of 10 rating and commented that "[Blige] draws on an eventful life to reach new levels of feeling". Andy Gill of The Independent
complimented Blige's "compelling delivery" and wrote that the album "may be her best, the most vivid realisation of her gripping, confessional style".
" was nominated for both "Record of the Year
" and "Song of the Year
". Mary won three Grammy Awards: "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance", "Best R&B Song
" (both for "Be Without You
"), and "Best R&B Album
" for The Breakthrough. Blige won nine Billboard Music Award
s for work done on The Breakthrough.
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...
recording artist Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
, released December 20, 2005, on Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
. The album opened with over 729,000 units in the United States, becoming her highest first week sales of her career, and the second-highest first-week sales by a female R&B artist, only behind Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
' As I Am
As I Am
As I Am is the third studio album by American recording artist Alicia Keys. It was released in the United States on November 13, 2007 by J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording studios during 2005 to 2007...
. The album is certified three-time Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
and sold 7,000,000 copies worldwide. Upon its release, The Breakthrough received positive reviews from most music critic
Music criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...
s.
Background
In spite of buzz circulating in the summer of 2004 that Blige's next release would be a retrospective aptly titled Reminisce, she and her label announced that an album of brand-new material was on the way instead.Production on the album included Blige herself, Rodney Jerkins
Rodney Jerkins
Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Jerkins received two Grammy nominations in 2011.-Biography:...
, will.i.am
Will.i.am
William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
, Bryan-Michael Cox, 9th Wonder
9th Wonder
Patrick Douthit , better known as 9th Wonder is a hip hop record producer, record executive, DJ, professor, and lyricist from Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A. He began his career as the main producer for the hip hop group Little Brother, and has also worked with Mary J...
, Davel "Bo" Mckenzie, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...
, Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J...
, Cool and Dre
Cool and Dre
Cool & Dre are a team of hip hop producers from Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon.-Epidemic Records:...
, and Dre & Vidal
Dre & Vidal
Dre & Vidal is a Multi-Grammy Award Winning songwriting and production duo consisting of Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, who are best known as the main producers for Jill Scott and Glenn Lewis...
, and the album includes a duet with U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
on the cover of their 1992 hit, "One
One (U2 song)
"One" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track from their 1991 album Achtung Baby, and it was released as the record's third single in March 1992. It was recorded at three recording studios, Hansa Ton Studios, Elsinore, and Windmill Lane Studios...
", which was released as the second single in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
Singles
"Be Without YouBe Without You
"Be Without You" is an R&B song written by American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, Johnta Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, and Jason Perry for Blige's seventh studio album The Breakthrough. It was released as the album's lead single in late 2005. It was produced by Cox and released as the album's first...
", the lead single from the album, proved to be a major return for Blige to her prime. It quickly raced up both the R&B and pop singles charts. "Be Without You" topped the R&B singles chart for a record-setting 15 consecutive weeks, and peaked at number 3 on the Hot 100. "One
One (U2 song)
"One" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track from their 1991 album Achtung Baby, and it was released as the record's third single in March 1992. It was recorded at three recording studios, Hansa Ton Studios, Elsinore, and Windmill Lane Studios...
" was released as the second single in the U.S. on July 17, 2006. The song features Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
as vocal. In the UK, the song gave Mary her biggest hit to date, peaking at #2 on the Top 40.
"Enough Cryin
Enough Cryin
"Enough Cryin" is the third single from Mary J. Blige's seventh studio album, The Breakthrough . It features Brook Lynn, Blige's alter ego, who provides a rap segment on the song.-Song information:...
", the album's third single, peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. It fared particularly well on the R&B charts, hitting #2 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart. The song was originally supposed to feature rapper Foxy Brown, but Mary went on to record the verse herself because of Brown's sudden hearing loss. This launched the "Brook Lynn" rapping alter ego which went on to appear on other tracks (e.g. the remix of Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
's "Touch It"). "Take Me as I Am" was the album's fourth single. It reached #3 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart.
Other charting songs
The song "MJB Da MVPMJB Da MVP
"MJB Da MVP" is a single by American soul singer Mary J. Blige, taken from her seventh studio album The Breakthrough.-Background:It features the voice of rapper 50 Cent on the chorus. The song was first played on U.S...
" was released as a radio only single prior to the release of Be Without You. It features the voice of rapper 50 Cent on the chorus. Due to strong airplay, the song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #75, before the first official single, "Be Without You" was released from "The Breakthrough". Another song, "Ain't Really Love", reached number 73 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart in the U.S., although it was not released as a single.
Commercial performance
The album debuted at #1 on both the R&B albums and Billboard 200 for sales of 729,000 copies in its first week, making it the fifth largest first-week sales for a female artist, and the fourth largest debut of 2005. It also marked the largest first week sales for a female R&B artist until November 2007, when Alicia KeysAlicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
' As I Am
As I Am
As I Am is the third studio album by American recording artist Alicia Keys. It was released in the United States on November 13, 2007 by J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording studios during 2005 to 2007...
sold 742,400 copies, a solid 13,400 more.
The album has been certified 3x platinum by the RIAA for shipments of more than 3,000,000 copies in the United States. It has been proclaimed as her comeback album (after the disappointment of Love & Life
Love & Life (Mary J. Blige album)
Love & Life is the sixth studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige, released in the United States on August 26, 2003 on Geffen Records. The album was primarily produced by Sean "Diddy" Combs, who executive produced her first two albums. Additional production came from Dr...
). The album has shown signs of longevity, remaining in the top five of the Billboard 200 for 11 consecutive weeks (including 2 weeks at #1). The album also went gold in Australia on the ARIA charts.
Critical response
The Breakthrough received positive reviews from most music criticMusic criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...
s. At 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,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 76, based on 20 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Allmusic editor Andy Kellman gave it four-and-a-half out of five stars and commented that "Beat for beat, the album features the best round of productions Blige has been handed since the mid-'90s". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s David Browne
David Browne
David Browne is an American journalist and author. He was the resident music critic at Entertainment Weekly between 1990 and 2006. He was an editor at Music & Sound Output magazine and a music critic at the New York Daily News before EW...
noted a return of "drama to her music" and wrote that "its messy sprawl of conflicted emotions feels true to her fierce, prickly personality (not to mention life itself)". Jon Pareles
Jon Pareles
Jon Pareles is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of the New York Times. He played jazz flute and piano, and graduated from Yale University with a degree in music. In the 1970s he was an associate editor of Crawdaddy!, and in the 1980s an associate...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
complimented its themes of "tribulations and true love" and stated "Blige brings together hip-hop realism and soul's higher aspirations, hip-hop's digitized crispness and soul's slow-building testimonies". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
writer Barry Walters noted its "particularly classy material" and commented that "what ultimately differentiates Blige's seventh studio album from previous discs is that its ballads truly matter". Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
's Thomas Inskeep viewed it as a "return to form" for Blige, dubbing it her "finest full-length since '99's Mary".
However, Tom Breihan of 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...
commented that "nearly all of its tracks sound like odes to her new husband" and criticized its production, writing that "too often, Blige’s voice doesn’t get the space it needs to cut loose with emotion [...] Because Blige never quite connects with the awkwardly programmed drums and cluttered synthetic arrangements of would-be club jams like 'Can’t Hide From Luv' and 'Gonna Breakthrough,' the songs’ chin-up aphorisms ring false". Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
's Sal Cinquemani described the album as "the epitome of formulaic, giving you the feeling that you've heard this all before", and stated "it sports the kind of yucky, literal sentiment [...] that, however true it may be, should not be put to tape". Jason King
Jason King (journalist)
Jason King is a music journalist for magazines such as VibeIn February 2005, at NYU, he produced a groundbreaking tribute conference to hip hop group Public Enemy called The Making of Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions. The large-scale event was covered in the mainstream press...
of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
viewed that the album "improves on 2003's Diddy-helmed misfire Love & Life but lacks the character of 1999's eclectic Mary", adding that "Mary's jones for hermetic, clinically slick production values doesn't complement her soul-baring aura". Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
stated "Her ardent love songs ultimately come off not as love songs but standard ache-and-pain Mary tracks". BBC Online's Matilda Egere-Cooper noted the album production's "ahigh quality", but viewed that it lacks the "attitude" of Blige's previous work.
Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
expressed a mixed response to Blige "celebrating no more drama in her life", but complimented its "compellingly dark, percussive setting" and "the stunning power of [Blige's] voice", writing that "The lyrics may be wet, but she sings with cool conviction, not wasting a note". Despite viewing many of its songs as overlong, 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....
writer Natalie Nichols commended its producers for "adeptly weaving beats and live instruments, vocals and rapping, melody and rhythm in configurations alternately stark and lush". Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
gave the album three out of five stars and commented that it "reveals a still intense and enthralling grittiness to her performances". Dimitri Ehrlich of Vibe noted classicist soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
influences in "Blige's nostalgic flair". Dele Fadele of 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 the album an eight out of 10 rating and commented that "[Blige] draws on an eventful life to reach new levels of feeling". Andy Gill of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
complimented Blige's "compelling delivery" and wrote that the album "may be her best, the most vivid realisation of her gripping, confessional style".
Accolades
In December 2006, Blige received eight Grammy Award nominations at the 2007 Grammy Awards for The Breakthrough, the most of any artist for the 2007 awards. "Be Without YouBe Without You
"Be Without You" is an R&B song written by American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, Johnta Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, and Jason Perry for Blige's seventh studio album The Breakthrough. It was released as the album's lead single in late 2005. It was produced by Cox and released as the album's first...
" was nominated for both "Record of the Year
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
" and "Song of the Year
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
". Mary won three Grammy Awards: "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance", "Best R&B Song
Grammy Award for Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song has been awarded since 1959. From 1969 to 2000 it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Song, from 1962 to 1968 it was known as Best Rhythm & Blues Recording, and from 1959-1961 as Best Rhythm & Blues Performance...
" (both for "Be Without You
Be Without You
"Be Without You" is an R&B song written by American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, Johnta Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, and Jason Perry for Blige's seventh studio album The Breakthrough. It was released as the album's lead single in late 2005. It was produced by Cox and released as the album's first...
"), and "Best R&B Album
Grammy Award for Best R&B Album
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre...
" for The Breakthrough. Blige won nine Billboard Music Award
Billboard Music Award
The Billboard Music Award is an honor given by Billboard magazine, the preeminent publication covering the music business. The Billboard Music Awards show had been held annually in December until it went dormant in 2007, but it returned in May 2011...
s for work done on The Breakthrough.
Track listing
| # | Track | Songwriters | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "No One Will Do" | E Ortiz, K Crowe, C Brown III, D Young, B Sigler | J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, which stands for Just Undeniably Some of The Illest Composers Ever, are a Grammy winning group of producers and instrumentalists from Tampa, Florida. The group consists of members Rook, Colione, and Kenny "Barto" Bartolomei. Most recently, they have been producing for Drake,... |
4:46 |
| 2. | "Enough Cryin Enough Cryin "Enough Cryin" is the third single from Mary J. Blige's seventh studio album, The Breakthrough . It features Brook Lynn, Blige's alter ego, who provides a rap segment on the song.-Song information:... " (featuring Brook Lynn Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has... ) |
M J Blige Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has... , R Jerkins Rodney Jerkins Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Jerkins received two Grammy nominations in 2011.-Biography:... , S Garrett, S Carter Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010... |
Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins | 4:20 |
| 3. | "About You" (featuring Nina Simone Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music... & will.i.am Will.i.am William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer... ) |
M J Blige, W. J, Adams Will.i.am William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer... , K Harris, A Newley, L Bricusse |
Will.I.Am Will.i.am William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer... |
4:04 |
| 4. | "Be Without You Be Without You "Be Without You" is an R&B song written by American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, Johnta Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, and Jason Perry for Blige's seventh studio album The Breakthrough. It was released as the album's lead single in late 2005. It was produced by Cox and released as the album's first... " |
M J Blige, B-Michael Cox, J Perry, J Austin Johnta Austin Johntá Austin is an American singer-songwriter, who is currently signed to Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings. He is commonly known for collaborating with Producers Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri & The Production Team StarGate. Austin was awarded two Grammy Awards for his work on the songs... |
Bryan-Michael Cox | 4:06 |
| 5. | "Gonna Breakthrough" (featuring Brook Lynn) | M J Blige, Wynter Gordon Wynter Gordon Diana "Wynter" Gordon is an American pop/dance singer-songwriter. She began as a writer for other artists, later signing with Atlantic Records where she began working on an album while continuing to write songs for other acts and providing vocals on songs... , D'Mile D'Mile Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II is an American songwriting music producer from Brooklyn, New York. Sometimes referred to as D. Emile, Dernst Emile II or Dee'Mile is most commonly known and accredited as D'Mile... , Q Wages, H Palmer |
D'Mile D'Mile Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II is an American songwriting music producer from Brooklyn, New York. Sometimes referred to as D. Emile, Dernst Emile II or Dee'Mile is most commonly known and accredited as D'Mile... |
4:00 |
| 6. | "Good Woman Down" | M J Blige, S Garrett, P Douthit, R Aries, F Jackson, M Morgan | 9th Wonder 9th Wonder Patrick Douthit , better known as 9th Wonder is a hip hop record producer, record executive, DJ, professor, and lyricist from Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A. He began his career as the main producer for the hip hop group Little Brother, and has also worked with Mary J... |
4:07 |
| 7. | "Take Me as I Am" | J Sucof, E Lewis, C Nelson, K Hilson Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch... , T Nkkerfante, L Smith |
Infinity & Ron Fair Ron Fair Ron Fair is a veteran A&R executive, record producer arranger, recording engineer and songwriter. In a career that has spanned over 30 years at major record labels he has produced and arranged hits for several artists, but he is best known as a "guru/mentor", guiding the careers of unknown artists... |
3:57 |
| 8. | "Baggage" | M J Blige, J Harris III, T Lewis Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team... , B Avia, I Avia, J Right, D Young |
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Can't Hide from Luv" (featuring Jay-Z Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010... ) |
M J Blige, A Harris, V Davis Dre & Vidal Dre & Vidal is a Multi-Grammy Award Winning songwriting and production duo consisting of Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, who are best known as the main producers for Jill Scott and Glenn Lewis... , R Toby |
Dre & Vidal Dre & Vidal Dre & Vidal is a Multi-Grammy Award Winning songwriting and production duo consisting of Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, who are best known as the main producers for Jill Scott and Glenn Lewis... |
3:52 |
| 10. | "MJB da MVP MJB Da MVP "MJB Da MVP" is a single by American soul singer Mary J. Blige, taken from her seventh studio album The Breakthrough.-Background:It features the voice of rapper 50 Cent on the chorus. The song was first played on U.S... " (featuring 50 Cent 50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by... ) |
C Jackson 50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by... , J Taylor The Game (rapper) Jayceon Terrell Taylor , better known by his stage name Game, formerly The Game, is an American rapper and actor. As a member of G-Unit, he rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his debut album, The Documentary, which earned him two Grammy Award nominations... , A Lyon, M Valenzano Cool and Dre Cool & Dre are a team of hip hop producers from Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon.-Epidemic Records:... , N Harris, R Backer, A Felder, J Johnson, P Rushen, K Evans, R Ayers |
Cool & Dre Cool & Dre Cool & Dre are a team of hip hop producers from Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon.-Epidemic Records:... |
3:21 |
| 11. | "Can't Get Enough" | M J Blige, Jam & Lewis, B Avila, I Avila | Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis | 3:40 |
| 12. | "Ain't Really Love" | M J Blige, B Michael-Cox, J Austin, C Childress | Bryan-Michael Cox | 4:40 |
| 13. | "I Found My Everything" (featuring Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J... ) |
M J Blige, R Saadiq Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J... , K Wooten, R Ozuna |
Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J... |
5:23 |
| 14. | "Father in You" | M J Blige, A Harris, V Davis, R Toby | Dre & Vidal Dre & Vidal Dre & Vidal is a Multi-Grammy Award Winning songwriting and production duo consisting of Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, who are best known as the main producers for Jill Scott and Glenn Lewis... |
5:23 |
| 15. | "Alone" (featuring Dave Young) | D McKenzie, D Young | Davel "Bo" McKenzie | 4:29 |
| 16. | "One One (U2 song) "One" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track from their 1991 album Achtung Baby, and it was released as the record's third single in March 1992. It was recorded at three recording studios, Hansa Ton Studios, Elsinore, and Windmill Lane Studios... " (with U2 U2 U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music... ) |
Bono Bono Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his... , A Clayton Adam Clayton Adam Charles Clayton is a musician, best known as the bassist of the Irish rock band U2. Clayton has resided in County Dublin since the time his family moved to Malahide when he was five years old in 1965... , The Edge The Edge David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record... , L Mullen Jr Larry Mullen Jr. Lawrence Joseph "Larry" Mullen, Jr. is an Irish musician best known as the drummer for the Irish rock band U2. He is the founder of U2, which he later described as "'The Larry Mullen Band' for about ten minutes, then Bono walked in and blew any chance I had of being in charge." He has worked on... |
Ron Fair | 4:20 |
| # | Bonus track | Songwriters | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17. | "So Lady" (featuring Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J... ) [International and iTunes bonus track] |
M J Blige, R Saadiq, T Moses | Raphael Saadiq | 4:16 |
| 18. | "Show Love" [UK, Japan, Amazon.com MP3 and iTunes bonus track] | M J Blige, S Garrett, C Thompson Chucky Thompson Carl E. "Chucky" Thompson is a hip hop/R&B record producer. Thompson was a member of Bad Boy Entertainment's "Hitmen" team of in-house producers during the 1990s, and worked with Bad Boy mogul Sean Combs on material for artists such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Mase. He was responsible for album... |
Chucky Thompson | 3:40 |
| 19. | "Out My Head" [Japanese bonus track] | M J Blige | Rich Harrison Rich Harrison Rich Harrison is a Grammy Award-winning record producer and songwriter from Washington, D.C.. He is primarily an R&B/Hip-Hop producer... |
3:41 |
Sample credits
Credits adapted from album liner notes.- "No One Will Do" contains excerpts from "I Swear I Love No One but You", written by Bunny Sigler and published by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corporation (BMI), performed by The O'Jays courtesy of Philadelphia Int'l Records.
- "About You" contains samples from "Feeling Good", written by Anthony Newley, Leslie Bricusse and published by Musical Company Productions (BMI) by arrangement with the Richmond Organization, as recorded by Nina Simone used courtesy of RCA Records, a unit of Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
- "Gonna Breakthrough" contains samples from The Mohawks recording and composition "Champ", written by Harry Palmer published by Embassy Music obo The Sparta Florida Music Group BMI, produced under license from Warner Strategic Marketing and Jet Star Phonographics.
- "Good Woman Down" contains excerpts from "Heart Breaking Decision", written by Robert Aries, Freddie Jackson and Mel'isa Jackson and published by EMI April Music Inc. ASCAP, Wick-Di Music ASCAP, and Universal MCA Music Pub ASCAP, as performed by Mel'isa Morgan, used under license from Capitol Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc.
- "Take Me as I Am" contains samples from the composition "A Garden of Peace", written by Lonnie Liston Smith published by Songs of Universal Inc., performed by Lonnie Liston Smith courtesy of Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
- "Can't Hide from Luv" contains excerpts and a sample of the recording "I Wanna Be Where You Are", written by Arthur Ross and Leon Ware and published by Jobete Music Co ASCAP, as performed by Willie Hutch. (P) 1977 Motown Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc. Courtesy of Motown Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises.
- "MJB da MVP" contains excerpts from "Rubberband" (Baker, Felder, Harris) published by Golden Fleece Music/Mured Music Co. BMI as performed by The Tramps. Used by permission courtesy of Sony/Buddah. It also contains resung lyrics from the composition "All Night Long", written by James Johnson and published by Stone City Music (ASCAP), from the composition "Remind Me", written by Patrice Rushen and Karen Evans and published by Baby Fingers Music ASCAP, and from the composition "Everybody Loves the Sunshine", written by Roy Ayers and published by Chrysalis Music (ASCAP).
Personnel
Credits for The Breakthrough adapted from Allmusic.- 50 Cent – Vocals
- Chalmers Alford – Guitar
- Johnta Austin – Vocal Producer
- Bobby Ross Avila – Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Strings
- Issiah "IZ" Avila – Bass, Drums, Percussion, Producer
- Robert Bacon – Guitar
- Charlie Bisharat – String Instrument
- Mary J. Blige – Producer, Vocal Arrangement, Vocal Producer, Vocals
- Bono – Guitar, Vocals
- Jacqueline Brand – String Instrument, Violin
- Craig Brokman – Piano
- Charles "Biscuits" Brungardt – Vocal Producer
- Roberto Cani – String Instrument, Violin
- Lily Chen – String Instrument, Violin
- Danny Cheung "Stems" – Engineer
- Candice Childress – Production Coordination
- Adam Clayton – Guitar (Bass)
- Larry Corbett – Cello, String Instrument
- Bryan-Michael Cox – Instrumentation, Producer, String Arrangements
- Vidal Davis – Instrumentation, Producer
- Loren Dawson – Piano
- Mario Diaz de Leon – String Instrument, Violin
- Brian Dembow – String Instrument, Viola
- Joel Deroin – String Instrument
- Patrick Dillett – Engineer, Vocal Producer
- Reginald Dozier – Engineer
- Andrew Duckles – String Instrument, Viola
- Bruce Dukov – Violin
- The Edge – Guitar
- Michael Eleopoulos – Assistant Engineer, Engineer
- Stephen Erdody – Cello, String Instrument
- Anthony "Devyne" Evans – Engineer
- Anthony Lavon Evans – Engineer
- Ron Fair – Conductor, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Orchestra Bells, Organ, Piano, Producer, String Arrangements, Vocal Arrangement, Vocal Producer
- Jan Fairchild – Engineer
- AMarlow Fisher – String Instrument, Viola
- Drew FitzGerald – Art Direction
- Paul Foley – Engineer
- Samuel Formicola – String Instrument, Viola
- Matt Funes – String Instrument
- Sean Garrett – Vocal Producer
- Endre Genet – String Instrument
- Julie Gigante – String Instrument, Violin
- Carl Glanville – Original Recordings
- Larry Gold – String Arrangements
- John Goux – Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
- Alicia Graham – A&R
- Endre Granat – Violin
- Bernie Grundman – Mastering
- Alan Grunfeld – String Instrument
- Rexell Hardy, Jr. – Drums
- Andre Harris – Instrumentation, Producer
- Keith Harris – Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Synthesizer Bass
- Clayton Haslop – String Instrument, Violin
- Tal Herzberg – Digital Editing, Engineer, Producer
- Keri Hilson – Vocal Arrangement
- Paula Hochhalter – Cello, String Instrument, Strings
- Infinity – Producer
- Kendu Isaacs – Management, Mixing
- Jun Ishizeki – Assistant Engineer
- Jake & the Phatman – Producer
- Jimmy Jam – Producer
- Jaycen Joshua – Assistant Engineer, Engineer, Mixing
- Rodney Jerkins – Mixing, Producer
- Jahaun Johnson – A&R
- Justice League – Producer
- Suzie Katayama – Cello, String Instrument
- Bernard Kenny – Bass
- Kimberly Kimble – Hair Stylist
- Markus Klinko & Indrani – Photography
- Armen Ksadjikian – Cello, String Instrument
- Songa Lee – String Instrument, Violin
- Natalie Leggett – String Instrument, Violin
- Phillipe Levy – String Instrument, Violin
- Terry Lewis – Producer
- Andrea Liberman – Stylist
- David Low – String Instrument
- David Lowery – String Instrument
- Rene Mandel – Violin
- Matt Marrin – Engineer
- Tony Maserati – Mixing
- Harvey Mason, Sr. – Glockenspiel, Tympani [Timpani]
- Darrin McCann – String Instrument, Viola
- Davel "Bo" McKenzie – Producer
- Cornelius Mims – Bass
- Vicki Miskolczy – Viola
- Peter Mokran – Mixing
- Wesley Morrow – Production Coordination
- Larry Mullen, Jr. – Drums, Percussion
- Dean Nelson – Assistant, Mixing
- 9th Wonder – Producer
- Robin Olson – Violin
- Robert Ozuna – Drums, Percussion, Scratching
- Sid Page – String Instrument, Violin
- Alyssa Park – String Instrument, Violin
- Dave Pensado – Mixing
- Katia Popov – Violin
- Jack Joseph Puig – Mixing
- Frank Ramono – Guitar
- Mark Robertson – Violin
- Mally Roncal – Make-Up
- Anatoly Rosinsky – Violin
- Raphael Saadiq – Bass, Guitar, Producer
- Allen Sides – Engineer
- The South Central Chamber Orchestra – Strings
- South Central Orchestra – Strings
- Tereza Stanislav – String Instrument
- Supa Engineer "Dura" – Mixing
- John Tanksley – Assistant Engineer, Engineer
- Troy Taylor – Vocal Producer
- Cecilia Tsan – Cello
- Charles Vail – Strings
- Josephina Vergara – String Instrument, Violin
- will.i.am – Engineer, Keyboards
- Kelvin Wooten – Keyboards
- Benjamin Wright – String Arrangements, String Conductor, String Writing
- James "Big Jim" Wright – Keyboards, Producer
- Dave Young – Performer
- Dave Young Orchestra – Vocal Producer
Charts
| Chart (2006) | Providers | Peak position |
Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
19 | Gold |
| Austrian Albums Chart | Media Control | 42 | |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
Nielsen SoundScan Nielsen SoundScan Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada... |
13 | |
| Danish Albums Chart | IFPI IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
20 | |
| Dutch Albums Chart | MegaCharts MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
12 | |
| French Albums Chart | 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... /IFOP Institut français d'opinion publique The Institut français d'opinion publique is an international marketing firm, whose motto is "Connection creates value". Its CEO is Laurence Parisot, who is also the current leader of the MEDEF French employers' trade union... |
25 | |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
Media Control | 28 | |
| 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... |
IRMA Irish Recorded Music Association Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:... |
55 | |
| Italian Albums Chart | FIMI Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
12 | Gold |
| Japanese Albums Chart | 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... /RIAJ |
18 | Gold |
| Norwegian Albums Chart | VG Nett Verdens Gang Verdens Gang , generally known under the abbreviation VG, is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper... |
18 | |
| Spanish Albums Chart | PROMUSICAE PROMUSICAE Spanish Music Producers is a trade group representing the Spanish recording industry... |
74 | |
| Swedish Albums Chart | GLF Swedish Recording Industry Association Grammofonleverantörernas förening , or the Swedish Recording Industry Association in English, is an organization representing the music recording industry of Sweden... |
13 | Platinum |
| Swiss Albums Chart | Media Control | 7 | |
| 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... |
BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... /The Official UK Charts Company The Official UK Charts Company The Official Charts Company , previously called the Chart Information Network and then The Official UK Charts Company, compiles various "official" UK record charts, including the UK Singles Chart, the UK Albums Chart, and the UK Official Download Chart, as well as genre-specific and music video... |
22 | Gold |
| U.S. 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... |
RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
1 | 3× Platinum |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
1 | ||
| U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums | 1 |
Chart precession and succession
External links
- The Breakthrough 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...
- The Breakthrough 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,...