Apparently, Amerie is at work on a fourth studio album. She's been dropped from Columbia/SonyBMG and allegedly has signed with Island Def Jam, where she's currently at work on a new album.
Amerie's third studio album, Because I Love It, was originally scheduled to be released in fall '06; however, it was pushed back several times and no official release date was set. This could primarily be due to the fact that the first two singles..."Take Control" and "Gotta Work"...failed to make any impact in the U.S., for reasons that I'll never understand.
The album, however, was released in Europe and Japan...and received wide critical acclaim.
Here's the review from allmusic:
quote:
A pair of Top Ten albums and Top Ten R&B singles to match. You'd think Amerie's path would be without obstacles going forward, but album number three -- this one -- was left unreleased in the States. In other territories, where it was released, it was left to rot. It's a shame; the album is loaded. The amicable and possibly temporary split between Amerie and her primary producer, Rich Harrison, might've been a cause for some concern, but this set of songs is altogether more colorful and varied than both All I Have and Touch. It's almost excessively generous, provided you are able to keep up and absorb a set of songs that, sequentially, is of exceptionally distinct halves. The all-too-brief intro, the Clutch collaboration "Hate 2 Love U," "Make Me Believe," the Cee-Lo co-production "Take Control," and "Gotta Work" are all restlessly upbeat, dishing out prancing horns (sampled and synthetic), tumbling/crashing drum breaks, zipping organs, and other '60s/'70s soul-funk authenticators. Mighty Dog Haynes, Kool & the Gang, Curtis Mayfield, Bob James, and Tom Zé are all part of that mix. Each one of the songs is an energy rush, and it can be overbearing to be confronted by the boundlessly enthusiastic voices of a woman who is thrilled to be making music and isn't afraid to sound like it. That only accounts for the majority of the album's first half. The first half's other two songs, the Malcolm McLaren-sampling "Some Like It" (a gooey mess, like a candy-shop paella) and "Crush" (a late-'80s freestyle throwback, clipped synthetic orchestra hits and all), point the way toward the second half, where there's a lot more breathing room. "Crazy Wonderful" and "That's What U R" are both dream pop through and through; the former could trick those who don't know better into thinking it's a remake of something off SWV's It's About Time, while the latter is one of the better latter-day neo-Neptunes productions. Though a couple ballads are middling, Amerie's efficiency is unwavering, and any of their shortcomings are made forgivable by "Paint Me Over," where her accusations are as stinging as her resignations are disarming. What's most impressive about the album is how Amerie lassoes each song, whether it requires salt, sugar, heartache, delight, or any combination thereof. She is the only female singer on the album, and hearing her backgrounds dance and swim around her leads is as moving as anything else in modern R&B. That a fully opened booklet or CD case displays a sextet of Ameries is perhaps unintentionally emblematic.
Now...can someone please explain to me why this girl can't breakthrough? It saddens me that Amerie's music career is virtually non-existant because the material she produces is laudable. It's some of the most outstanding music - the kind that should be spending weeks at number one and selling millions worldwide. "Crazy Wonderful" is better than anything I've ever heard the likes of Beyonce or Rihanna come up with, yet Amerie can't find success. I don't get it.
Her music is decent, but to say that anything that she's released tops music by Beyonce (or even Rihanna) is an overstatement.
I see nothing that's that exciting about her music. I loved her first album; thought it was great all the way through. I didn't care too much for Touch, save "1 Thing," "Rolling Down My Face" and a few others.
To me, she's doing stuff that Beyonce does far better. IMO, Amerie simply isn't a match for her. Her talent is nowhere near Beyonce's level. I hate to sound like a fanboy, but that's the honest truth. She's not in the same league musically or talent-wise.
i agree with you BE^^ but if all is true, how do you think def jam is going to promote her?..they got rihanna and neyo and mariah and other big artist like that, so what if they let her down???
and yeah i have the album "because i love it" and crazy wonderful is the best track on the album i love it!!!
thanks for starting this thread..its about time somebody here gives her some recognition
oh i forgot to add this is what i found on amerieweb.com forums!!
Quote: i talked 2 her on myspace, she is indeed gone from the record label & in talks with another label. She is recording a new album she told me so, she said that she feels overlooked in the industry & when i told her that i believe in her she was very appreciative and has high hopes of changes
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tatiana,
4 I own Amerie's first two albums. Her debut is much stronger than the mediocre sophomore. The problem I have with Amerie is that she's quite bland and unoriginal. She has done nothing to set herself apart from her contempories (e.g. Beyonce', Rihanna).
I heard she was dropped from Columbia. I'm not surprised. I don't think she'll be successful with Island/Def Jam either. The thing is people have forgotten about her. At this point, it's safe to say her career is over. It's been 3 years since she's released an album in the U.S. That is career suicide for an artist who never had that much commercial success outside of going gold.
On a positive note, Amerie is a good singer. It's a shame people like Rihanna, who is a terrible vocalist, can win a Grammy and Amerie can't.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Gucci,
Amerie is cool with me.Her first album was very good and her second was okay.However I agree with Mr.Talented that she doesnt make better music than Beyonce and Rihanna.Those 2 have cranked out some of the biggest hits this decade.The closet Amerie comes to them is "1 Thing".It is ashame that she doesnt have any Grammys but maybe if she had good promotion she could win one.
Originally posted by Gucci: 4 I own Amerie's first two albums. Her debut is much stronger than the mediocre sophomore. The problem I have with Amerie is that she's quite bland and unoriginal. She has done nothing to set herself apart from her contempories (e.g. Beyonce', Rihanna).
I agree. She's done nothing to set herself apart and her music isn't better than those two women that you listed. I haven't heard anything by Amerie that's better than "Umbrella" or "Crazy In Love."
quote:
On a positive note, Amerie is a good singer. It's a shame people like Rihanna, who is a terrible vocalist, can win a Grammy and Amerie can't.
I agree here too. I do think that Amerie is a good vocalist, and while I do think that Rihanna deserved her Grammy, it's a shame that people like her (and Ciara) can win before Amerie. But that's where having hits comes in. She did have "1 Thing," and it would've been nice to see her win R&B Female for what is, by far, the best thing she's ever recorded. However, I wouldn't have taken "1 Thing" over "We Belong Together."
She's not a major hitmaker. Hopefully, her new deal with IDJ will help, but I'm kind of skeptical. They already have their hands full with Ne-Yo, Mariah, and Rihanna (who have all recently won Grammys under IDJ's guidance), so I wonder if Amerie will be a top priority over them.
Originally posted by MrTalented: Her music is decent, but to say that anything that she's released tops music by Beyonce (or even Rihanna) is an overstatement.
The only reason I mentioned Beyonce and Rihanna is because of constant comparisons between the three artists. However, I don't think my opinion is an overstatement at all because it's just that...my opinion. Just like it's your opinion that Beyonce is the superior artist...I happen to prefer Amerie. It doesn't make you any more accurate than me, and vice versa.
An overstatement would be saying something like...Beyonce's entire solo career wouldn't be what it is without Amerie, considering Beyonce has been biting off of Amerie's style and sound since she first became a solo artist.
I wasn't calling your opinion an "overstatement." That's just my opinion that her music being better than either of theirs is an "overstatement."
Not arguing here, but I'm really interested to know exactly how Beyonce has been biting off of Amerie's style since she first became a solo artist.
Amerie's debut was released in 2002 -- one year before Beyonce's. There was absolutely NOTHING similar about either of those albums. They started looking similar when Amerie released "1 Thing" in 2004, a year after "Crazy In Love" took off and many fans quickly took notice of the video in which Amerie looked strikingly similar to Beyonce.
If anything, I think it's the other way around, which may be partly why Amerie hasn't been successful. We already have Beyonce, so we don't need another one. Their debuts sounded nothing alike; they didn't start sounding similar until Amerie's second album, and that was her own doing. You prefer Amerie. That's fine. I have no right to debate that, but the timeline doesn't lie at all. "1 Thing" already sounded like "Crazy In Love" (which had nothing to do with either of the women; they had the same producer). But when Amerie decided to blatantly rip off Beyonce's look in the video, it became clear which of them was the copycat.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: MrTalented,
Originally posted by Be: It really wasn't up for debate.
I just gave an example of what I felt a true "overstatement" would be.
What part of this post are you not comprehending? I understand you like to argue and debate people; however, I'm not going to devote the energy to answering something that's futile and I really don't know how I can make it any clearer than that. Sorry.
"Hate2LoveU" Fantastic track. Love the production and the sexiness of her voice on this one.
"Paint Me Over" Beautiful production, but displays my main problem with Amerie's singing. She's a good singer when she just sings the words and she knows how to carry a song. But in several parts of this song her pitch is off, and she finds herself getting off-key in certain parts. That's the one thing she still hasn't improved on since her debut. Her voice has gotten loads better, but she has way too many pitch and key problems that she needs to correct. Because of the kind of voice she has, it's very obvious when she gets off key.
"All Roads" This one displays another problem. She tends to sing WAY out of her range sometimes. Case in point, "All Roads."
Originally posted by Classof2006: Amerie is cool with me.Her first album was very good and her second was okay.However I agree with Mr.Talented that she doesnt make better music than Beyonce and Rihanna.Those 2 have cranked out some of the biggest hits this decade.The closet Amerie comes to them is "1 Thing".It is ashame that she doesnt have any Grammys but maybe if she had good promotion she could win one.
If she really is signed to IDJ, then I think that she'll have a good shot at winning a Grammy soon, assuming that she gets the same promotion that some of her more popular labelmates get.
IDJ helped Mariah finally break away from that ridiculous 2-win mark. Rihanna won for a major hit and Ne-Yo won a Grammy. All 3 of them won under IDJ's banner, so maybe Amerie can have the same luck. I personally find her more appealing than Rihanna, but that doesn't matter. She needs to be a hit on her own terms.
Originally posted by Classof2006: Amerie is cool with me.Her first album was very good and her second was okay.However I agree with Mr.Talented that she doesnt make better music than Beyonce and Rihanna.Those 2 have cranked out some of the biggest hits this decade.The closet Amerie comes to them is "1 Thing".It is ashame that she doesnt have any Grammys but maybe if she had good promotion she could win one.
If she really is signed to IDJ, then I think that she'll have a good shot at winning a Grammy soon, assuming that she gets the same promotion that some of her more popular labelmates get.
IDJ helped Mariah finally break away from that ridiculous 2-win mark. Rihanna won for a major hit and Ne-Yo won a Grammy. All 3 of them won under IDJ's banner, so maybe Amerie can have the same luck. I personally find her more appealing than Rihanna, but that doesn't matter. She needs to be a hit on her own terms.
i agree with you mrtalented! maybe IDJ will be good for amerie! i hope eveything goes well for her over there!
i was just thinking, you there's a new trend now electronic/techno/dance r&b thing going on, if she got like stargate, timbaland, or polo da don, do to produce for her, do you think she should do what everybody's doing in terms of the direction the music is going right now..do think she would be more successful that way??? or should she stay away from it? what do you guys think??
Originally posted by Tatiana: i was just thinking, you there's a new trend now electronic/techno/dance r&b thing going on, if she got like stargate, timbaland, or polo da don, do to produce for her, do you think she should do what everybody's doing in terms of the direction the music is going right now..do think she would be more successful that way??? or should she stay away from it? what do you guys think??
I don't think that direction could hurt. If anything, it would put her back into the public conscious again. If she wants to stick around, she's gonna have to grab up the hottest producers and songwriters because, at this point, nobody is even thinking about her.
She needs a team that can help her land some tracks to put her back on the R&B map. After people have started talking about her again, then she could try something different. There's no shortage of great female vocalists in R&B right now (Fantasia, Alicia, Beyonce, Keyshia, Mary, Mariah, etc.) and there's something unique that stands out about each of them. With Amerie not being as talented as those (I'm just being real here), she needs some CRAZY hot material. It worked very well for Rihanna, and she isn't as talented as Amerie. So that shows you what a great team and great material can do for you commercially.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: MrTalented,
