Alone at Prom is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer Tory Lanez. It was released on December 10,2021,through his independent label One Umbrella.[3] The album's concept is built around '80s music,being inspired to that era of music and aesthetics.[4]
The album was supported by four singles:"Lady of Namek","'87 Stingray","Enchanted Waterfall",and "Hurts Me".[5] The album's fourth track,"The Color Violet",became a sleeper hit after going viral on TikTok,peaking at 63 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[6]
On November 17,2023,the deluxe edition of the album was released,featuring 10 additional tracks.[7] Following the deluxe's release,Alone at Prom peaked at number 28 on the Billboard 200,marking its peak on the chart.[8]
Background
The album was first announced through the singer’s Instagram account when he revealed that he was working on an "80s capsule" in late 2020,sharing snippets of the project during the last months of 2020 and throughout 2021.[9]Alone at Prom was officially announced,along with its title,in September 2021. Lanez cited as musical inspirations for the project artists such as Hall &Oates,Toto,Michael Jackson and Rick James.[10]
The project was visually accompanied by the creation of an alter ego named Ashton Rain. The singer explained the character's creation saying:"The music was so retro and nostalgic that the character had to be created and authenticated through film,picture and music video."[10]
In 2022,Tory Lanez was arrested for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion,being sentenced to ten years in prison. On September 25,2023,he shared a voicemail update from prison,announcing the deluxe re-release of his 2021 album Alone at Prom,marking his first official release following his incarceration.[11]
Composition
According to AllMusic,Alone at Prom's musical composition borrows from "early- to mid-'80s pop driven by synthesizers".[1]Our Generation Music found its production to be "electro-inspired",also describing the album as R&B and bubblegum pop.[2] Lanez stated that with Alone at Prom he wanted to create "a full catalog now and later of pure pop,R&B,alternative and 80s rock music".[10]
Critical reception
Mason Kirby of Our Generation Music said,"Alone at Prom's remarkable retro approach not only intertwines harmoniously sung melodies with ethereal,electro-inspired production,but ascends Tory to a higher level than ever before."[12] Andy Kellman of AllMusic defined the album "a soundtrack to idly browsing racks of distressed jeans",finding its musicality to be "in the vein of the Weeknd's After Hours".[1]
Copyright infringements
In December 2021,singer Madonna expressed her thoughts about the track "Pluto's Last Comet",alleging that Lanez plagiarized her 1985 single "Into the Groove". After she first made the allegations in an Instagram comment on Tory Lanez' page,Madonna explained her position further to Rolling Stone,saying:"I am tired of being taken advantage of and I mean business".[13]
According to Rolling Stone,the estate of the late singer George Michael and his former Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley have accused Lanez of using their song "Careless Whisper" without permission for his track "Enchanted Waterfall". In a statement,the George Michael estate and Ridgeley,who co-wrote the 1984 song with Michael,said that they had previously denied Lanez' request to sample the song for his album. Following the accusation,"Enchanted Waterfall" was removed from Spotify,but remained available on other platforms like Apple Music and Tidal.[14]
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