Unexpected (Lumidee album)

For Michelle Williams album, see Unexpected (Michelle Williams album).

Unexpected
Studio album by Lumidee
Released	April 17, 2007 (see release history)
Recorded	2006–2007 Bassbumpers Studio; Eastside Sound; Icon Sound Studios (Miami, Florida) KMA Studios; Lumi's Closet; Platinum Sound Recording Studios (New York, New York)
Genre	R&B, hip-hop, reggae, pop
Length	55:35
Label	TVT
Producer	J. Marty, T.C. Love, Lenky, Ron Browz, Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis, Scott Storch, Red Spyda, NIV, Darrell Branch
Lumidee chronology
Almost Famous (2003) Unexpected (2007)
Singles from Unexpected
"She's Like The Wind" Released: April 3, 2007 "Crazy" Released: May 22, 2007 "Feel Like Makin' Love" Released: November 20, 2007

Unexpected is the second studio album by American Hip-Hop and R&B recording artist Lumidee, released by TVT Records on April 17, 2007 in the United States and on June 21, 2007 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced primarily by J. Marty with contributions made by Scott Storch, T.C. Love, Lenky, Ron Browz, Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis and Red Spyda.

Background

In an interview with Vibe Magazine, Lumidee spoke about signing with TVT Records stating, "TVT Records is the perfect way for me to come back and again I'm coming out of left field, just like with Never Leave You. Nobody ever thought of me coming back on a street credible label like TVT [...] Actually, nobody ever thought of me really even coming back, period."^[1]

In another interview, Lumidee said of the album, "This time around I got to do an album. The first time around the world heard my demo, that’s basically what it was. I had a really big song which landed me the deal and they wanted an album in two weeks. [...] This time you’re getting to hear my progress through the years and the different emotions I’ve been going through."^[2]

Content

The album was produced primarily by J. Marty, who produced eight out of the seventeen songs. Other contributors include Lenky, who produced "Crazy" featuring Miami rapper Pitbull and Jerry Duplessis, who produced the Kill Bill-inspired track, "The Whistle Song" which features former Fugees member, Wyclef Jean, who co-produced it. According to Lumidee, the idea to record a remake of Patrick Swayze's 1987 song "She's Like The Wind" was inspired by her European label when she recommended a collaboration with fellow New York recording artist Tony Sunshine.^[3] She described the album as having "many flavors", including "rap, R&B, Caribbean music, all the sounds that influence me."^[3] She also said, "Everything I'm doing is for the world. I’m not just trying to cater to one audience..."^[4] Another track, characterized as a "self-described in-your-face song" entitled, "He Told Me" is a reggae and hip-hop flavored song that "once again boasts Lumidee’s ability to effortlessly flow from rapping to singing, all under one title."^[5] Blues & Soul Magazine describes "Stuck On You" as an "emotionally-pleasing" song that is "backed with a beautiful Spanish guitar".^[6] A track titled "Did You Imagine" samples Manu Chao's "Me Gustas Tú" and is a reggaeton-flavored song that explores her Latin roots.^[4] Unexpected was named because, as she explained, "It's unexpected to some people that I'm still doing music."^[7]

Reception

Commercial performance

Following its release, the album debuted at number forty-four on the U.S. Billboard 200, with about 16,000 copies sold in its first week.^[8] On May 5, 2007, Unexpected debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard Independent Albums chart, remaining on the chart for five weeks.^[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[10]
Blues & Soul	[6]
Entertainment Weekly	(B)[11]

Andy Kellman of Allmusic said, "There's much more nuance to her voice, whether she's singing or rapping. She's tougher, more womanly."^[10] He then ended on a mixed note, "As uneven and occasionally puzzling as a 17-track pop album gets, this is nonetheless a marked improvement over the debut."^[10] Blues & Soul Magazine gave the album a positive review, commending the quality of the production and called it a "great deal more promise than her debut LP."^[6] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B rating and said that the album is "Nothing for the ages, but pleasantly of the moment".^[11]

Singles

On April 3, 2007, "She's Like The Wind" was released as the first single from the album in the United States and Europe. It managed to peak at number forty-three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and in Denmark, it reached the top ten.^[12]

The second single, "Crazy" was released on May 22, 2007, in the U.S. and Europe but charted only on the European charts, including Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, and the UK.^[13]

"Feel Like Makin' Love" was the third and final single from the album released in mid-November 2007.^[14] It performed less well than its predecessors, only landing on the Ultratip chart in Flanders.^[15]

Track listing

Standard Edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Lumidee Cedeño, Jesus Bobe, Steve Morales	J. Stars, Steve Morales	0:45
2.	"So Cool... Hollywood"	Cedeño, John Vandersall	J. Marty, T.C. Love	3:59
3.	"In It For The Money" (featuring Snoop Dogg)	Cedeño, Calvin Broadus, Andy Thelusma	Red Spyda	3:27
4.	"Cute Boy"	Cedeño, John Vandersall, Leonard Williams, Henry Lawes	J. Marty	3:43
5.	"She's Like The Wind" (featuring Tony Sunshine)	Patrick Swayze, Stacey Widelitz	J. Marty, T.C. Love	3:45
6.	"Feel Like Makin' Love" (featuring Shaggy)	Eugene McDaniels	J. Marty	3:45
7.	"Stuck On You"	Cedeño, Edwin Perez, Vandersall, Joseph Weiss	J. Marty, Eddie Perez	3:04
8.	"Caught Up"	Cedeño, Darrell Branch, Niv Davidovich	Darrell Branch, NIV	3:12
9.	"Crazy" (featuring Pitbull)	Cedeño, Armando Perez, Steven Marsden	Lenky	3:05
10.	"Could Be Anything"	Cedeño, Scott Storch	Scott Storch	2:47
11.	"You Got Me" (featuring N.O.R.E.)	Cedeño, Victor Santiago, Rondell Turner	Ron Browz	2:58
12.	"The Whistle Song" (featuring Wyclef Jean)	Cedeño, Bernard Hermann, Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis	Jerry Duplessis, Wyclef Jean	3:44
13.	"I'm Up" (featuring Jim Jones)	Cedeño, Joseph Jones, Vandersall	J. Marty	3:19
14.	"He Told Me"	Cedeño, Vandersall, George Haye	J. Marty	3:09
15.	"Did You Imagine"	Cedeño, José-Manuel Chao, Vandersall, Weiss	J. Marty	3:49
16.	"Passin' Thru"	Cedeño, Vandersall	J. Marty	2:49
17.	"She's Like The Wind" (Spanglish Version)	Swayze, Widelitz	J. Marty, T.C. Love	4:13

European bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"Dance!" (featuring Fatman Scoop)	George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam, Cedeño, Isaac Freeman, Cordell Burrell	Reinhard Raith, Andreas Litterscheid	2:41

Personnel

Wolfgang Boss: Executive Producer, A&R James Eichelberger: A&R Jonathan P. Fine: A&R Darrell Branch: Producer Eddie Perez: Producer J. Stars: Producer Jerry Duplessis: Producer NIV: Arranger, Producer Red Spyda: Producer Ron Browz: Producer Scott Storch: Producer Steve Morales: Producer Steven "Lenky" Marsden: Producer T.C. Love: Producer Wyclef Jean: Producer Lumidee: Vocals Stephanie Fink: Background Vocals Rob Raio: Background Vocals Courtney Harrell: Background Vocals Alonzo Vargas: Engineer David Kutch: Mastering James Deering: Engineer Jarred Elioseff: Keyboards

J. Mizzle: Keyboards Jesus Bobe: Engineer John Lardiari: Guitar Josh Modney: Violin Judy Hyman: Violin Julian Vasquez: Engineer Keith "Lil Wonda" Duplessis: Guitar Logic: Keyboards Max Buckholtz: Viola Mike DeSalvo: Mixing Mintman: Guitar Pablo O. Bilbraup: Percussion Rich Keller: Bass, Guitar, Mandolin, Mixing Samuel Jusino Jr.: Guitar, Engineer Sean Harkness: Guitar Sedeck Jean: Keyboards Stephen L. Joseph: Engineer Walter White: Horn, Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements Wilner Alexandre: Engineer Elliott Thomas: Piano Diego Morales: Engineer

Charts

See also: Lumidee discography

Charts (2007) Peak position Belgian (Flanders) Albums Chart[16] 65 U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums[17] 2 U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[18] 14 U.S. Billboard 200[19] 44

Release history

Country	Date	Label	Edition
United States[20]	April 17, 2007	TVT	Standard edition
France[21]
Japan[22]
Germany[23]	April 20, 2007
United Kingdom[24]	June 21, 2007
Canada[25]	October 7, 2009	EMI Music Canada

References

1. ^ Gary Gentles, (Nov. 7, 2006) Uh Oh! Lumidee Inks New Deal, Album To Drop Early 2007 singersroom.com. Retrieved 10-28-2010.
2. ^ Rashmi Shastri, "Lumidee" everyurbanthing.com. A K Media. Retrieved 10-28-2010.
3. ^ ^{a b} (Posted: March 26, 2007) Elena del Valle, Puerto Rican singer Lumidee launches second album in April 2007 hispanicmpr.com. Poyeen Publishing. Retrieved 10-28-2010.
4. ^ ^{a b} (April 01, 2007) Alex Thorton, Alternatives: Lumidee: Break Away allhiphop.com. Retrieved 10-29-2010.
5. ^ (7-21-2007) Abraham Kuranga, Expected The Unexpected PopEntertainment.com. Retrieved 10-28-2010.
6. ^ ^{a b c} Will Lavin, "She was 'Almost Famous' until she got struck by the one-hit wonder bug which went on to silence her for four years." bluesandsoul.com. Retrieved 10-28-2010.
7. ^ (Posted: Oct. 30, 2007) Quinton Hatfield, Lumidee - Unexpected HipHop-Elements.com. Retrieved 11-14-2010.
8. ^ Katie Hasty, "Lavigne's New 'Thing' Debuts Atop Billboard 200", Billboard.com, April 25, 2007.
9. ^ Independent Albums - The Week Of May 05, 2007 Billboard. Nielson Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 10-29-2010.
10. ^ ^{a b c} Andy Kellman, ((( Unexpected > Overview ))) allmusic.com. Retrieved 09-26-10.
11. ^ ^{a b} Leah Greenblatt, Unexpected | Music EW.com. retrieved 09-26-10.
12. ^ danishcharts.com - Lumidee feat. Tony Sunshine - She's Like the Wind Tracklisten. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10-30-2010.
13. ^ Lumidee - Crazy Album VH1.com. Retrieved 09-26-10.
14. ^ Amazon.com: Feel Like Making Love: Lumidee: Music. Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 12-02-2010.
15. ^ lescharts.com - Lumidee feat. Shaggy - Feel Like Making Love Hung Medien. Retrieved 10-30-2010.
16. ^ ultratop.be - Lumidee - Unexpected ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
17. ^ Lumidee Albums & Song Chart History Billboard. Top Independent Albums Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 11-14-2010.
18. ^ Lumidee Albums & Song Chart History Billboard. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 11-14-2010.
19. ^ Lumidee Albums & Song Chart History Billboard 200 Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 11-14-2010.
20. ^ Amazon.com: Unexpected: Lumidee: Music Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 11-12-2010.
21. ^ Unexpected: Lumidee: Amazon.fr: Musique Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 11-12-2010.
22. ^ Amazon.co.jp: Unexpected: Lumidee: Music Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 11-12-2010.
23. ^ Unexpected: Lumidee: Amazon.de: Musik Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 11-12-2010.
24. ^ Unexpected - UK Edition: Lumidee: Amazon.co.uk: Music Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 11-12-2010.
25. ^ Unexpected: Lumidee: Amazon.ca: Music Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 11-12-2010.