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Never Enough (Daniel Caesar album)

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Never Enough
Studio album by
Daniel Caesar
ReleasedApril 7, 2023 (2023-04-07)
Recorded2022–2023
GenreR&B
Length54:32
LabelRepublic
Producer
Daniel Caesar chronology
Case Study 01
(2019) 		Never Enough
(2023)
Singles from Never Enough
  1. "Do You Like Me?"
    Released: January 27, 2023
  2. "Let Me Go"
    Released: February 10, 2023
  3. "Valentina"
    Released: March 31, 2023
  4. "Unstoppable"
    Released: April 4, 2023
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72⁄100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Clash8/10[3]
HipHopDX[4]
Exclaim!9/10[5]
Pitchfork6.6/10[6]

Never Enough (stylized in all caps) is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar. It was released through Republic on April 7, 2023, two days after his 28th birthday. Production was handled by Caesar himself, Zachary Simmonds (his younger brother), Sir Dylan, Sevn Thomas, Rami, and Raphael Saadiq.

Background and recording

[edit]

On February 8, 2022, in an interview with Complex Canada of his home country, Caesar said that he recorded the album mostly by himself after quarantine for the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] Three days later, in an interview with Hypebeast, he stated that he was tapping into different influences aside from his traditional style of R&B music for his next album.[8] On April 12, 2022, it was announced that Caesar had signed with Republic Records and he was interviewed by Billboard, in which he shared that the album would be less focused on R&B and include influences that he was earlier inspired by, such as folk and country music.[9] On March 21, 2023, Caesar announced the title of its album and shared its cover art, tracklist, and release date.

Singles and promotion

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The lead single of the album, "Do You Like Me?", was released on January 27, 2023.[10] The second single, "Let Me Go", was released on February 10, 2023.[11] On February 28, 2023, Caesar announced the title of the album via now-deleted social media posts.[12] On March 21, 2023, he shared its release date, cover art, and tracklist.[13] On March 31, 2023, the third single, "Valentina", was released.[14] On April 4, 2023, he released "Unstoppable", the fourth and final single before the album.[15]

Critical reception

[edit]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Never Enough received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 from 5 critic scores.[1]

Ben Okazawa of Exclaim! concludes his review by describing the album as "a cohesive display of genre experimentation that cements Caesar's place as one of the smartest and most talented artists in today's constantly mutating R&B pantheon."[5] Andy Kellman's review for AllMusic described the album as "open, messy, and fascinating."[2] Clash's Grace Dodd called the album "a warm, intimate masterclass in contemporary R&B."[3] Heven Haile of Pitchfork described the album as "sleepy [and] erratically experimental."[6] Writing for HipHopDX, Louis Pavlakos concludes by stating that the album "marks a redemption arc for a flawed man with equally flawed views to make a case at proving he's matured."[4]

The album was shortlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize,[16] and won the Juno Award for Contemporary R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024.[17]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Ocho Rios"
2:33
2."Valentina"
  • A. Simmonds
  • Zachary Simmonds
  • Dylan Wiggins
  • Simmonds
  • Sir Dylan
2:34
3."Toronto 2014" (with Mustafa)
4:37
4."Let Me Go"
3:36
5."Do You Like Me?"
  • Caesar
  • Sir Dylan
  • Saadiq
3:37
6."Always"
Sir Nolan3:45
7."Cool"
  • A. Simmonds
  • Sacha Rudy
  • Caesar
  • Burnett
  • Evans
  • Rudy
4:04
8."Disillusioned" (with serpentwithfeet)
Sir Dylan4:01
9."Buyers Remorse" (featuring Omar Apollo)
  • Caesar
  • Sir Dylan
2:32
10."Shot My Baby"
  • A. Simmonds
  • Ahmed
Sir Dylan4:28
11."Pain Is Inevitable"
  • A. Simmonds
4:55
12."Homiesexual" (with Ty Dolla Sign)
  • Caesar
  • Simmonds
  • Burnett
  • Evans
  • Sir Dylan
3:50
13."Vince Van Gogh"
  • A. Simmonds
  • Caesar
  • Sir Dylan
  • Cyeux
2:45
14."Superpowers"
  • Caesar
  • Burnett
  • Evans
  • Sir Dylan
2:54
15."Unstoppable"
  • Caesar
  • Sir Dylan
  • Chris Jennings
4:07
Total length:54:32
Bonus version tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
16."Please Do Not Lean" (featuring BadBadNotGood)
  • A. Simmonds
  • Burnett
  • Evans
  • Hansen
  • Sowinski
  • Whitty
  • Alexander Ernwein
  • Evans
  • BadBadNotGood
  • Ace G
4:00
17."Always" (featuring Summer Walker)
  • A. Simmonds
  • Lucas
  • Lambroza
  • Jesso Jr.
Sir Dylan3:42
18."Valentina" (featuring Rick Ross)
  • A. Simmonds
  • Z. Simmonds
  • Simmonds
  • Sir Dylan
3:56
Total length:66:10

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[b] signifies an uncredited co-producer

Personnel

[edit]

Production and music

Technical

  • Dylan Wiggins – engineer (2, 10)
  • Félix Remy – engineer (7)
  • Jake Ferguson – engineer (11)
  • Jens Jungkurth – engineer (11)
  • Migui Maloles – engineer (1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 11, 15)
  • Riley Bell – engineer (7, 14)
  • Sir Nolan – engineer (6)
  • Tom Elmhirst – mixer (1–15); engineer (12)

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for Never Enough
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[30] Gold 40,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Never Enough by Daniel Caesar, retrieved 2023-11-27
  2. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Never Enough – Daniel Caesar". AllMusic. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Dodd, Grace (April 11, 2023). "Daniel Caesar – NEVER ENOUGH". Clash. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Pavlakos, Louis (May 17, 2023). "DANIEL CAESAR'S BID FOR FORGIVENESS MAKES FOR SOLID MUSIC ON 'NEVER ENOUGH'". HipHopDX. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Okazawa, Ben (April 6, 2023). "Daniel Caesar Breaks New Ground on 'NEVER ENOUGH'". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Haile, Heven (April 13, 2023). "Daniel Caesar: Never Enough Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  7. ^ Wilson, Sumiko (February 8, 2022). "Daniel Caesar's Next Chapter". Complex Canada. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Kearns, Sarah (February 11, 2022). "Daniel Caesar Embraces a Melting Pot of Musical Influences". Hypebeast. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  9. ^ Rouhani, Neena (April 12, 2022). "Canadian Artist Daniel Caesar Signs Deal With Republic Records, Talks New Album". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  10. ^ Espinoza, Joshua (January 27, 2023). "Stream Daniel Caesar's New Track "Do You Like Me?"". Complex. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  11. ^ Espinoza, Joshua (February 10, 2023). "Stream Daniel Caesar's New Track "Let Me Go"". Complex. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  12. ^ Powell, Jon (March 1, 2023). "Daniel Caesar announces release date for upcoming album". Revolt. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  13. ^ Williams, Aaron (March 1, 2023). "Daniel Caesar Unveils The Official Tracklist For His Third Album, 'Never Enough'". Uproxx. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  14. ^ Powell, Jon (March 31, 2023). "Daniel Caesar drops off his latest single "Valentina"". Revolt. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  15. ^ Chi, Regina (April 5, 2023). "Daniel Caesar is "Unstoppable" in latest single". Revolt. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  16. ^ "Here's the 2023 Polaris Music Prize short list". CBC Music, July 13, 2023.
  17. ^ "Junos 2024: full list of winners". CBC Music, March 23, 2024.
  18. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – Daniel Caesar – Never Enough" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Daniel Caesar – Never Enough" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  21. ^ "Daniel Caesar Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  22. ^ "Top Albums (Week 15, 2023)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  23. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  24. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  25. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  26. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  27. ^ "Daniel Caesar Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  28. ^ "Daniel Caesar Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  29. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  30. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Daniel Caesar – Never Enough". Music Canada. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
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