O (Omarion album)

O is the debut studio album by American R&B singer Omarion, released on February 22, 2005 via Epic Records and Sony Urban Music. Despite featuring explicit language, the album doesn't have a Parental Advisory label on the cover. It features three singles: the title track, "Touch" and "I'm Tryna." The album entered at number one on the Billboard 200,[1] and has sold more than 750,000 copies in the United States as of November 2008. O went on to be certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 48th Grammy Awards.[2]

O
An image of a man wearing a black tank top, toque and diamond earrings. Beside him are both the artist's name and album logo title colored in brown.
Studio album by
Omarion
ReleasedFebruary 22, 2005 (2005-02-22)
Recorded2004
Studio
Genre
Length52:31
Label
Producer
Omarion chronology
O
(2005)		 21
(2006)
Singles from O
  1. "O"
    Released: August 17, 2004
  2. "Touch"
    Released: February 11, 2005
  3. "I'm Tryna"
    Released: April 6, 2005

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Common Sense Media[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB[5]

The album received mixed reviews by critics. Billboard contributor Gail Mitchell praised the collaboration between Omarion and his producers for delivering "a healthy helping of repeat-worthy songs."[6] Jem Aswad of Entertainment Weekly said of the record, "[T]he ballads on this solo debut have way too much whipped cream, but there are some surprisingly tough touches of funk and crunk ("Drop That Heater," the Missy-esque "Take It Off")."[5] AllMusic editor Andy Kellman said that the album works best when the tracks are "lighthearted, summery funk ("Never Gonna Let You Go (She's a Keepa)") and have production done by the Neptunes ("Touch") and Rodney Jerkins ("Drop That Heater") instead of being overly sexual, concluding that "Had Omarion been less concerned with street credibility, realizing that it might be better to allow his young fan base to mature along with him, this debut would've been more than satisfactory."[3] Kathi Kamen Goldmark of Common Sense Media also found the content overdone in its musings of sexual imagery, saying that it sounds "more jarring than seductive", concluding that "[T]here's a lot of potential here, if the artist can come up with some better, more subtly sexy material."[4]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 182,000 copies in its first week of release.[1] In its second week, the album dropped to number eight on the chart, selling an additional 77,000 copies.[7] In its third week, the album fell to number 12 on the chart, selling 45,030 more copies. On March 31, 2005, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States. As of April 2012, the album has sold 765,000 copies in the United States.[8]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."I Wish"
Tha Corna Boyz3:57
2."Touch"Pharrell WilliamsThe Neptunes3:23
3."O"
4:40
4."I'm Tryna"
4:22
5."Drop That Heater"
4:53
6."Growing Pains"
Houston4:13
7."Take It Off" (featuring Mila J)
  • Grandberry
  • Cory Bold
  • Stokes
  • Houston
  • Stokes
  • Bold
  • Houston
  • Omarion
3:22
8."Never Gonna Let You Go (She's a Keepa)" (featuring Big Boi)
Allstar3:34
9."I Know"
  • Grandberry
  • Chris "Rawdog" Denson
  • Houston
  • Stokes
Ra.W3:36
10."I'm Gon' Change"
  • Butler
  • Medor
  • Nesmith
Tha Corna Boyz4:19
11."In the Dark"
  • Grandberry
  • Houston
  • Stokes
  • Kenny Washington
  • Kenny "The Wizard" Washington
  • Stokes[a]
  • Houston[a]
  • Omarion[a]
4:17
12."Slow Dancin'"
  • Gil Smith II
  • Derric "dm1" Nimmers
  • Devin "dm2" Nimmers
  • Nate Walton
  • Kowan Paul
  • Smith II
  • Kowan "Q" Paul
4:25
13."Fiening You"
  • Lenton Hutton
  • Kenneth "K Young" Pratt
L. T. Hutton4:10
Notes
  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[b] signifies an additional producer
  • "I Wish" featured background vocals by Omarion and Quintin Aney.
  • "O" featured background vocals by Tank and Eric Dawkins.
  • "I'm Tryna" featured background vocals by Tank and Dawkins.
  • "Drop That Heater" featured background vocals by Omarion and Sean Garrett.
  • "Never Gonna Let You Go (She's a Keepa)" featured background vocals by Charles "Charlie" Crawford and Jamie Vick.
  • "I'm Gon' Change" featured background vocals by Omarion, One Chance and Pierre Medor.
Sample credits
  • "Never Gonna Let You Go (She's a Keepa)" contains a replay of "Electric Frog (Part II)" as written by Richard Westfield, George Brown, Robert Bell, Ronald Bell, Claydes Smith and Robert Mickens.

Personnel

Adapted from the O media notes.[9]

  • Joel Campbell – bass, keyboard
  • Carey Drisdom – bass
  • Bryan Tate – trumpet
  • Ryan Tate – trombone
  • Percy Richard, Omarion Grandberry, Marques Houston, Henley Regisford Jr., Chris Stokes – executive producers
  • Pharrell, Darkchild, Chris Stokes, Tank, The Underdogs, Sean Garrett, Corna Boyz, AllStar, L.T. Hutton, Paul "Scooby" Smith – producers
  • Sean Garrett, Pierre Medor – vocal producers
  • Quintin Aney, Durrell Babbs, Charles "Charlie" Crawford, Eric Dawkins, One Chance, Sean Garrett, Pierre Medor – vocal assistance
  • David Ashton, Andrew Coleman, Brian Garten, Jaymz Hardy Martin III, Dabling Harward, Sam Lobue II, Chris 'TEK' O'Ryan, Angelo Quaglia, Dave Russell, Brian Summer, Wassim Zreik – engineers
  • Kevin Mahoney – assistant engineer
  • Kevin "KD" Davis, Jean-Marie Horvat, Dave Russell, Dexter Simmons, Phil Tan – mixing
  • Justin Shtuntz, Rob Skipworth – mixing assistance
  • Herb Powers – mastering
  • Ellen To – art direction
  • Kimo Easterwood, Jonathan Mannion, Joaquin Palting – photography

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[16] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. Whitmire, Margo (March 2, 2005). "'O' Puts Omarion On Top". Billboard. Retrieved October 28, 2007.
  2. Grein, Paul. "Chart Watch Extra: What A Turkey! The 25 Worst-Selling #1 Albums" Archived December 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Yahoo! Music. November 21, 2008.
  3. Kellman, Andy. "O – Omarion". AllMusic. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  4. Goldmark, Kathi Kamen. "O Music Review". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  5. Aswad, Jem (March 14, 2005). "O Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  6. Mitchell, Gail (March 5, 2005). "'O' Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 5, 2005. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  7. Whitmire, Margo (March 9, 2005). "50 Cent Massacres Album Chart Competition". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  8. "Rick Ross Has 'Clinical Direction' To New Signings, Says Def Jam President". Billboard. May 4, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  9. O (booklet). Omarion. Epic. Sony Urban Music. 2005. EK 92818.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 208.
  11. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  12. "Omarion Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  13. "Omarion Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  14. "Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums – 2005". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  15. "Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – 2005". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  16. "American album certifications – Omarion – O". Recording Industry Association of America.
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