Christina Milian (album)

Following her collaboration with Ja Rule, Milian signed a deal with Island Def Jam Music Group in 2000.[2] Milian traveled to Sweden and recorded her self-titled debut album,[3] working with the popular producers of that time.[4] Milian collaborated with Bloodshy & Avant, Jermaine Dupri, Focus, Irv Gotti, Mark Hill, Montell Jordan and Evan Rogers.[5] Soren Baker of the Los Angeles Times later suggested that instead of launching her career off the success of "Between Me and You", and by recording in Sweden without the "platinum production touch" of Irv Gotti, the owner of The Inc. Records, the momentum created by the song had evaporated.[3] Milian received writing credit for eleven of the twelve songs on the album.[5] It was during the production of the album that Milian had first started to write songs, and wrote about things that she could relate to at the time.[6]

Milian described the sound of the album as "hip hop under-toned with nice, pop melodies",[7] and later said the genre of the album was "bubble-gum pop".[8] She described lead single "AM to PM" as a "very pop" and "fun, party/club song".[7][9] The genre of the album was described by one critic as "light-hearted, energetic R&B pop tunes".[10] Critics compared Milian to Janet Jackson and Aaliyah.[10] Sonically, the album was said to stick "rigidly to the sherbert-snorting pop formula of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera".[11] One reviewer compared Milian to other singers of her generation, and found that "while Spears has gone raunchy with 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll', Christina Aguilera down and dirty on Stripped, and even clean-cut Mandy Moore has brashly cut her hair Felicity-style, Milian still seems young and real." The critic also compared Milian to Beyoncé Knowles, "while Beyonce is shaking her bootylicious body like crazy on 'Crazy In Love', Milian is simply enjoying becoming a young star."[12]

Many live instruments were used during the album's production, especially violin. Milian named "You Make Me Laugh" one of her favorite songs on the album. It was the first song written by Milian for the album, and she worked with Bloodshy for the song's production.[7] The album's second and final single, "When You Look at Me", was written by Milian. Using her school days as the inspiration for the song, Milian said that "when I was growing up, I found people were always trying to label me. The first day of school it would be like 'Here comes this girl all dressed up. She thinks she's all that' and they didn't even know me. The message behind 'When You Look At Me' is never judge a book by its cover."[13] Milian asked Ja Rule to appear on her album, however she did not want to put him "on just any song", and wanted to make sure it was the right song for him.[7] Milian hoped Ja Rule would appear on the track "A Girl Like Me", but he ended up rapping on "Get Away".[7] Milian co-wrote the track "Twitch" with R&B singer Montell Jordan, which explains that men have a certain twitch of their shoulders whenever they tell lies.[10]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Dawn	Positive[12]
entertainment.ie	[10]
iafrica.com	[14]
NME	7/10[11]

The album received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Imran Ahmed of the New Musical Express enjoyed "genius single 'AM to PM'", and praised the tracks "Got to Have You" and "When You Look at Me". Ahmed guessed that "beneath the froth, there's a certain depth of soul" in Milian, and thought "Get Away" had similar excellent results to her previous collaboration with Ja Rule, "Between Me and You". The reviewer also commended the lyrics of "Twitch", which he thought was "remarkable for being what may be the first ever song about someone with a facial tic". Ahmed was impressed that alongside the impressive production credit list, it was "still Milian's name that tops the list of executive producers", and predicted, "genius can't be more than a few albums away".[11] Contrastingly, Andrew Lynch of entertainment.ie described the album as "relentlessly ordinary", and suggested that Milian needed original ideas. The reviewer felt that apart from "AM to PM" and "You Make Me Laugh" there was nothing above the average. Lynch said that if Milian "really wants to compete with the big girls, she badly needs to spice up her tired formula."[10]

A reviewer for Dawn commended the album for being "full of danceable, likeable tracks, and even the occasional, successful ballad like 'Until I Get Over You'". The reviewer called the album to be "a refreshing change with its charming lyrics and teen outlook". "AM to PM" was said to hint at "quite a lot of talent", and was praised for its "slick lyrics, a fast pace, and a phat vibe". The reviewer also praised "When You Look at Me", "Get Away", and "Got to Have You".[12] Carmen Meyer of iafrica.com found the "smooth, groovy and refreshing" album to be filled "with light-hearted and catchy tracks, which can be enjoyed either in a club, your car or even when chilling at home." She commented on the album's tracks, which ranged from "melodic and heart-rending ballads to funky dance beats that are bound to keep you moving". Meyer praised the "infectious" "AM to PM", the "exciting" "A Girl Like Me", and "Till I Get Over You", which is "guaranteed to pull at your heartstrings and make you want to pull your loved ones closer".[14]

The album was released on 21 January 2002 in the United Kingdom.[15] It peaked at number 23 in the UK, selling a total of 101,986 copies, and achieved gold certification.[16][17] Internationally, the album peaked at number 36 in the Netherlands, 98 in Sweden, and 138 in France.[18] The release date in the US was scheduled for September 25, 2001, yet the September 11 attacks occurred and the release date was postponed,[19] eventually released in the region on August 27, 2002.[20] The album's lead single, "AM to PM", peaked at number three in the UK, the top five in Denmark, the top 10 in the Netherlands, and the top 30 in Australia and the US Billboard Hot 100.[21][22] The album's second and final single, "When You Look at Me", reached number three in the UK and in the Netherlands,[21] the top 10 in Australia, and the top 20 in Denmark and France.[23] A music video for the track "Get Away" was filmed in Paris, although it was not officially released as a single.[24] To promote the album, Milian toured with NSYNC, serving as the opening act.[20] Band member JC Chasez said, "she was like the cute, spunky kid sister. Not everyone could take Justin's practical jokes or my teasing."[2]

Milian believed that the public expected "a certain thing" from her when she first appeared with Ja Rule, however she wanted to record the type of music she was signed to do. She said that "AM to PM" was a "cool record", but it was not what the public expected.[3] Milian felt that her record label was confused as to how they wanted her image to be portrayed; one second she was young and singing "AM to PM", and next she was a grown woman singing "Get Away". She realized that the change confused the audience, and that "nobody was buying it".[4] To explain that she was serious about her musical career, Milian approached the executives at Island Def Jam, and "cussed them all out", telling them that they were not listening to her.[3]

Notes

• ^{^a} denotes co-producer