Colby O

Last updated
Colby O
Colby O album.jpg
Studio album by
Colby O'Donis
ReleasedSeptember 16, 2008 (2008-09-16)
Recorded2007–08
Studio
  • Konkast Studios (Atlanta)
  • Future Icon Studios (West Hollywood)
  • Record Plant (Los Angeles)
  • Triangle Sound Studios (Atlanta)
  • For O'Reel Studios (Beverly Hills)
Genre Pop, R&B, electropop
Length54:56
Label Kon Live, Geffen
Producer
Singles from Colby O
  1. "What You Got"
    Released: February 26, 2008
  2. "Don't Turn Back"
    Released: June 24, 2008
  3. "Let You Go"
    Released: February 17, 2009

Colby O is the debut and only studio album by American singer Colby O'Donis. It was released on September 16, 2008 through Akon's record label Kon Live. The album was produced by Akon, O'Donis, Clinton Sparks, Giorgio Tuinfort, T-Pain, The-Dream and Tricky Stewart; as well the record features guest appearances from Akon, Lil Romeo, Paul Wall and T-Pain. The album garnered mixed reviews from critics. Colby O debuted at numbers 14 and 41 on both the US Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts respectively, and spawned three singles: "What You Got", "Don't Turn Back" and "Let You Go".

Contents

Background

Akon served as executive producer and co-wrote 10 tracks with O'Donis (Colby wrote or co-wrote 14 of the 15), and produced eight tracks, including "What You Got." O'Donis produced another four and together they produced one. In an interview, O'Donis mentioned to have worked with many African producers including South African producer SpineCracker. O'Donis commented on the writing process as "writing my own songs is extremely important to me. I feel that I've gone through so much in my life and there's no better way of showing the real you than through music. It's a way for me and my fans to connect through the same struggles. There's so much more of me that I haven't revealed and music is my way of letting people know who I am." [1] According to O'Donis, he and Akon had recorded around forty songs for the album and "it was hard to get it down to a manageable number." [2] O'Donis got inspirations from "girls" and "life in general, past experiences and feelings I've gone through." [3]

Colby O includes the Top 40 song "What You Got" featuring Akon and other singles "Don't Turn Back" [4] and "Let You Go". [5] Other guest appearances include T-Pain, Lil Romeo, and Paul Wall. In addition, the O'Donis plays guitar on the album, as well as bass, drums, percussion, synthesizer and keyboards. [6] According to Colby, his album took three years to make because he wanted every song to be a single. [7] As of December 2008, Colby O has sold 142,751 copies.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
DJBoothStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]

AllMusic's David Jeffries felt that Akon and O'Donis "overstretched" on the "slick R&B" production, critiqued that the latter's vocal delivery over said "well executed but rarely memorable" beats didn't challenge him, and the track listing should've been cut to ten, highlighting "She Wanna Go" and "Under My Nose" as examples. He concluded by gauging the tween audience's reaction to the record: "[T]hey'll find Colby's swagger, his slang dropping, and his smooth voice all very exciting and his hair gel perfectly applied. It's hard to ask for more from such fluff so expect the usual, up to and including the T-Pain guest shot." [8] DJBooth's Nathan Slavik felt that O'Donis' soft vocals worked better on tracks with more "muted production" like "Let You Go", "Under My Nose" and "Follow You" than on "Take You Away" and "The Difference" where they barely register emotion, concluding that "even after listening to Colby O we don't really know who Colby O'Donis is, other than the man filling out the pop/r&b position in Akon's roster. Here's hoping that O'Donis spends until the next album finding his own voice, because if he does we might have a special on our hands." [9]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."What You Got" (featuring Akon) Aliaune Thiam, Giorgio Tuinfort
4:03
2."Sophisticated Bad Girl" Colby Colon, Kamau Georges, Clinton Sparks, Thiam
  • Akon
  • Sparks (co.)
  • Georges (co.)
4:03
3."She Wanna Go" (featuring Paul Wall)Colon, Paul Slayton, Thiam
  • Akon
  • O'Donis
3:38
4."Let You Go"Colon, Thiam, Tuinfort
  • Akon
  • Tuinfort (co.)
3:35
5."Don't Turn Back"Colon, Georges, Sparks, Thiam
  • Akon
  • Sparks (co.)
  • Georges (co.)
4:07
6."Under My Nose"Colon, Thiam, Tuinfort
  • Akon
  • Tuinfort (co.)
3:43
7."Take You Away" (featuring Lil' Romeo)Colon, Percy Miller, Jr. O'Donis3:34
8."Natural High" (featuring T-Pain)Colon, David Balfour, Frank Romano, Thiam, Faheem Najm
  • Akon
  • T-Pain
3:19
9."Saved You Money"ColonO'Donis3:03
10."Thinking About Ya"Colon, Derrund Moore, Sparks, Thiam
  • Akon
  • Sparks (co.)
  • Tombstone (co.)
3:49
11."Tell Me This"Colon, Teamer
  • O'Donis
  • Alex Teamer (co.)
3:53
12."Game for You"Colon, Kay-Ta Matsuno
  • O'Donis
  • Matsuno
3:24
13."Follow You"Colon, Moore, Sparks, Thiam
  • Akon
  • Sparks (co.)
  • Tombstone (co.)
3:33
14."The Difference"Colon, Christopher Stewart, Terius Nash, James Bunton, Corron Ty Cole
4:06
15."Hustle Man"Colon, Sigfredo Colon, ThiamAkon3:06
Bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."What You Got (Spanish Version)" (featuring Akon)C. Colon, A. Thiam, G. Tuinfort4:07
17."What You Got (Acoustic)" (featuring Akon)A. Thiam, G. Tuinfort4:32

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [10]

Technical

Musicians

Imagery

Charts

Chart (2008)Peak
position
US Billboard 200 [11] 41
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [12] 14

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References

  1. ↑ Nolasco, Stephanie (March 10, 2009). "Q&A Sessions: Colby O' Donis". NocheLatina. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Colby O'Donis Biography". Artist Direct. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Osegueda, Elisa. "Colby O'Donis Interview - Grammy Nominee Makes Strides". Splash. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Colby O'Donis - Don't Turn Back". Youtube.
  5. ↑ "Colby O'Donis "Let You Go" Music Video Directed By Kel Mitchell". YouTube. 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
  6. ↑ "Colby O'Donis Set to Issue Debut Album Colby O". Universal Music Group. August 27, 2008. Archived from the original on February 15, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2008.
  7. ↑ Cheung, Nadine (September 16, 2008). "About to Pop: Colby O'Donis". PopEater . Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
  8. 1 2 Jeffries, David. "Colby O - Colby O'Donis". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  9. 1 2 Slavik, Nathan (September 25, 2008). "Colby O'Donis - Colby O". DJBooth. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  10. ↑ Colby O (booklet). Colby O'Donis. Kon Live, Geffen. 2008. B001129002.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ↑ "Colby O'Donis Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Colby O'Donis Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
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