Faithfully is the third studio album by American singer Faith Evans. It was released by Bad Boy Records on November 6, 2001, in the United States. A reflection of her musical studies, Evans was inspired by a variety of classic R&B, pop, rock, and jazz artists such as Chicago, S.O.S. Band, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughn during the production of Faithfully. The result, a sample-heavy album, which the label described as "old school flavored," features production by Mario Winans, Buckwild, Vada Nobles, Michael Angelo Saulsberry, The Neptunes, Battlecat, and others, with material ranging from ballads to dance tracks that built upon the contemporary R&B, funk music and hip-hop genres.
Faith Evans The First Lady Full Album Zip
The album earned generally favorable reviews from most critics who called it her best effort yet, though others were critical with its length and the amount of ballads on Faithfully. It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album and debuted and peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard 200, selling 101,000 copies in its first week, and went on to sell more than 834,000 copies, eventually reaching gold status in the United States. Faithfully spawned four total singles, including "You Gets No Love", "I Love You" and "Burnin' Up." Faithfully was Evans' last album to be recorded under the Bad Boy imprint before her departure in 2003.
While Combs and in-house producer Mario Winans would craft the majority of the album production, Evans also collaborated with Battlecat, Bink, Buckwild, Hozay Clowney, Kip Collins, Havoc, The Neptunes, Vada Nobles, Michaelangelo Saulsberry, and frequent contributor Chucky Thompson on Faithfully.[3] Producer duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were also asked to contribute to Faithfully but declined after hearing previously produced material which they found too good to come up with better material.[2] While it took almost two years to finish Faithfully, Evans noted in a 2001 interview with MTV News that it reflected her music studies of the past five years, saying: "It took months and months of studying the songs, going back, putting in the elements. The feel is 'Faith has grown.' That's what I hope people get from it. I just been trying to get my history together."[5] The album title borrows from the same-titled album track.[4]
Faithfully debuted and peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 101,000 copies in its first week.[16] This marked Evans' highest opening sales up to then.[17] On Billboard's component charts, it reached number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[16] In total, Faithfully sold more than 834,000 copies in the United States.[16] It was eventually certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for the shipment of over 500,000 copies.[16]
Two years in the making, Evans' second solo effort, Keep the Faith, was released during October 1998. Almost entirely written and produced by her, Evans considered the album difficult to complete as she had initially felt discouraged about the progress at first.[4] Upon its release, however, the album garnered generally positive reviews by music critics, with Allmusic noting it "without a doubt a highlight of 1990s soul-pop music".[5] Also enjoying commercial success, it eventually went platinum and produced the top ten singles "Love Like This" and "All Night Long" prompting Evans to start an 18-city theater tour with Dru Hill and Total the following year.[4]
Evans' third album on the Bad Boy imprint, named Faithfully (2001), involved her working with a wider range of producers, including The Neptunes, Mario Winans, Buckwild, Vada Nobles, Cory Rooney, and others.[6] Her first project with husband Todd Russaw as executive producer and creative partner, the album scored number 14 on the Billboard 200 album chart and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, eventually being certified platinum, but yielded moderately successful singles, with the Jennifer Lopez-written "I Love You" becoming the only top twenty entry.[7] Released amid Bad Boy Records' transition from distributor Arista Records to Universal, Evans felt Faithfully received minimum assistance by the company, and during 2004, she finally decided to end her business with Bad Boy as she was convinced Combs couldn't improve her career any more due to his other commitments.[8]
After ending with Bad Boy Evans contracted with Capitol Records company, becoming the first contemporary R&B artist to do so, and started work on her fourth studio album The First Lady, named after her nickname on her former label.[8] As opposed to having an in-house team of producers who supplied most of the previous material, she and Russaw were able to gain more creative control of the album and consulted producers such as Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Mike Caren, Pharrell Williams, and Chucky Thompson to contribute to it.[9] Upon its release in April 2005, The First Lady scored at number two on the Billboard 200 and #1 of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming Evans' best-charting album to date. It was eventually certified gold by the RIAA.[10]At the end of the year, Evans released A Faithful Christmas, a holiday album of traditional Christmas songs and original tracks. The effort would become her last release on Capitol Records as the company was bought during 2007.[11]
Now that we're far enough removed from the decade, it's time to look back and decide which albums were good, great, and best. On this list you'll find albums that were life soundtracks, from road trips and gradutions, to first loves and breakups. From Aaliyah to Xscape, these are the best R&B albums of the '90s.
MRC and NBC today announced that music mogul and global superstar Sean "DIDDY'' Combs will host the "2022 Billboard Music Awards" (BBMAs).This marks exactly 25 years since Combs won his first Billboard Music Award in 1997 for his multi-platinum album No Way Out. In addition to his hosting role, Combs will serve as executive producer to reimagine the experience and bring together the best in entertainment, with several surprises planned."This will be unlike any awards show - I'm bringing the love and setting the frequency at an all-time high," said Sean "DIDDY" Combs. "The Billboard Music Awards truly represent the artists and where music is today, so I'm excited to curate the biggest live performances and surprises. The world has to tune in to see."Not only is Diddy one of the highest-selling artists, but he is also one of the most accomplished music producers of all time. He is a cultural icon and modern mogul-actor, fashion designer, entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. Aside from his own hit albums, Diddy has produced for industry visionaries including this year's Billboard Icon Award recipient, Mary J. Blige, and performer Burna Boy, as well as The Notorious B.I.G., Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Boyz II Men, Britney Spears, Kanye West and many more. 2ff7e9595c
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