Concrete Rose

Concrete Rose
Studio album by Ashanti
Released	December 14, 2004
Recorded	2003–2004
Genre	R&B, pop, soul, hip hop, hip hop soul
Length	54:48
Label	Murder Inc., Def Jam
Producer	Ashanti Douglas (exec.) Selan Lerner (exec.) Irv Gotti (exec.) Chink Santana 7 Aurelius Malcolm Flythe Jimi Kendrix Demetrius McGhee
Ashanti chronology
Ashanti's Christmas (2003) Concrete Rose (2004) Collectables by Ashanti (2005)
Singles from Concrete Rose
"Only U" Released: October 14, 2004 "Wonderful" Released: November 2, 2004 "Don't Let Them" Released: May 2005 "Don't Leave Me Alone" Released: May 2005

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Concrete Rose is the third studio album by American R&B singer Ashanti, released by Murder Inc. and Def Jam on December 14, 2004 in the United States. The album involves production by Irv Gotti, Chink Santana, and 7 Aurelius and features guest appearances from Lloyd and Ja Rule. Concrete Rose spawned two singles: the 7 Aurelius-produced "Only U" and "Don't Let Them".

The album debut at number seven on the Billboard 200 chart in December 2004 with first-week sales of 254,000 units. Concrete Rose was certified Platinum by the RIAA on January 14, 2005.

Background

Chart performance

Concrete Rose debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 album chart in December 2004 and Billboard's Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart at number one with first-week sales of 254,000 units sold. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA on January 14, 2005 and remained on the Billboard 200 albums chart for 20 weeks. As of 2008, Concrete Rose has sold 871,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[2]

Outside the United States the album debuted or peaked at #25 in the United Kingdom, #98 in France, #35 in Germany and #66 in Switzerland.

Singles

• The first single from the album "Only U" peaked at number thirteen on Billboard Hot 100 and number ten Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single became Ashanti's 13th Top 40 hit Stateside. It was also successful internationally, it reached the top five in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the top ten in Japan, the top twenty in New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany, and the top forty in Australia and France.

• The second single was planned to be "Focus", but was replaced by "Don't Let Them" which failed to chart stateside. It wasn't a success internationally either peaking at number forty-one in Ireland and number thirty-eight in the United Kingdom. "Don't Leave Me Alone" was a fan favorite and rumored second single, but her record label refused to pay for an accompanying music video.

Tracklisting

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Concrete Rose" (Intro)	Aurelius, Irv Gotti	1:17
2.	"Still Down" (featuring T.I.)	Ashanti Douglas, Flythe, Harris, Gotti, Smith	4:13
3.	"Message to the Fans" (skit)	Aurelius, Douglas, Foster, King, Gotti, McElroy	0:23
4.	"Only U"	Aurelius, Barnes, Ashanti Douglas, Lerner, Gotti	3:06
5.	"Focus"	Aurelius, Barnes, Ashanti Douglas, Lerner, Gotti	3:17
6.	"Don't Let Them"	Douglas, Gotti, McGhee, Mitchell, Mitchell, Randle, Seymour	4:23
7.	"Love Again"	Aurelius, Copeland, Dean, Douglas, Brad Jordan, Gotti, Rogers, Shaw	4:08
8.	"Take Me Tonight" (featuring Lloyd)	Douglas, Gotti, Polite, Smith	4:05
9.	"U"	Aurelius, DeGrate, Douglas, Gotti	3:35
10.	"Every Lil' Thing"	Aurelius, Douglas, Lorenzo	3:56
11.	"Turn It Up" (featuring Ja Rule)	Atkins, Douglas, Gotti, Mayfield, Smith	4:16
12.	"Buck 3000" (skit)		0:22
13.	"So Hot"	Douglas, Gotti, Parker	4:57
14.	"Don't Leave Me Alone" (featuring 7 Aurelius)	Aurelius, Douglas, Lorenzo	3:33
15.	"Sister Stories" (skit) (featuring Shi Shi)	Douglas	0:45
16.	"Freedom"	Douglas, Lorenzo, McGhee	3:51
17.	"Wonderful (Remix)" (featuring Ja Rule & R. Kelly)	Atkins, Douglas, Kelly, Gotti, Smith	4:41

Japan / UK Bonus Track
No.	Title	Length
18.	"Touch My Body"

Japan Bonus Track
No.	Title	Length
19.	"Spend the Night"

Release history

Country	Date
United Kingdom	December 13, 2004
Ireland
United States	December 14, 2004
Brazil	January 4, 2005
Italy
Germany
Canada	January 6, 2005
Indonesia	March 12, 2005
China
Japan
Spain
Mexico
New Zealand
Australia	January 22, 2005
Netherlands	October 16, 2004
Sweden
Philippines	November 23, 2004
Puerto Rico	March 19, 2005
Cuba	May 13, 2005
Middle East	May 19, 2005

Charts and certifications

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Dutch Albums Chart	43
German Albums Chart	26
French Albums Chart	48
Swiss Albums Chart	56
UK Albums Chart	20
Billboard 200	7

Year-end charts

Year	Chart	Rank
2004	Billboard 200[3]	76
	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[4]	28

Credits

• Won "Engineer to the Stars" Bee Allen – engineer
• Chuck Amos Hair – stylist
• David Ashton – engineer
• Seven Aurelius – harp
• Ashaunna Ayars – marketing
• Jerry Barnes – bass guitar
• William Barnes – guitar
• Erica Bowen – recording director
• Milwaukee "Protools King" Buck – engineer
• Al "Boogie" Carty – bass
• Robin Clark – executive assistant
• Tom Coyne – mastering
• Kenneth Crouch – keyboards
• Ashanti Douglas – executive producer
• Tinya Y. Douglas – management
• Tony Duran – photography
• Easy Mo Bee – drum programming, beats
• Malcolm Flythe – producer
• Stephen George – mixing
• Irv Gotti – producer, executive producer, mixing
• Deidre Graham – marketing
• Terry "Murda Mac" Herbert – assistant engineer
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion
• Gavin "YG" Johnston – assistant engineer
• Terese Joseph – A&R
• Jimi Kendrix – producer
• Darcell Lawrence – production executive
• Trevor Lawrence – drums
• Selan Lerner – keyboards
• Jerome Leventhal – management
• Chris "Gotti" Lorenzo – A&R
• Tammy Lucas – background vocals
• Deborah Mannis-Gardner – sample clearance
• Glen "It's Crazy" Markazi – engineer, mixing
• Josh McDonnell – assistant engineer
• Demetrius McGhee – organ, strings, bass guitar, keyboards, producer, instrumentation
• Rosie Michel – stylist
• Fred Moore – A&R
• Karen Moskowitz – photography
• Rick Patrick – creative director
• Tenisha Ramos – marketing
• Bill Sample – Hammond organ
• Chink Santana – producer
• Adam Scheurmann – engineer, assistant engineer
• 7 Aurelius – vocals, background vocals, producer, associate executive producer, instrumentation
• Paul Silveira – engineer
• Todd "Shortma" Simms – A&R
• Quinshae Snead – personal assistant
• Rob Stefanson – assistant engineer
• Supa Engineer "Dura" – mixing
• Laura Tamburino – art producer
• Errol "Breezie" Jr. Vaughn – A&R
• Andy West – art direction

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ Ashanti To Return With 'The Declaration'
3. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=412&cfgn=Year-end+Albums&cfn=The+Billboard+200&ci=3068318&cdi=8696118&cid=12%2F31%2F2005
4. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=415&cfgn=Year-end+Albums&cfn=Top+R%26amp%3BB%2FHip-Hop+Albums&ci=3068471&cdi=8707614&cid=12%2F31%2F2005