These are the albums that reached number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in 2006.
Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, 1970s soul, and 1980s hip hop, Badu became associated with the neo soul subgenre in the 1990s and 2000s along with artists such as D'Angelo and Maxwell. She has been called the Queen of Neo soul. Badu's career began after she opened a show for D'Angelo in 1994 in Fort Worth; record label executive Kedar Massenburg was highly impressed with her performance and signed her to Kedar Entertainment. Her first album, Baduizm, was released in February 1997. It spawned four singles: "On & On", "Appletree", "Next Lifetime" and "Otherside of the Game". The album was certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her first live album, Live, was released in November 1997 and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA.
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and philanthropist. Her career began in 1991 when she was signed to Uptown Records. She went on to release 13 studio albums, eight of which have achieved multi-platinum worldwide sales. Blige has sold 100 million records worldwide. Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, four American Music Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards and has also received three Golden Globe Award nominations, including one for her supporting role in the film Mudbound (2017) and another for its original song "Mighty River". Furthermore, she also received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song, becoming the first person nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year.
Monica Denise Arnold is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, she began performing as a child and became part of a traveling gospel choir at the age of ten. Monica rose to prominence after she signed with Rowdy Records in 1993 and released her debut album Miss Thang two years later. She followed it with a series of successful albums, including the global bestseller The Boy Is Mine (1998) as well as the number-one albums After the Storm (2003), The Makings of Me (2006) and Still Standing (2010). Throughout her career, several of Monica's singles became number-one hits on the pop and R&B charts, including "Before You Walk Out of My Life", "Don't Take It Personal ", "Like This and Like That", "The Boy Is Mine", "The First Night", "Angel of Mine", "So Gone", and "Everything to Me".
New jack swing, new jack or swingbeat is a fusion genre that fuses the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop with the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was most popular from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. Its influence, along with hip hop, seeped into pop culture and was the definitive sound of the New York club scene.
Toni Michele Braxton is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, actress, and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide as of 2020, including 41 million albums, and is one of the highest-selling female R&B artists in history. Braxton has won seven Grammy Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, seven American Music Awards, and numerous other accolades. In 2011, Braxton was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. In 2017 she was honored with the Legend Award at the Soul Train Music Awards.
Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill is a Canadian singer, songwriter, producer, and actress. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development deal with Warner Bros. Records, she was asked by veteran producer Quincy Jones to appear on his album Q's Jook Joint (1995), earning her Grammy Award nominations for their collaboration on "You Put a Move on My Heart" and "Slow Jams." Her self-titled debut album was released in 1998 and followed by a series of successful albums with Elektra Records, including A Nu Day (2000) and More (2004). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including "So Into You", "Stranger in My House" and "Imagination" as well as her collaborations "Into You", "Missing You" and "Spend My Life with You".
Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Raised in Columbus, Georgia, he later relocated to New Jersey and he signed a record deal with Polygram Records in 1992. He rose to prominence after releasing his debut album Everything the following year. He followed it with a series of successful albums under Jive Records, including All That I Am (1997), the international bestseller My Name Is Joe (2000) as well as the multi-certified albums Better Days (2001) and And Then... (2003). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including the number-one hit "Stutter", the top ten entries "All the Things ", "Don't Wanna Be a Player", and "I Wanna Know" as well as his collaborations "Faded Pictures", "Thank God I Found You" and "Still Not a Player".
Deborah Cox is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before becoming a professional backing vocalist for Celine Dion. In 1994, Cox relocated to the United States and was signed to Arista Records by Clive Davis, releasing her self-titled debut album the following year. Her second studio album, One Wish (1998), was certified platinum in the United States. It was marked by the commercial success of the pop crossover single "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here", which would become her most successful entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number two and remaining there for eight consecutive weeks. Cox signed with J Records for her third studio album The Morning After (2002), which saw moderate commercial success.
Ciara Princess Wilson is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and model. Born in Fort Hood, Texas, she traveled around the world during her childhood, eventually moving to Atlanta, Georgia, where she joined the girl group Hearsay. She later signed a publishing deal and befriended producer Jazze Pha, who recorded demos that would appear on her debut album. With his help, Ciara signed a record deal with LaFace Records.
Jagged Edge is an American R&B group from Atlanta, Georgia. The group, initially signed to record producer Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings, is best known for their string of hit singles including "Let's Get Married" and "Where the Party At", most of which were produced by Dupri. The group's members include identical twin lead singers Brian and Brandon Casey as well as Richard Wingo and Kyle Norman. The group’s debut album, A Jagged Era (1997), performed poorly at the time of its release, however their subsequent albums until 2007 all became commercial successes—debuting within the top 10 of the Billboard 200.
LeToya Nicole Luckett is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a founding member of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. As a member of Destiny's Child, she achieved four US Top 10 hit singles, "No, No, No", "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Say My Name" and "Jumpin', Jumpin'", and won two Grammy Awards. In the 2000s, she began her solo career after leaving the group and signing a record deal with Capitol Records. Her solo debut album, LeToya (2006), debuted at number-one U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA, that same year.
Shaffer Chimere Smith, better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, dancer, and television judge. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned his 2004 hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario. The single's successful release in the United States prompted an informal meeting between Ne-Yo and Def Jam's label head and the signing of a recording contract.
Keyshia Myeshia Cole is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television producer. She was born in Oakland, California. Her career began when she met MC Hammer at the age of 12, and later met rapper Tupac Shakur. At the age of 15, she moved to Los Angeles and was later introduced to A&M Records. She released her debut album, The Way It Is (2005), which spawned five singles: "Never", "I Changed My Mind", "(I Just Want It) To Be Over", "I Should Have Cheated", and "Love". It was certified gold within 17 weeks, and then platinum just eight weeks later. The album stayed on the charts for over a year, selling over 1.6 million copies.
Curtain Call: The Hits is the first greatest hits album by American rapper Eminem. It was released on December 6, 2005, under Aftermath Entertainment, Shady Records, and Interscope Records. The album collects Eminem's most popular singles, as well as four new songs, including a live version of "Stan", featuring English singer and songwriter Elton John from the 43rd Grammy Awards, plus the songs "Fack", "When I'm Gone" and "Shake That" featuring Nate Dogg.
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop and electronic music.
American singer Beyoncé has released six studio albums, five live albums, three compilation albums, five EPs, one soundtrack album, two karaoke albums, and 80 singles. She has sold over 118 million records as a solo artist, and a further 60 million with Destiny's Child, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recognized her as the Top Certified Artist of the 2000s decade. As of June 2016, in the United States, Beyoncé has sold 17.2 million albums as a solo artist, and a further 17 million albums as part of Destiny's Child.
Chris Brown is the self-titled debut studio album by American singer Chris Brown. It was released on November 29, 2005 through Jive Records. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Scott Storch, Cool & Dre, Oak Felder, Bryan-Michael Cox, Bryan-Michael Cox and The Underdogs among others. The album also features guest appearances by Juelz Santana, Lil Wayne, Bow Wow and Jermaine Dupri.
B'Day is the second studio album by American singer Beyoncé. It was released to coincide with her twenty-fifth birthday on September 4, 2006 in various countries and a day later in the United States by Columbia Records, Music World Entertainment, and Sony Urban Music. The album was originally planned as a follow-up to Beyoncé's 2003 solo debut Dangerously in Love to be released in 2004; however, it was delayed to accommodate the recording of Destiny's Child's final album Destiny Fulfilled (2004) and the singer's starring role in the 2006 film Dreamgirls. While on vacation after filming, Beyoncé began contacting various producers and rented Sony Music Studios, completing B'Day in two weeks.
Now That's What I Call Music! 23 was released on November 7, 2006. The album is the 23rd edition of the (U.S.) Now! series. It sold over 337,000 copies in its opening week to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the tenth chart topper in the series. It also reached number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
This is a list of the number-one albums of the UK R&B Singles and Albums Charts.