Released August 24, 2010 Length 47:20 Release date 24 August 2010 | Recorded 2008–2010 Artist Fantasia Barrino Label J Records | |
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Producer Chuck Harmony
Rykeyz
Los Da Mystro
Claude Kelly
Ne-Yo
Rico Love
Jim Jonsin
Pop & Oak
Stereotypes Back to Me
(2010) Side Effects of You
(2013) Genres Contemporary R&B, Soul music Nominations Grammy Award for Best R&B Album Similar Side Effects of You, Fantasia, The Definition Of, Free Yourself, Still Standing | ||
Fantasia i m doin me
Back to Me is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Fantasia Barrino. It was released on August 24, 2010, by J Records. The album is her first studio album in four years since 2006's Fantasia. The album's title was suggested to her by comedian Steve Harvey, when Barrino visited his morning radio program. The album sold 117,000 in its first week, debuting at number two on the US Billboard 200 and at number one on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it Fantasia's highest charting album as of September 2010.
Contents
Fantasia back to me album preview
Background
The album was originally set for release in early 2010, but after an underperforming first single and numerous leaks, J Records ordered more tracks for the album, postponing the album's release until further studio sessions, and stronger singles were recorded. Her label recruited Claude Kelly to add a more contemporary, commercial sound to the album. The project's lead single, "Bittersweet" was released to iTunes on May 11, 2010, and was performed live on American Idol, while a new release date was set for July 27, 2010. The album was again pushed back to August 10, 2010 and finally to August 24, 2010.
To promote the album, Barrino embarked on her first solo concert tour, Back to Me Tour in the fall of 2010.
Singles
Commercial performance
Back to Me sold 117,000 copies in its debut week earning Barrino a number two debut on the US Billboard 200 chart and a total of 490,000 copies as of April 2013. Back to Me topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. First single "Bittersweet" peaked at number seventy-four on US Billboard Hot 100, number seven on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number sixty-six in Japan (Japan Hot 100 chart). It sold 90,000 copies. "I'm Doin' Me" debuted at number ninety-seven on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles, but later peaked at number eleven. It also peaked at number sixty on US Billboard Radio Songs chart, selling 29,000 copies.
Critical response
Upon its release, Back to Me received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, it has so far received an average score of 70 based on 7 reviews.
Ken Capobianco with The Boston Globe called the record "a strong comeback" and went on to say that "Fantasia has matured [and] appears to be an artist reborn." Mariel Concepcion with Billboard called it a "soulful, laid-back album with tinges of gospel" and went on to say "her distinct voice is most enjoyable when singing heartfelt ballads. Jim Farber with The New York Daily News called it "a wail of a comeback". He also said it "outperforms the singer's first two works, with meatier hooks, firmer melodies, and a more shrewdly focused point of view." Mikael Wood with Entertainment Weekly gave it a "B" rating, commenting "Fantasia's rough-hewn vocals shine best on The Thrill Is Gone." Stephen Thomas Erlewine with AllMusic called it her "most interesting album", and commented saying that she was "reconnecting with her roots."
However, Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine stated "the material [Fantasia] has been saddled with has been extraordinarily awful" but still described her positively as an "uninhibited, intuitive soul singer with a truly distinctive sense of phrasing and boundless passion".
The album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Album.
Track listing
Notes
Songs
1I'm Doin' Me
2Bittersweet
3Man of the House