Tevin Campbell is the fourth studio album by the American R&B singer Tevin Campbell. It was released by Qwest Records and Warner Bros. on February 23, 1999. The album features production from Stevie J, Wyclef Jean, and others. Campbell released three singles, having only one of them chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Another Way". The other two singles are "Losing All Control" and "For Your Love", both with minor showings on the R&B charts.
In June 1996, Campbell released his third studio album Back to the World. His first project in three years, a period marked by fewer public appearances and a focus on his private life, the album failed to match the commercial success of its two predecessors, T.E.V.I.N. (1991) and I'm Ready (1993), reaching number 46 on the US Billboard 200 and number eleven on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart only.[2] His first effort to neither reach Gold or Platinum status in the United States, it produced three singles, including its lead single, the album's title track, whoch became a top ten hit in New Zealand, and a top 20 entry on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[3] Subsequent singles such as "I Got It Bad" and "Could You Learn to Love" charted significantly lower, however.[2]
Promotion
Tevin Campbell was preceded by the release of its lead single, Marc Kinchen-produced "Another Way," issued on December 1, 1998.[1] The album highest-charting single, it reached number 100 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 25 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[2] The song also charted in Australia and the United Kingdom, and it became another top 30 hit in New Zealand for Campbell.[4] "For Your Love" and "Losing All Control," both produced by Stevie J, were released by Qwest Records as the album's second and third single in April and August 1999, respectively, but reached the lower half of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart only.[2]
Promotion for the album was largely suspended after Campbell was arrested in July 1999 in Van Nuys, California, for soliciting a lewd act from an undercover police officer during a sting operation.[5] The operation was reportedly conducted in an area where there had been numerous complaints from the public about cruising and solicitation, with Campbell also being in possession of a small amount of marijuana at the time of his arrest.[5] In November 1999, the singer was sentenced to attend Narcotics Anonymous as well as an AIDS awareness class after pleading no contest.[6]
AllMusic editor Tim Sheridan wrote: "Dig the slow jams: This young R&B singer kicks out some easy beats and infectious hooks with the help from the likes of Wyclef Jean, Quincy Jones, and Stevie J [...] Granted, some of the material doesn't rise above the standard vocal grandstanding, but there are signs of great things to come."[7] Cheo Tyehimba, writing for Entertainment Weekly, found that "Campbell’s fourth effort is pure R&B: spare and sensitive. One or two songs fall short, but Tevin Campbell is anchored with jams like the pulsing 'Another Way' and the Wyclef Jean-produced 'Never Again'."[8]
Billboard called the album a "return to form" and concluded: "From this Quincy Jones protégé, who embodies the romantic side of his mentor's musicality, an album for the R&B mainstream with crossover potential at AC and lite jazz."[1]Vibe editor Larry Flick wrote that "the good news is that Campbell has evolved into an assured (and yes, remarkably mature) stylist, capable of rising above the familiar formulas of his producers and giving their material a much-needed fresh spin [...] Perhaps most appealing about Tevin Campbell is the artist's ability to quietly breathe volumes of emotional subtext into a lyric [...] At a time when many of his R&B colleagues equate soul with shriek, Campbell's subtle phrasing and intimate demeanor are ultimately more inviting and will render his recordings far more durable."[9]
Chart performance
In the United States, Tevin Campbell debuted and peaked at number 88 on the Billboard 200.[2] It marked Campbell's lowest opening up to then and was another considerable decline after the lackluster success of his previous effort Back to the World (1996).[1] On the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, it reached number 31.[10] Elsewhere, Tevin Campbell reached number 35 on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Charts.[11]
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