LeToya (album)
LeToya is the debut studio album by American R&B singer and former Destiny's Child member LeToya Luckett, released by Capitol Records on July 25, 2006 in the United States. The album spawned three singles: "Torn", "She Don't" and "Obvious". Besides the officially released singles, LeToya's debut album also includes the promo singles, "U Got What I Need" and "All Eyes On Me". LeToya co-wrote 10 out of the 14 tracks. The album was the first solo release from LeToya following her departure from her former group, Destiny's Child, of which she was a founding member.
LeToya | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 25, 2006 | |||
Recorded | 2003–2006 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 52:18 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer |
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LeToya chronology | ||||
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Singles from LeToya | ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Blender Magazine | [3] |
Daily Record | [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | (favorable)[5] |
The Guardian | [6] |
Prefix Magazine | [7] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
SPIN | [9] |
Stylus Magazine | [10] |
The Phoenix | [11] |
The album garnered mostly positive reception from music critics, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200.[12] It was certified Platinum in December 2006.
Production
LeToya had "bottled up so many things, so many emotions, so many ideas" accumulated in many years away from the music world (as her claims on the Intro song "too much to tell ya"). Things like her dismissal from Destiny's Child, the deception with the shortly-formed Anjel and subsequent search for a new record deal has apparently made her a stronger person. Finally with a record deal, LeToya entered in studios recording songs for what would be her debut album. Finally about two years making, plans to the release the album came out- surprisingly becoming a number one album through the USA. Letoya worked with producers Dave Young, Scott Storch, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan Michael Cox, Just Blaze, Johnta Austin, Teddy Bishop, Flash Technology and JR Rotem. She also worked with artists such as Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Mike Jones and Rick Ross.
Commercial performance
LeToya debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart,[12] with first week sales of 165,000 copies.[13][14] On August 31, 2006, LeToya was certified Gold by the RIAA and Platinum on December 11, 2006.[15] As of November 21, 2008, the album has sold 529,000 in the US.[16][17]
The first promotional single from the album was "U Got What I Need", with non-commercial purpose, but "All Eyes on Me", the second promotional single, is claimed as her "original" first promo single, as this is the first track that showcased her as a solo artist. "Torn", the first official single from the album, was released in March 2006 and soon became a hit, having a high airplay and peaking at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[18] "Torn" became a hit on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at number two.[17] It also entered the top twenty on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Adult R&B charts. In the same year, the song was finally released worldwide, namely the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia and became a moderate worldwide success. "Torn" had one of its biggest successes on BET's 106 & Park. It reached number one in eleven days and stayed there for twenty-five days straight. It remained on the countdown for sixty-five days.
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" |
| Gavin Luckett | 0:56 |
2. | "U Got What I Need" |
| Just Blaze | 3:45 |
3. | "So Special" |
| Teddy Bishop | 3:30 |
4. | "Torn" |
| Teddy Bishop | 4:22 |
5. | "What Love Can Do" |
| The CornaBoyz | 3:47 |
6. | "She Don't" |
| Walter "Lil' Walt" Milsap III | 4:04 |
7. | "Tear da Club Up (H-Town Version)" (featuring Bun B & Jazze Pha) |
|
| 3:49 |
8. | "All Eyes on Me" (featuring Paul Wall) |
| J. R. Rotem | 3:34 |
9. | "Hey Fella" (featuring Slim Thug) |
| Flash Technology | 3:53 |
10. | "Gangsta Grillz" (featuring Mike Jones & Killa Kyleon) |
| Terry "T. A." Allen | 3:50 |
11. | "Obvious" |
|
| 3:55 |
12. | "I'm Good" | Scott Storch | 3:24 | |
13. | "This Song" |
|
| 3:16 |
14. | "Outro" |
|
| 1:37 |
15. | "Torn (So So Def Remix)" (featuring Mike Jones & Rick Ross) |
|
| 4:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
16. | "No More" |
| 4:06 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
16. | "A Day in the Life of LeToya" (enhanced video) | |
17. | "Torn" (music video) |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
16. | "Torn" (music video) | |
17. | "She Don't" (music video) | |
18. | "LeToya in Japan" (special footage) | 7:00 |
Sample credits
- "U Got What I Need" contains a sample of Love Unlimited's "Walking In The Rain (With The One I Love)".
- "Torn" contains a sample of The Stylistics's 1971 classic "You Are Everything".
- "She Don't" contains a sample of The Spinners's "We Belong Together" and samples from The Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye".
- "All Eyes on Me" contains a sample of Sweet Charity's "Hey, Big Spender".
- "Obvious" contains interpolations from "Break Hard, Dude" by AC/DC and samples Romeo Miller "Maybe".
- "This Song" contains interpolations from Curtis Mayfied's "Eddie, You Should Know Better".
- "Outro" contains an interpolations from Just A Prayer by Yolanda Adams and sample of Michael Jackson's 1982 "P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)".
Personnel
- Executive producers: LeToya Luckett; Carl "Mister C" Cole; Terry Ross
- Mixing: Manny Marroquin (tracks 1, 6, 8–12, 14); Dave Russell (5); Kevin "KD" Davis (7); Jean-Marie Horvat (2, 3, 4); Jermaine Dupri (13, 15); Phil Tan (13, 15); Josh Houghkirk (assistant – 15)
- Recording Engineers: Phil Tan (track 15); Jermaine Dupri (15); Danny Cheung (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 14, additional music – 2, 11, 12), Walter Millsap (additional music – 6), Dave Lopez (6); Terrence Cash (10), Dave Ashton (8); Ryan West (2), Tadd Mingo (assistant – 15); Pierre Medor of Tha Corna Boys (5); Sam Thomas (11); Leslie Brathwaite (7); John Horesco IV (13, 15); Conrad Golding (12)
- Additional vocals from: Candice Nelson (additional background vocals- 6); Dave Young (additional vocals- 11)
- Art directions: Eric Roinestad
- Design: Eric Roinestad
- Photography: Dusan Reljin
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
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Release history
Region | Date | Edition | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | July 4, 2006 | Standard | EMI Japan | |
United States | July 25, 2006 | Capitol | ||
Canada | August 15, 2006 | EMI Music | ||
Australia | September 16, 2006 | |||
Europe | October 2, 2006 | |||
Puerto Rico | December 24, 2006 | |||
Japan | February 7, 2007 | Special | EMI Japan |
References
- "No More - Single by LeToya". iTunes Store (US). Apple Music inc. January 2006. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
- Allmusic review
- Blender Magazine review
- Daily Record review
- Fiore, Raymond (July 21, 2006). "Music Review: LeToya". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- The Guardian review
- Prefix Magazine review
- Archived Rolling Stone review
- SPIN review Archived July 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- Stylus Magazine review
- The Phoenix review
- "LeToya Powers Right To No. 1 On Billboard 200". billboard.com. Retrieved February 10, 2006.
- Harris, Chris (2 August 2006). "PHARRELL LOSES BILLBOARD BATTLE TO LETOYA AND NOW 22". mtv.com. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- Boucher, Geoff (3 August 2006). "Luckett no longer torn from chart success". LA Times. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- Grein, Paul (November 21, 2008). "Chart Watch Extra: What A Turkey! The 25 Worst-Selling #1 Albums". Yahoo. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
- Mitchell, Gail (18 April 2009). "LeToya ends waiting game with new album". Reuters. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- "Artist Chart History – LeToya". billboard.com. Retrieved February 10, 2006.
- "ラトーヤ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
- "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
- "LeToya Luckett Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
- "LeToya Luckett Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
- "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2020.