Tomorrow (Sean Kingston album)
Encyclopedia
Tomorrow is the second studio album by reggae
singer Sean Kingston
. The album was released on September 22, 2009. Currently, two singles have been released from the album. Despite "Fire Burning" being a huge summer hit in 2009, the album only peaked at #37 on the U.S. Billboard 200
albums chart with only 13,000 copies sold in the first week of release. It dropped out of the top 40 the next week, falling 40 spots to #87.
. In this new LP, he explores sounds of 1990s eurodance
and electropop, using instruments like Roland 808 drum machine, Auto-Tune
and synthesizers while adding his signature reggae
and pop music
. Tomorrow also melds together genres of punk-rock and soft-rock, shown in
"Shoulda Let Go" featuring American rock band
Good Charlotte
. Influences of nu-disco
, eurodisco and electropop show on "Fire Burning
", "Face Drop
", and "My Girlfriend". The song "War" was originally supposed to feature rap artist Lil Wayne
, but he was taken out of the song on the final version.
", "Face Drop
", "My Girlfriend", "Shoulda Let U Go", and "Ice Cream Girl" and feels ""Tomorrow" proves Kingston can provide a whole album's worth of pool-side entertainment even without the 'Beautiful Girls'-sized single." Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone
said "For the most part--despite Auto-Tuned slow songs--Kingston's mix of young-adult desire and disco heat shows he can cross over in unexpected directions." Simon Vosnick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly
felt that "Although he's got plenty of hooks, personality is in much shorter supply". While some of his reviews are positive, others feel his album lacks novelty and interest. Jason Richards of Now Magazine
said that although he is a good singer-songwriter, his album lacks novelty and feels irritating. Apparently to Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe, Kingston's collections of "silly lyrics and robotic tempos of Sean Kingston’s sophomore album slide if it were mid-July and we were in the mood for Euro-disco/reggae mash-ups, and straight-up electro-pop." Bill Lamb of About.com
:
released promotional singles from the album as part of "Countdown to Tomorrow". All singles received the same animated artwork, each with a different color background.
Reggae
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...
singer Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston is a Jamaican-American singer. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with the album Sean Kingston.-Early life:...
. The album was released on September 22, 2009. Currently, two singles have been released from the album. Despite "Fire Burning" being a huge summer hit in 2009, the album only peaked at #37 on the 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...
albums chart with only 13,000 copies sold in the first week of release. It dropped out of the top 40 the next week, falling 40 spots to #87.
Background and composition
Tomorrows sound is significantly different from the sound of Kingston's debut albumSean Kingston (album)
Sean Kingston is the self-titled eponymous debut album by Sean Kingston, released on July 31, 2007. The album was produced by J. R. Rotem. Sean Kingston wrote the lyrics with help from Evan Bogart. Kingston has claimed his lyrics are totally representative of his personal life...
. In this new LP, he explores sounds of 1990s eurodance
Eurodance
Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
and electropop, using instruments like Roland 808 drum machine, Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
and synthesizers while adding his signature reggae
Reggae
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...
and 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...
. Tomorrow also melds together genres of punk-rock and soft-rock, shown in
"Shoulda Let Go" featuring American rock band
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 1998, the band's constant members have been lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Benji Madden, bass guitarist Paul Thomas and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin...
. Influences of nu-disco
Nu-disco
Nu-disco is a 21st century dance music genre associated with a renewed interest in 1970s and early 1980s disco, mid-1980s Italo disco, and the synthesizer-heavy Eurodisco aesthetics. The moniker appeared in print as early as 2002, and by mid-2008 was used by record shops such as the online...
, eurodisco and electropop show on "Fire Burning
Fire Burning
"Fire Burning" is a dance pop song by reggae musician Sean Kingston. It is released as the lead single from his second studio album Tomorrow. The song displays a little more synth-dance sound than his previous recordings, with influences of dance music and electropop. Unlike many of his previous...
", "Face Drop
Face Drop
Face Drop is the second single from Sean Kingston's second studio album Tomorrow, was released to radio stations on August 18, 2009 and released digitally on iTunes on September 1, 2009.-Music video:...
", and "My Girlfriend". The song "War" was originally supposed to feature rap artist Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
, but he was taken out of the song on the final version.
Critical reception
David Jeffries of Allmusic favored songs "Fire BurningFire Burning
"Fire Burning" is a dance pop song by reggae musician Sean Kingston. It is released as the lead single from his second studio album Tomorrow. The song displays a little more synth-dance sound than his previous recordings, with influences of dance music and electropop. Unlike many of his previous...
", "Face Drop
Face Drop
Face Drop is the second single from Sean Kingston's second studio album Tomorrow, was released to radio stations on August 18, 2009 and released digitally on iTunes on September 1, 2009.-Music video:...
", "My Girlfriend", "Shoulda Let U Go", and "Ice Cream Girl" and feels ""Tomorrow" proves Kingston can provide a whole album's worth of pool-side entertainment even without the 'Beautiful Girls'-sized single." Jon Dolan of 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...
said "For the most part--despite Auto-Tuned slow songs--Kingston's mix of young-adult desire and disco heat shows he can cross over in unexpected directions." Simon Vosnick-Levinson of 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...
felt that "Although he's got plenty of hooks, personality is in much shorter supply". While some of his reviews are positive, others feel his album lacks novelty and interest. Jason Richards of Now Magazine
NOW (magazine)
Now is a free weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. Now is an alternative weekly mixing arts and entertainment news with political coverage....
said that although he is a good singer-songwriter, his album lacks novelty and feels irritating. Apparently to Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe, Kingston's collections of "silly lyrics and robotic tempos of Sean Kingston’s sophomore album slide if it were mid-July and we were in the mood for Euro-disco/reggae mash-ups, and straight-up electro-pop." Bill Lamb 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....
:
It's abundantly clear on Tomorrow that Sean Kingston plans to stick around for awhile. He demonstrates he can play well with other artists on the bouncy "Shoulda Let Go" which is co. produced by Drum Up (LaMar Seymour, LaNelle Seymour) for Drum Up Digital/Drummah Boyz Worldwide LLC and featuring a rock chorus from Good Charlotte and a rhythmic vocal workout with Wyclef Jean on "Ice Cream Girl." At least half of the songs here could be pop hit singles and fit easily into contemporary pop radio playlists. Sean Kingston may want to consider stripping his sound down a bit more, but Tomorrow is far from an unpleasant listening experience. Sean Kingston has successfully delivered the goods he has to offer a second time around.
Track listing
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Writer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Welcome to Tomorrow" | PrettyBoiFresh | Jonathan Reuven Rotem J. R. Rotem - Early life :Rotem was born in South Africa to Israeli immigrant Jewish parents. He moved to Toronto at the age of two and finally to Moraga, California when he was twelve.Rotem's entry point into music was in receiving classical piano tuition at a young age... , Keinan Abdi Warsame K'naan K'naan , born Keinan Abdi Warsame in 1978, is a Somali Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist.-Biography:Born in Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most... , Peter Gene Hernandez Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age... & Philip Lawrence |
0:57 |
| 2 | "War" | J. R. Rotem | Jonathan Reuven Rotem & Kisean Anderson | 2:59 |
| 3 | "Fire Burning Fire Burning "Fire Burning" is a dance pop song by reggae musician Sean Kingston. It is released as the lead single from his second studio album Tomorrow. The song displays a little more synth-dance sound than his previous recordings, with influences of dance music and electropop. Unlike many of his previous... " |
RedOne RedOne Nadir Khayat , known by the stage name RedOne, is a Moroccan producer and songwriter. Renowned for co-producing hit singles such as "Just Dance", "Poker Face", "LoveGame", "Bad Romance", "Alejandro" and "Judas", he is attributed by some as the key to Lady Gaga's success... |
Nadir Khayat, Bilal Hajji & Kisean Anderson | 4:00 |
| 4 | "My Girlfriend" | Fernando Garibay Fernando Garibay Fernando Garibay is a Mexican music producer, DJ, and songwriter. He was the official musical director for musician Lady Gaga during the making of her third album Born This Way.Garibay has been making records since the age of sixteen... |
Peter Gene Hernandez, Fernando Garibay & Philip Lawrence | 3:24 |
| 5 | "Face Drop Face Drop Face Drop is the second single from Sean Kingston's second studio album Tomorrow, was released to radio stations on August 18, 2009 and released digitally on iTunes on September 1, 2009.-Music video:... " |
Lucas Secon Lucas Secon Lucas Secon, also known by the stage name Lucas, is a world-renowned Danish-American Grammy , MTV Award and Emmy Award-nominated record producer, songwriter,Golden Poets Award winner, DJ, rapper, singer and artist/conceptualist. He lives in London, United Kingdom.Secon has contributed to seven... |
Andrea Martin & Lucas Secon | 3:04 |
| 6 | "Magical" | Emile | Jonathan Reuven Rotem & Kisean Anderson | 3:09 |
| 7 | "Island Queen" | The Smeezingtons The Smeezingtons The Smeezingtons is the name of a songwriting and production team consisting of Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine.They have produced and written songs for artists and groups such as the Sugababes, Travie McCoy, B.o.B, Brandy Norwood, K'naan, Lil Wayne, Flo Rida, Chad Hugo, Lil Eddie, Bad... |
Peter Gene Hernandez & Philip Lawrence | 3:42 |
| 8 | "Tomorrow" | The Smeezingtons | Jonathan Reuven Rotem, Keinan Abdi Warsame, Peter Gene Hernandez & Philip Lawrence | 2:56 |
| 9 | "Twist Ya Around" | J. R. Rotem | Jonathan Reuven Rotem, Keinan Abdi Warsame, Peter Gene Hernandez, Philip Lawrence, Grant & Kisean Anderson | 3:24 |
| 10 | "Wrap U Around Me" | Pleasure P Pleasure P Marcus Ramone Cooper , better known by his stage name Pleasure P is an American contemporary R&B singer-songwriter, who experienced success as a member of the group Pretty Ricky before embarking on a solo career in 2007.... , Rico Love Rico Love Richard Preston Butler, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Love wrote and produced hit records such as Usher’s "There Goes My Baby" and "Hey Daddy ”, Nelly's "Just a Dream" and "Gone", Beyoncé Knowles' "Sweet Dreams"... , Earl Hood & E |
Diane Warren Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001... |
3:22 |
| 11 | "Shoulda Let U Go" (featuring Good Charlotte Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 1998, the band's constant members have been lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Benji Madden, bass guitarist Paul Thomas and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin... ) |
Drum Up, DJ Frank E DJ Frank E Justin Franks, also known as DJ Frank E, is an American DJ and record producer from Denver, Colorado. He began mixing records and later progressed to producing remixes in 2003.... , Detail |
Joel Madden, Detail, Benji Madden, Justin Franks, Kisean Anderson, LaMar Seymour, LaNelle Seymour | 3:08 |
| 12 | "Over" | Al Khaaliq, The Messengers | Jonathan Reuven Rotem & Kisean Anderson | 3:06 |
| 13 | "Ice Cream Girl" (featuring Wyclef Jean Wyclef Jean Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country... ) |
Wyclef Wyclef Jean Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country... , Wonda |
4:01 | |
| 14 | "Why U Wanna Go" | Midi Mafia Midi Mafia Midi Mafia is a hip hop/R&B production duo consisting of American Bruce Waynne from Brooklyn, New York and Canadian Dirty Swift from Ottawa, Ontario... |
Wyclef Jean & Jerry Duplessis | 3:43 |
Singles
- "Fire BurningFire Burning"Fire Burning" is a dance pop song by reggae musician Sean Kingston. It is released as the lead single from his second studio album Tomorrow. The song displays a little more synth-dance sound than his previous recordings, with influences of dance music and electropop. Unlike many of his previous...
" was the first official single from the album, released on April 24, 2009. It peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the most successful single from the album. - "Face DropFace DropFace Drop is the second single from Sean Kingston's second studio album Tomorrow, was released to radio stations on August 18, 2009 and released digitally on iTunes on September 1, 2009.-Music video:...
" was the second official single from the album. It was released to radio stations on August 18, 2009 and iTunes on September 1, 2009. Lyrically, "Face Drop" is plea to not judge by appearance. It peaked at #61 on the Billboard Hot 100, which was of moderate success compared to Kingston's previous hits.
Promotional singles
iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
released promotional singles from the album as part of "Countdown to Tomorrow". All singles received the same animated artwork, each with a different color background.
- "My Girlfriend" was the first promo single and was released digitally on July 28, 2009.
- "Wrap U Around Me" was the second promo single and was released digitally on August 4, 2009.
- "Tomorrow" was the third promo single and was released digitally on August 11, 2009.
- "Island Queen" was the fourth promo single and was released digitally on August 18, 2009.
- "War" was the fifth promo single and was released digitally on August 25, 2009. Originally "War" featured rapper Lil WayneLil WayneDwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
, but this version was not included on the album. - "Face DropFace DropFace Drop is the second single from Sean Kingston's second studio album Tomorrow, was released to radio stations on August 18, 2009 and released digitally on iTunes on September 1, 2009.-Music video:...
" was the sixth promo single and was released digitally on September 1, 2009. It was also released as the second official single from the album, and it was sent to radio on August 18, 2009.