Ultimate Toni Braxton | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | November 4, 2003 | |||
Recorded | 1992–2003 | |||
Genre | R&B | |||
Length | 75:23 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Toni Braxton chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Ultimate Toni Braxton, released in 2003, is the first greatest hits collection by R&B singer Toni Braxton. It features many of her greatest hits, and includes all the singles from her debut Toni Braxton and all but one of the singles from her second album Secrets . Her albums The Heat and More Than a Woman are fairly underrepresented, as only two and one songs are included from each album, respectively. The songs on Ultimate are not the actual album versions but radio edits, and the version of "Seven Whole Days" is live.
The album also includes two new songs, "Whatchu Need" (produced by Rodney Jerkins) and "The Little Things" (produced by R. Kelly). Toni's first single "Give U My Heart" (a duet with Babyface) that was included on the "Boomerang" soundtrack, and a remix of "Un-Break My Heart". There is also a Box Set edition of the album which contains six additional remixes. According to Billboard, the album has sold 400,000 copies as of May 2013. It was certified Gold in the UK, in July 2013. [1]
After releasing four studio albums, the last, More Than a Woman (2002), was a chart disappointment, being her first studio album to not reach the Top 10 [2] and to not produce any hit singles. [3] Later, Braxton discovered she was pregnant with her second child, which led her label to not release any more singles and the promotion of the album was interrupted. [4] Ultimately, her label decided to release a greatest hits compilation in 2003. The compilation titled Ultimate Toni Braxton was released on November 4, 2003, by Arista Records. [5]
The track list is composed of Braxton's 18 songs, with 15 being her biggest hits, since her debut single with Babyface, "Give U My Heart", from 1992, until her biggest hit to date, "Un-Break My Heart", from 1996. The album also features other hits of her career, such as "Love Shoulda Brought You Home", "Another Sad Love Song", "Breathe Again", "You're Makin' Me High", "He Wasn't Man Enough" and many more. The album also features two new tracks, "Whatchu Need", produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, and "The Little Things", produced by R. Kelly. It also features a live version of "Seven Whole Days" and a remix of "Un-Break My Heart" on the regular edition. [6] The "limited edition" of the album contains 2 discs, with the second disc featuring six remixes of her hits. [7]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [8] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the compilation 4.5 out of 5 stars, writing that, "her 18-track hits collection works well even through her shifts in style -- she is a confident enough performer to sell both the slow romantic ballads and material that swings harder. That's not to say that there aren't some slow spots here -- the previously unreleased cuts are no great shakes, and sometimes the abundance of slow numbers makes things sound too samey -- but she was one of the top urban soul singers of the '90s, and this is the album that illustrates why." [8]
The album charted very modestly on the Billboard 200 chart, only reaching number 119. [10] However, it fared better on the Top R&B Albums chart, peaking at number 43. Even with the modest peak, the album managed to sell over 400,000 copies in the United States, as of 2013. In the UK, the album charted higher, peaking at number 23. [11] In July 2013, the album was certified gold, for selling over 100,000 copies. [1]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Give U My Heart" (duet with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds (from Boomerang: Original Soundtrack Album ) |
|
| 4:00 |
2. | "Love Shoulda Brought You Home" (from Boomerang: Original Soundtrack Album and Toni Braxton ) |
|
| 4:51 |
3. | "Another Sad Love Song" (from Toni Braxton ) |
|
| 3:49 |
4. | "Breathe Again" (from Toni Braxton) | Babyface |
| 4:15 |
5. | "Seven Whole Days" (live (from Toni Braxton) |
|
| 4:40 |
6. | "You Mean the World to Me" (from Toni Braxton) |
|
| 3:59 |
7. | "How Many Ways" (from Toni Braxton) |
| Herbert | 4:26 |
8. | "You're Makin' Me High" (from Secrets ) |
|
| 4:06 |
9. | "Let It Flow" (from Waiting to Exhale soundtrack and Secrets) | Babyface | Babyface | 4:09 |
10. | "Un-Break My Heart" (from Secrets) | Diane Warren | David Foster | 4:28 |
11. | "I Love Me Some Him" (from Secrets) |
| Soulshock & Karlin | 4:36 |
12. | "I Don't Want To" (from Secrets) | R. Kelly | Kelly | 4:17 |
13. | "He Wasn't Man Enough" (Radio Edit from The Heat ) | Darkchild | 3:59 | |
14. | "Just Be a Man About It" (Radio Edit from The Heat) |
|
| 4:16 |
15. | "Hit the Freeway" (Radio Version with Rap featuring Loon (from More Than a Woman ) | The Neptunes | 3:47 | |
16. | "Whatchu Need" (previously unreleased) |
| Darkchild | 3:38 |
17. | "The Little Things" (previously unreleased) | Kelly | Kelly | 4:31 |
18. | "Un-Break My Heart" (Soul-Hex Anthem radio edit; B-Side to Un-Break My Heart) | Warren | remix produced by Hex Hector | 3:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
19. | "Un-Break My Heart" (Frankie Knuckles Franktidrama club mix) | Warren | remixed by Frankie Knuckles | 8:36 |
20. | "You're Makin' Me High" (Salaam Remi's Norfside mix) | Babyface, Wilson | remixed by Salaam Remi | 4:18 |
21. | "How Many Ways" (R. Kelly mix) | Braxton, Herbert, Kelly | Herbert | 5:46 |
22. | "I Don't Want To" (Frankie Knuckles Franktified mix) | Kelly | remixed by Frankie Knuckles | 10:57 |
23. | "Hit the Freeway" (Goldtrix mix) | Hawkins, Williams | remixed by Goldtrix | 7:17 |
24. | "He Wasn't Man Enough" (Forces of Nature mix) | Daniels, Darkchild, Jerkins III, Mason Jr. | remixed by Forces of Nature | 5:50 |
Chart (2003) | Peak position |
---|---|
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [14] | 172 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [15] | 53 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [16] | 86 |
UK Albums (OCC) [11] | 23 |
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [17] | 14 |
US Billboard 200 [10] | 119 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [18] | 43 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [19] | Gold | 100,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Toni Michele Braxton is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female 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.
The Heat is the third studio album by American singer Toni Braxton, released on April 25, 2000, by LaFace Records. The album marked Braxton's departure from her ballads in favor of a more urban sound. Most of the songs were written and produced by Braxton and her husband Keri Lewis ; two ballads were penned by Diane Warren, and collaborations featured rappers Dr. Dre and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes.
More Than a Woman is the fifth studio album by American singer Toni Braxton, released on November 18, 2002, by Arista Records. The album contained both hip hop and urban adult contemporary sounds, as well as some softer and more contemporary melodies. Throughout the project, Braxton worked with her sister Tamar and husband Keri Lewis on most of the songs, who had written and produced material for her previous album. She also worked with hip hop producers and rappers such as Irv Gotti, The Neptunes, Mannie Fresh and Loon, as well as Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, protégé Big Bert and his domestic partner, singer Brandy.
Platinum & Gold Collection, released in 2004, is the second greatest hits compilation by Toni Braxton, following Ultimate Toni Braxton released in 2003. It is a budget CD with fewer songs than Ultimate, but it has the remix versions of some songs. Although the album was not given a proper release in the United States and is considered an international release, it has sold 281,518 copies in the US as of February 2012.
Libra is the sixth studio album by American singer Toni Braxton, released on September 27, 2005, by Blackground Records. It marked Braxton's debut on the label, following her split with longtime record company Arista Records in 2003 after the release of her album More Than a Woman (2002), which was commercially less successful than its predecessors. The album's title is a reference to Braxton's astrological sign, Libra.
"Please" is a song by American singer Toni Braxton. It was written by Scott Storch, Makeba Riddick, Vincent Herbert, and Kameron Houff for Braxton's sixth studio album, Libra (2005), while production was chiefly helmed by Storch. One out of several songs on the album to feature a more hard-edged production, "Please" is a spare, mid-tempo R&B and hip hop song with a heavy bottom and zippy strings. Lyrically, it talks about how to handle a temptation in a relationship.
"Hit the Freeway" is a song by American singer Toni Braxton from her fifth studio album, More Than a Woman (2002). The song, which features American rapper Loon, was written by Pharrell Williams and Loon himself, while production was handled by Pharrell's production duo The Neptunes. It is a hip hop and R&B song, with lyrics about an ex trying to rekindle with Braxton, but Braxton claims she's not interested in him anymore. It was released on October 21, 2002, to rhythmic and urban contemporary radio as the lead and only single from the album.
"He Wasn't Man Enough" is a song by American singer Toni Braxton. It was written by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, and Harvey Mason, Jr. for her third studio album, The Heat (2000), while production was helmed by the former. "He Wasn't Man Enough" is an uptempo R&B song that differs from Braxton's previous ballads. The song was released by LaFace Records on February 29, 2000, as the lead single from the album.
American singer Toni Braxton has released ten studio albums, five extended plays, six compilation albums, two remix albums, thirty-four singles, two video albums and twenty-two music videos in a career spanning over 30 years. She was born in Severn, Maryland, on October 7, 1967. Her mother, an opera vocalist, encouraged Braxton and her four sisters to sing in church at a young age. In 1990, songwriter Bill Pettaway discovered the sisters and helped them obtain a record deal with Arista Records, as the group titled The Braxtons; the group's debut single, "Good Life", was released the same year. Although the song failed to chart, Braxton's voice caught the attention of producers, L.A. Reid and Babyface, who signed her to their newly formed LaFace Records. In 1991, Braxton recorded songs for the soundtrack to the 1992 film Boomerang. Her solo debut single, "Love Shoulda Brought You Home", reached the top forty of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and the top five of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Two years later, her self-titled debut album was issued through LaFace. The album topped the US Billboard 200 and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts and was certified eight-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It spawned four singles, including "Breathe Again", which peaked within the top ten in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The album has sold over ten million copies worldwide.
"You're Makin' Me High" is the lead single from American singer Toni Braxton's second studio album, Secrets (1996). The mid-tempo song represents a joint collaboration between the Grammy Award-winning producer Babyface and Bryce Wilson. The beat of the song was originally for singer-songwriter Brandy, with Dallas Austin pegged to write a lyric to override; however, Braxton had Babyface write lyrics for the song. It was ultimately issued in the United States as a double A-side with "Let It Flow", the airplay hit from the 1995 film Waiting to Exhale.
"Give U My Heart" is a song recorded by American R&B singers Babyface and Toni Braxton for the soundtrack to the 1992 film Boomerang, starring Eddie Murphy. The collaboration was released as a single the same year, reaching No. 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart.
"Love Shoulda Brought You Home" is the debut solo single by American singer Toni Braxton. It was written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Daryl Simmons, and Bo Watson and produced by Edmonds and Simmons along with L.A. Reid. Originally written for singer Anita Baker, who had to decline due to her pregnancy, it was eventually recorded by Braxton and featured on the soundtrack to Reginald Hudlin's romantic comedy film Boomerang (1992). The song was later also included on Braxton's self titled debut album (1993). Lyrically, the slow-groove R&B song is saga of betrayal and infidelity that depicts a heartbroken Braxton.
"Another Sad Love Song" is a song by American singer-songwriter Toni Braxton. Written and produced by Daryl Simmons and Babyface, featuring additional production from L.A. Reid, it was released as the lead single and its opening track from Braxton's self-titled debut album (1993) on June 11, 1993, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. Lyrically, it talks about Braxton complaining that every song played on the radio is a reminder of her ex-boyfriend.
"Breathe Again" is a song by American R&B singer Toni Braxton. It was written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and produced by Edmonds, L.A. Reid, and Daryl Simmons for Braxton's first album Toni Braxton (1993). Its lyrics evokes a sense of nostalgia from a relationship that has run its course. The ballad was released as the album's second single on October 6, 1993, by LaFace and Arista Records.
"You Mean the World to Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Toni Braxton. It was written and produced by Antonio "L.A." Reid, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and Daryl Simmons for her self-titled debut album (1993). Selected as the album's fourth single, it was released on CD on April 21, 1994, by LaFace and Arista Records. It peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, while reaching the top ten of the Canadian Singles Chart. The music video for "You Mean the World to Me" was directed by Lionel C. Martin.
So Many Ways is the debut album by American R&B vocal group The Braxtons. Released on August 6, 1996, the album produced four singles; "So Many Ways", "Only Love", "The Boss" – which peaked at number-one in the Billboard Dance Charts – and "Slow Flow". "So Many Ways" peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts and No. 3 on the Heatseekers Albums chart.
The Essential Toni Braxton is a compilation album by the American recording artist Toni Braxton in Sony BMG's The Essential series. Released in February 2007, it follows the earlier compilations Ultimate Toni Braxton, released in 2003, and Braxton's Platinum & Gold Collection, released in 2004. The Essential is a 2 disc album with thirty-six of Braxton's best songs. It also includes a song done with her sister group The Braxtons, "The Good Life".
"Yesterday" is a song by American R&B singer Toni Braxton. It was written by Braxton, Jerome Armstrong, Terrence Battle, Michael White, and DJ Frank E and produced by the latter for her seventh studio album Pulse (2010). Selected as the album's lead single, it was released by Atlantic Records to US radios on September 29, 2009. American singer Trey Songz appears on the Troy Taylor radio edit of "Yesterday," which served as the American version released to radio. Outside North America, the original version of the song was released, which features only Braxton's vocals.
Pulse is the seventh studio album by American singer Toni Braxton. It was released on May 4, 2010, by Atlantic Records. Her first album in five years and served as Braxton's debut for the Atlantic label, after signing a new record deal. Production for the album took place during September 2008 to March 2010 and was handled by several record producers, including David Foster, Harvey Mason, Jr., Frank E, Oak Felder, Lucas Secon, Simon Franglen and Stargate. Pulse features up-tempo songs and R&B ballads with production varying from smooth to dance-based styles.
Breathe Again: Toni Braxton at Her Best is the fourth greatest hits compilation album by American R&B singer Toni Braxton, released on April 26, 2005, through Sony BMG Music Entertainment. The compilation includes Braxton's hits, such as "Un-Break My Heart", "Breathe Again", "You're Makin' Me High", along with some non-singles from her debut album and "More Than a Woman".
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