- Because I Love It
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Because I Love It 
Studio album by Amerie Released May 14, 2007 (U.K.)
September 30, 2008 (limited U.S.)Recorded 2005–2007 Genre R&B, funk, soul Length 51:48 Label Columbia, Sony Urban Producer Lenny Nicholson (executive)
Amerie (executive and vocal)
Bryan-Michael Cox, The Buchanans, Cee-Lo, Quran Goodman, Destro, One Up, Chris & Drop, Mike Caren, Curtis "C Note" Richardson, Bink!, Kore & BellekAmerie chronology Touch
(2005)Because I Love It
(2007)In Love & War
(2009)Singles from Because I Love It - "Take Control"
Released: December 2006 - "Gotta Work"
Released: April 14, 2007 - "That's What U R"
Released: November 26, 2007
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[1]Evening Standard [2]The Guardian 
[3]NME (7/10)[4] The Observer (favorable)[5] Pitchfork Media (7.3/10)[6] Stylus Magazine (B)[7] Time Out [8]The Times [9]Vibe (favorable)[10] Because I Love It is the third studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Amerie. Originally set for an autumn 2006 release, and originally to be called None of the Above, the album was released in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2007.[11] The album was released in the U.S. on different dates to various retailers. The album was made available as online exclusives for Walmart.com on July 3, 2007 and FYE on January 15, 2008, while its physical release did not hit the U.S. markets until September 30, 2008. All future singles and promotion were scrapped due to Amerie no longer being signed on to Sony BMG. As of 2009 worldwide sales stand at 307,000 copies sold according to IFPI tracking.
Contents
Critical reception
Because I Love It received wide critical acclaim from various music critics. AllHipHop.com praised the album giving it 5 out of 5 stars, stating that Amerie has the "ability to convey excitement without sounding insane" but pointing out that "doesn’t fit neatly into any specific genre anyway, so she might as well leave the standard R&B fare to the army of standard R&B chicks available to sing them."[12] Allmusic also praised the album; giving it 4½ out of 5 stars, stating that the album "lassoe[d] each song, whether it require[d] salt, sugar, heartache, delight, or any combination thereof." and further noting that "[s]he is the only female singer on the album, and hearing her backgrounds dance and swim around her leads is as moving as anything else in modern R&B".[1]
Despite mixed criticism towards its ballads, Spin praised the album's sound and called it "R&B at its most dynamic".[13] The Observer gave it a favorable review, writing "It's no classic, but the obligatory ballads are mercifully few, allowing a series of punchy, soulpowered tracks to shine".[5] The Guardian gave it a 4 out of 5 stars while lauding Amerie as "one of the greatest singers in pop music" and that Because I Love It was a "spectacular work" because [Amerie] "catches the fleeting thrills and momentary rushes of intensity that permeate otherwise mundane days, and stretches those feelings out across four-minute songs without ever letting up."[3] NME gave Because I Love It a rating of 7/10, describing it as "bar-raising pop" and calling it a "whip-smart collection of retro R&B that’s more Winehouse than Aguilera".[4]
Track listing
- Amerie co-wrote all of the songs on the album; additional writers are listed below.
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length 1. "Forecast" (Intro) Chris & Drop 1:10 2. "Hate2LoveU" George Brown, Ronald Bell, Claydes Smith, Robert Mickens, Richard Westfield, Dennis Thomas, Robert Bell, Gene Redd, Woodrow Sparrow, The Clutch One Up 3:11 3. "Some Like It" Malcolm McLaren, Anne Dudley, Lenvert Nicholson Amerie, Len Nicholson, Destro Music, Quran Goodman 2:56 4. "Make Me Believe" Curtis Mayfield Amerie, Len Nicholson 3:22 5. "Take Control" Daryl Hall, John Oates, Sara Allen, Cee-Lo Green, Mike Caren, Tom Zé, Waldez Mike Caren 3:42 6. "Gotta Work" Isaac Hayes, David Porter, Loren Hill, Rich Shelton, Kevin Veney One Up 3:10 7. "Crush" Makeda Davis, Simon Johnson, Andre Gonzales The Buchanans 3:39 8. "Crazy Wonderful" Johnson, Gonzales The Buchanans 3:48 9. "That's What U R" Derrick Braxton, Chris Paultrie Chris & Drop 3:36 10. "When Loving U Was Easy" Curtis Richardson Curtis Richardson 3:21 11. "Paint Me Over" Roosevelt Harrell, Willie Hutch Bink! 4:12 12. "Somebody Up There" Bryan-Michael Cox Bryan-Michael Cox 4:45 13. "All Roads" Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Richardson, Michel Legrand Curtis Richardson 3:08 Bonus Tracks No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length 14. "1 Thing" Rich Harrison, Stanley Walden Rich Harrison 3:59 15. "Losing U" Khaled Hadj Brahim Kore & Bellek 3:26 16. "Take Control" (Remix featuring Se7en) (East Asia Bonus track) 3:43 17. "Streets Alone" Chris & Drop 4:17 Samples credits
- "Forecast (Intro)" — "Farandole" by Bob James
- "Hate 2 Love U" — "Give It Up" by Kool & the Gang
- "Some Like It" — "World's Famous" by Malcolm McLaren
- "Make Me Believe" — reworked version of the Curtis Mayfield song by the same title
- "Take Control" — "Jimi Renda-Se" by Tom Zé and "You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates
- "Gotta Work" — "Hold On I'm Coming" by Mighty Dog Haynes
- "Paint Me Over" — "Mother's Theme (Mama)" by Willie Hutch
- "All Roads" — "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" by James Ingram & Patti Austin
- "1 Thing" — "Oh, Calcutta" by the Meters
- "Losing U" — "Didi" by Khaled Hadj Brahim
Singles
"Take Control" was the first and lead single from the album. The music video debut in the U.S. in December 2006. The song peaked on the Billboard R&B/Hiphop singles chart at number 66. The official remix featured South Korean pop singer SE7EN.
"Crush" was set to be a single in the UK, Europe and Australia. The single was sent to radio around November 2007, set with a commercial release date in early 2008. However for some unknown reasons the single was cancelled. A music video featuring the original version of "Crush" (produced by Johnny Douglas) was used for the radio and the video version of the single.[14] The Johnny Douglas mix was originally intended to be featured on the album, however due to legal issues it was not used, instead The Buchanans version was used in its place.
"Gotta Work" was released as the albums second single. The single was used to help promote the NBA and AXN television. The single was released to international markets, however a promotional single was released in the US. The single peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Charts and number 6 on the UK R&B Singles Charts.
"That's What U R" was released in Japan as the albums third single only (forth over all). The radio version was a reworked version of the album adding rap verses by Fabolous and Slim Thug. The single was released as a promotional single only and did not receive a commercial release. The radio version can be found on some limited edition Asian Editions of "Because I Love It".
Charts
Chart (2007) Peak
positionEuropean Top 100 Albums[15] 56 French SNEP Albums Chart[16] 159 Irish Albums Chart[17] 65 Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[18] 13 Swiss Albums Chart[17] 42 UK Albums Chart[17] 17 References
- ^ a b Kellman, Andy. Review: Because I Love It. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-11-04.
- ^ Elwell-Sutton, Chris. Review: Because I Love It. Evening Standard. Retrieved on 2009-11-04.
- ^ a b Macpherson, Alex. Review: Because I Love It. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2009-11-04.
- ^ a b Elan, Priya. Review: Because I Love It. NME. Retrieved on 2009-11-04.
- ^ a b Fox, Killian. Review: Because I Love It. The Observer. Retrieved on 2009-11-04.
- ^ Finney, Tim. Review: Because I Love It. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2009-11-04.
- ^ Casillas, Andrew. Review: Because I Love It. Stylus Magazine. Retrieved on 2009-11-04.
- ^ Draper, Jimmy. Review: Because I Love It. Time Out. Retrieved on 2009-11-04.
- ^ Jelbert, Steve. Review: Because I Love It. The Times. Retrieved on 2009-11-04.
- ^ Odom, Shanel. "Review: Because I Love It". Vibe: 76. August 2007.
- ^ RCA Label Group (UK) | Amerie - Because I Love It
- ^ Alternatives Reviews : Amerie: Because I Love It [IMPORT]
- ^ Hogan, Marc. "Review: Because I Love It". Spin: 64. September 2007.
- ^ http://thatgrapejuice.net/2007/11/new-song-amerie-crush-video-mix/
- ^ "European Top 100 Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=293&cfgn=Albums&cfn=European+Top+100+Albums&ci=3090644&cdi=9634545&cid=06%2F02%2F2007. Retrieved 2008-12-09.[dead link]
- ^ "lescharts.com – Amerie – Because I Love It" (in French). LesCharts.com. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?key=57907&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
- ^ a b c "Amerie – Because I Love It – Music Charts". αCharts.us. http://acharts.us/album/26052. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
- ^ "Because I Love It – Oricon" (in Japanese). Oricon. http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/704472/1/. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
External links
- Because I Love It at Discogs
- Dancefloor Dynamite at The Guardian
- Album Review at About.com
- Album Review at UKMIX
Ameriie Studio albums All I Have (2002) · Touch (2005) · Because I Love It (2007) · In Love & War (2009) · Cymatika Vol.1 (2011)Other albums Playlist: The Very Best of Amerie (2008) · Best 15 Things (2009)Singles "Why Don't We Fall in Love" · "Talkin' to Me" · "I'm Coming Out" · "1 Thing" · "Touch" · "Talkin' About" · "Take Control" · "Gotta Work" · "Why R U?" · "Heard 'Em All" · "More Than Love" · "Outside Your Body"Featured singles Related articles Categories:- 2007 albums
- Albums certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry
- Albums produced by Bink
- Amerie albums
- Columbia Records albums
- English-language albums
- "Take Control"
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