Released 26 September 2008 Length 50:13 Artist Monrose Label Starwatch Entertainment | Recorded 2008 I Am
(2008) Ladylike
(2010) Release date 26 September 2008 Genres Dance-pop, Electropop | |
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Producer Carl Björsell, T. J. Cases, Cutfather, Oscar Gorres, JoelJoel, Edwin "Lil Eddie" Serrano, Jonas Jeberg, Jiant, Roman Preylowski, Emanuel Rehwald, Snowflakers, Ryan "Alias" Tedder, Didrik Thott Similar Monrose albums, Contemporary R&B albums | ||
I Am is the third studio album by German pop trio Monrose, released by Starwatch Music and the Warner Music Group on 26 September 2008 (see 2008 in music) in German-speaking Europe and 29 September 2008 in Poland. The album features production by Jiant, Snowflakers, Guy Chambers, Edwin "Lil Eddie" Serrano, and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder among others.
Contents
Taking Monrose's work further into dance and electro music, the album scored a generally negative reception from music critics, with laut.de calling them "the Sugababes for discount store-fans."
Monrose i am new album promotion incl electricity
Production and songs
The songs on I Am were selected out of more than six hundred demo tracks. The album's opening track, "Strike the Match", was penned by OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder and Deborah Epstein. Selected out of several tracks in Tedder's repertoire, it was the first song confirmed to be appearing on the album. Released as its leading single, the song reached the top ten of the German Singles Chart. Second track "A Love Bizarre" is a cover version of the 1985 single by Sheila E. and Prince. Using the original instrumental as produced by Prince, the song has been described as all-time favorite by band member Guemmour. "Certified" was written by longtime contributors Edwin "Lil' Eddie" Serrano and Jonas Jeberg, and has been described as "high-pitched, technical, and scratching."
"Why Not Us" by Guy Chambers has been categorized as an "emotional mid-tempo ballad [...] for the wintertime." Originally planned to be released as the album's second single, it was released as the third. In addition, the song served as a promotional track for the We Love Otto mail order campaign. "Stolen" features background vocals by Jamie Pineda from the successful pop music project Sweetbox after Jamie had recorded the song first. Fifth track "Going Out Tonight" incorporates elements of ragga and dancehall music, including rapped verses by all three band members, while "You Can Look" combines dance-pop with rock music. "Teach Me How to Jump" deals with death. The song was recorded in dedication to lost ones, including Guemmour's father, who died in 1992.
Reviews
I Am received mainly negative reviews. LetMeEntertainYou entitled the album's tracks as "sorted out material from the collection of immoral books of Timbaland," calling it also "fiddling" and "sparsely innovative." Further criticisms stated that the girls' voices had been edited into digital cawings which get dislodged from the professional but overproduced music. Although CDStarts dismissed Monrose's original R'n'B/Pop-style, it deplored their attempt to go more into electropop as doing them no favors, and suggested that it could lead to a downfall from their established position in the German music scene.
Songs
1Strike the Match2:56
2A Love Bizarre3:47
3Certified3:07