The Bridge (Melanie Fiona album)
Encyclopedia
The Bridge is the debut album of Canadian R&B/soul singer Melanie Fiona
, released under the SRC
/Universal Motown label in June 2009. It was released in the United States on November 10, 2009. The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
chart and at #57 on the Billboard 200
chart, where it later peaked at #27. To date, it has sold about 420,000 copies in the U.S. The album received generally favorable reviews.
, R&B
, neo soul
, reggae and hip hop
music
influenced by pop music
. In an interview, Fiona described the album's sound as "pop
soul
". On the album, she worked with Andrea Martin
, Rob Fusari, Peter Wade Keusch, Sidh Solanki, Vada Nobles
, Bill Blast, Future Cut
, Stereotypes
, Dan Strong, JK, Jay Fenix, Affiliate.
called the album "an intelligent homage to ‘60s Motown, sampling soul classics while putting her own unique stamp on things". Allmusic's Matthew Chisling gave it 3½ out of 5 stars and wrote that "where it does go, it goes masterfully", concerning its sound. Despite noting a weakness in the album's cohesiveness, Mark Edward Nero of About.com
wrote favorably of the album's production and commended Fiona for her vocal ability. "It Kills Me" was nominated for the Grammy Award
for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
.
-tinged songs "Somebody Come Get Me" and "Island Boy" as B-sides. "Sad Songs" did not chart in the UK.
"Give It to Me Right
" was the first official single from The Bridge. The song peaked at #41 in the UK but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100
in the US. It did, however, reach #57 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at #41.
"It Kills Me
" was Fiona's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100
, charting at #43. The single was being the second from that album in the U.S. and charted at #1 on the U.S. R&B chart. It was released in Canada
as the third single from the album and was released as the third single in the UK on 14 June 2010.
"Bang Bang
" was sent to radio in the UK
and Canada as the second single for top 40 and hot adult contemporary radio stations.
"Monday Morning
" charted in Switzerland and Poland at number 1 and in Austria at number 5. It was released as the third U.S.
single (however, "Bang Bang" was sent to radio as the second Canadian single for Canadian top 40 & hot AC play), but due to "Priceless" not being released in Canada, "Monday Morning" will serve as the fifth single in Canada due to hot adult contemporary radio station CKZZ-FM
(Virgin Radio 953) in Vancouver
having the song on its playlist.
"Ay Yo" was released as the fourth official single from The Bridge, according to Fiona's website and Twitter. The music video premiered on April 12, 2010.
"Priceless" will be the fifth U.S.
single due to airplay on urban adult contemporary
stations. Due to "Priceless" not being released in Canada, "Monday Morning" will be serviced to Canadian stations as the fifth single, even though "Monday Morning" was released as the third American single.
A music video was also released for "Bang Bang", and the song was used as the 2nd Canadian single. The song was featured in an episode of ABC
's recently canceled television series, Ugly Betty
.
Melanie Fiona
Melanie Fiona Hallim is a Canadian R&B and Grammy-nominated recording artist from Toronto, Ontario. She was born to Guyanese immigrant parents of African, Indian, and Portuguese descent and grew up in the inner city of Toronto. Living in a music filled household, Fiona says she always knew music...
, released under the SRC
SRC Records
SRC Records is an American record label created by former Loud Records CEO Steve Rifkind. It is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and is distributed through Universal Republic Records.-Company history:...
/Universal Motown label in June 2009. It was released in the United States on November 10, 2009. The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
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...
chart and at #57 on the 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, where it later peaked at #27. To date, it has sold about 420,000 copies in the U.S. The album received generally favorable reviews.
Background
The album is a mixture of soulSoul 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...
, 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...
, neo soul
Neo soul
The term neo soul was originally coined by Kedar Massenburg of Motown Records in the late 1990s as a marketing category following the commercial breakthroughs of artists such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell...
, reggae and hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
influenced by pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. In an interview, Fiona described the album's sound as "pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
soul
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...
". On the album, she worked with Andrea Martin
Andrea Martin (musician)
Andrea Monica Martin is an American R&B singer, songwriter and producer.She is primarily known for writing hit songs for artists like Toni Braxton , Monica , Angie Stone , En Vogue , SWV , and Leona Lewis Andrea Monica Martin is an American R&B singer, songwriter and producer.She is primarily...
, Rob Fusari, Peter Wade Keusch, Sidh Solanki, Vada Nobles
Vada Nobles
Vada Nobles is a record producer and songwriter. He provided production on Lauryn Hill's debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill . He co-wrote the Rihanna song "Pon de Replay" and co-wrote and co-produced two tracks on Hilary Duff's 2007 album, Dignity.-External links:...
, Bill Blast, Future Cut
Future Cut
Future Cut is the stage name of drum and bass producers Darren Lewis and Tunde Babalola. They share production duties.The duo first met whilst promoting rival Drum 'n' Bass nights in Manchester...
, Stereotypes
Stereotypes (producers)
Stereotypes are a R&B/hip hop/dance production team created in 2003, composed of Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus and Jeremy Reeves. They were listed as Top 10 Songwriters and Producers to Watch in the June 5, 2010 Billboard magazine. The first artists on their production company/label is Far*East...
, Dan Strong, JK, Jay Fenix, Affiliate.
Reception
The Bridge has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Edwin McFee of Hot PressHot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
called the album "an intelligent homage to ‘60s Motown, sampling soul classics while putting her own unique stamp on things". Allmusic's Matthew Chisling gave it 3½ out of 5 stars and wrote that "where it does go, it goes masterfully", concerning its sound. Despite noting a weakness in the album's cohesiveness, Mark Edward Nero of About.com
About.com
About.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....
wrote favorably of the album's production and commended Fiona for her vocal ability. "It Kills Me" was nominated for the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for quality R&B songs...
.
Singles
"Sad Songs" was released in April 2009 in the UK only as a digital download, with the reggaeReggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
-tinged songs "Somebody Come Get Me" and "Island Boy" as B-sides. "Sad Songs" did not chart in the UK.
"Give It to Me Right
Give It to Me Right
"Give It to Me Right" is a song by Canadian R&B singer Melanie Fiona from her debut album, The Bridge . Written and produced by Andrea Martin, the track was sent to radio outlets as the album's lead single on February 28, 2009...
" was the first official single from The Bridge. The song peaked at #41 in the UK but failed to chart 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...
in the US. It did, however, reach #57 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at #41.
"It Kills Me
It Kills Me
"It Kills Me" is the title of an R&B single by Melanie Fiona and the second U.S. single from The Bridge. The track spent nine weeks at number-one on the US Billboard R&B singles chart. The track would also peak just outside of the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at 43...
" was Fiona's first entry 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...
, charting at #43. The single was being the second from that album in the U.S. and charted at #1 on the U.S. R&B chart. It was released in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
as the third single from the album and was released as the third single in the UK on 14 June 2010.
"Bang Bang
Bang Bang (Melanie Fiona song)
"Bang Bang" is a song by Canadian R&B singer Melanie Fiona from her debut album, The Bridge . It was the third single taken from the album and the second to be released in the UK and Canada....
" was sent to radio in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Canada as the second single for top 40 and hot adult contemporary radio stations.
"Monday Morning
Monday Morning (Melanie Fiona song)
"Monday Morning" is a song by Canadian R&B singer Melanie Fiona from her debut album, The Bridge . The song was Produced by Peter Wade Keusch and Sidh Solanki, written by Peter Wade Keusch, Sidh Solanki, and Charlene Gilliam, and recorded at LaBronze Johnson Studios, NYC...
" charted in Switzerland and Poland at number 1 and in Austria at number 5. It was released as the third U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
single (however, "Bang Bang" was sent to radio as the second Canadian single for Canadian top 40 & hot AC play), but due to "Priceless" not being released in Canada, "Monday Morning" will serve as the fifth single in Canada due to hot adult contemporary radio station CKZZ-FM
CKZZ-FM
CKZZ-FM is a Canadian radio station in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia. It broadcasts at 95.3 MHz on the FM band with an effective radiated power of 71,300 watts from a transmitter on Mount Seymour, and its studios are located in Richmond. The station has had a hot adult...
(Virgin Radio 953) in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
having the song on its playlist.
"Ay Yo" was released as the fourth official single from The Bridge, according to Fiona's website and Twitter. The music video premiered on April 12, 2010.
"Priceless" will be the fifth U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
single due to airplay on urban adult contemporary
Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have rap music on their playlists. The format was designed by Barry Mayo when he, Lee S. Simonson and Bill Pearson organized Broadcast...
stations. Due to "Priceless" not being released in Canada, "Monday Morning" will be serviced to Canadian stations as the fifth single, even though "Monday Morning" was released as the third American single.
Promotional singles
"You Stop My Heart" was released as a promotional single to coincide with Valentine's Day. The music video was released on Valentine's Day, 2010.A music video was also released for "Bang Bang", and the song was used as the 2nd Canadian single. The song was featured in an episode of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's recently canceled television series, Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
.
Track listing
Charts
| Chart (2009–2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| 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... |
25 |
| German Albums Charts | 35 |
| Italian Albums Chart | 61 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
22 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 3 |
| 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... |
98 |
| 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... |
27 |
| 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... |
4 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| Swiss Albums Chart | 99 |
| 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... |
117 |
Technical personnel
- Andrea MartinAndrea Martin (musician)Andrea Monica Martin is an American R&B singer, songwriter and producer.She is primarily known for writing hit songs for artists like Toni Braxton , Monica , Angie Stone , En Vogue , SWV , and Leona Lewis Andrea Monica Martin is an American R&B singer, songwriter and producer.She is primarily...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
on tracks 1, 6, 9, 11–12 - Rob Fusari – producer on track 2
- Peter Wade Keusch – producer on track 3
- Sidh Solanki – producer on track 3
- Vada NoblesVada NoblesVada Nobles is a record producer and songwriter. He provided production on Lauryn Hill's debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill . He co-wrote the Rihanna song "Pon de Replay" and co-wrote and co-produced two tracks on Hilary Duff's 2007 album, Dignity.-External links:...
– producer on track 4 - Bill Blast – producer on track 4
- Future CutFuture CutFuture Cut is the stage name of drum and bass producers Darren Lewis and Tunde Babalola. They share production duties.The duo first met whilst promoting rival Drum 'n' Bass nights in Manchester...
– producer on tracks 5, 7 and 13 - StereotypesStereotypes (producers)Stereotypes are a R&B/hip hop/dance production team created in 2003, composed of Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus and Jeremy Reeves. They were listed as Top 10 Songwriters and Producers to Watch in the June 5, 2010 Billboard magazine. The first artists on their production company/label is Far*East...
– producer on track 8 - Dan Strong – producer on track 10
- JK – producer on track 10
- Jay Fenix – producer on track 11
- Affiliate - producer on track 11
Release history
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| Italy | June 26, 2009 |
| Canada | June 30, 2009 |
| United Kingdom | July 20, 2009 |
| United States | November 10, 2009 |