3121

Last updated

3121
Prince - 3121.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 21, 2006
RecordedNovember 2004 – early 2006 [1]
Studio
Genre
Length53:42
Label NPG, Universal
Producer Prince
Prince chronology
The Slaughterhouse
(2004)
3121
(2006)
Ultimate Prince
(2006)
Singles from 3121
  1. "Te Amo Corazón"
    Released: December 20, 2005
  2. "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed"
    Released: January 2006
  3. "Black Sweat"
    Released: February 7, 2006
  4. "Fury"
    Released: June 27, 2006
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 69/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Entertainment Weekly C+ [5]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Newsday A [7]
Pitchfork 6.0/10 [8]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Spin B [10]
Stylus Magazine A− [11]
The Village Voice A− [12]

3121 (pronounced "thirty-one twenty-one") is the thirty-first studio album by American musician Prince. Released on March 21, 2006 (3/21) by NPG Records and distributed, under a "one-album deal", by Universal Music, the album reinforced Prince's big comeback after the critical success of Musicology (2004). The only Prince album ever to debut atop the Billboard 200 during his lifetime, with over 180,000 copies sold in its first week, [13] it knocked the soundtrack for High School Musical off the top spot and became Prince's first number one album since Batman in 1989, [14] eventually being certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). [15]

Contents

Album information

The album's first single, "Te Amo Corazón", was released in the United States on December 13, 2005; the second single, "Black Sweat", was released on February 2, 2006. [16]

The album title refers to Prince's rental home at 3121 Antelo Rd, Los Angeles. [17] Later homes rented by Prince were colloquially referred to as "3121", including a home owned by professional basketball player Carlos Boozer. [18]

Album sessions started in November 2004 with the recording of the song "3121" at Paisley Park with Michael Bland and Sonny T. [19]

A limited number of albums included "purple tickets", whose finders were flown in from Europe, Asia, Mexico and the US to attend a semi-private performance (along with a long list of celebrities) at Prince's home in Los Angeles. [20]

Tickets for Prince's The Earth Tour in 2007 at London's O2 Arena were priced at £31.21, echoing the title of this album. [21]

Track listing

All tracks are written and produced by Prince.

3121 track listing
No.TitleLength
1."3121"4:31
2."Lolita"4:06
3."Te Amo Corazón"3:35
4."Black Sweat"3:12
5."Incense and Candles"4:04
6."Love"5:45
7."Satisfied"2:50
8."Fury"4:02
9."The Word"4:11
10."Beautiful, Loved and Blessed" (featuring Támar)5:43
11."The Dance"5:20
12."Get On the Boat"6:18

Personnel

Technical

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for 3121
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [47] Gold15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [48] Silver60,000^
United States (RIAA) [49] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. "Album: 3121 - Prince Vault". Princevault.com. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
  2. "3121 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic . Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Prince: 3121 > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  4. Catucci, Nick (March 21, 2006). "The purple sex machine comes to reclaim pop prominence". Blender. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  5. Fiore, Raymond (March 20, 2006). "3121 (2006): Prince". Entertainment Weekly . Time. ISSN   1049-0434. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  6. Cromelin, Richard (March 19, 2006). "The doves can stop crying now". Los Angeles Times . ISSN   0458-3035. OCLC   3638237 . Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  7. Gamboa, Glenn (March 20, 2006). "Backstage Pass: Prince, "3121"". Newsday . Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  8. Tangari, Joe (March 20, 2006). "Prince: 3121". Pitchfork . Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  9. Christgau, Robert (April 6, 2006). "Prince's New Sensation". Rolling Stone . Wenner Media. ISSN   0035-791X . Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  10. Hermes, Will (May 2, 2006). "Prince: 3121". Spin. Archived from the original on May 17, 2006. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  11. Inskeep, Thomas (March 31, 2006). "Prince: 3121". Stylus . Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  12. Christgau, Robert (May 2, 2006). "Consumer Guide: Dear Mr. President". The Village Voice . Retrieved July 2, 2020 via robertchristgau.com.
  13. Jason Draper (November 2016). Prince: Life and Times: Revised and Updated Edition. Book Sales. pp. 173–. ISBN   978-0-7858-3497-7.
  14. Orloff, Brian (March 29, 2006). "Prince's "3121" Tops the Chart". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  15. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  16. "3121". Prince Vault. August 22, 2011. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  17. Matt Thorne (October 2, 2012). Prince. Faber & Faber. pp. 8–. ISBN   978-0-571-27326-3.
  18. Richardson, Brenda. "For $30 Million, The Los Angeles Mansion That Prince Painted Purple Could Be Yours". Forbes.
  19. Amendola, Billy (August 2008). "Michael Bland Interview". Modern Drummer .
  20. Jason Draper (November 2016). Prince: Life and Times: Revised and Updated Edition. Book Sales. pp. 171–. ISBN   978-0-7858-3497-7.
  21. "Prince 21 Nights at the O2 in London - 10 years on from the greatest show on Planet Earth". August 3, 2017.
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  36. "Swisscharts.com – Prince – 3121". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
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  39. "Prince Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
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  44. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2006". hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  45. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
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  47. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('3121')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  48. "British album certifications – Prince – 3121". British Phonographic Industry.
  49. "American album certifications – Prince – 3121". Recording Industry Association of America.