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 T.I., 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.
Concrete Rose received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 47, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average" reviews.
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 December 2005, Concrete Rose has sold over 1 million copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
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.
"Turn It Up" featuring Ja Rule was originally intended to be the first single but was used as a Buzz single, as the label later decided to release "Only U" instead. The first single from the album "Only U" reached 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.Although the album was successful and certified platinum by January 2005, it was all over shadowed by issues with The Inc and Def Jam. Label issues delayed the release of a second single. When it came down to either, "Don't Let Them" or "Don't Leave Me Alone", Ashanti chose her personal favorite and came out of pocket to deliver a music video. The single was only released in the US, where it failed to chart and reaching Number 38 in the UK. "Don't Let Them" was never promoted by the label and was the final single off Concrete Rose.Won "Engineer to the Stars" Bee Allen – engineerChuck Amos Hair – stylistDavid Ashton – engineerSeven Aurelius – harpAshaunna Ayars – marketingJerry Barnes – bass guitarJ Money Williams- the bossWilliam Barnes – guitarErica Bowen – recording directorMilwaukee "Protools King" Buck – engineerAl "Boogie" Carty – bassRobin Clark – executive assistantTom Coyne – masteringKenneth Crouch – keyboardsAshanti Douglas – executive producerTinya Y. Douglas – managementTony Duran – photographyEasy Mo Bee – drum programming, beatsMalcolm Flythe – producerStephen George – mixingIrv Gotti – producer, executive producer, mixingDeidre Graham – marketingTerry "Murda Mac" Herbert – assistant engineerBashiri Johnson – percussionGavin "YG" Johnston – assistant engineerTerese Joseph – A&RJimi Kendrix – producerDarcell Lawrence – production executiveTrevor Lawrence – drumsSelan Lerner – keyboardsJerome Leventhal – managementChris "Gotti" Lorenzo – A&RTammy Lucas – background vocalsDeborah Mannis-Gardner – sample clearanceGlen "It's Crazy" Markazi – engineer, mixingJosh McDonnell – assistant engineerDemetrius McGhee – organ, strings, bass guitar, keyboards, producer, instrumentationRosie Michel – stylistFred Moore – A&RKaren Moskowitz – photographyRick Patrick – creative directorTenisha Ramos – marketingBill Sample – Hammond organChink Santana – producerAdam Scheurmann – engineer, assistant engineer7 Aurelius – vocals, background vocals, producer, associate executive producer, instrumentationPaul Silveira – engineerTodd "Shortma" Simms – A&RQuinshae Snead – personal assistantRob Stefanson – assistant engineerSupa Engineer "Dura" – mixingLaura Tamburino – art producerErrol "Breezie" Jr. Vaughn – A&RAndy West – art direction
