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Back at One (album)

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(Redirected from Stay or Let It Go)
For the song, see Back at One (song).
Back at One
Studio album by
Brian McKnight
ReleasedSeptember 21, 1999
Studio
GenreR&B
Length51:36
LabelMotown
Producer
Brian McKnight chronology
Bethlehem
(1998) 		Back at One
(1999) 		Superhero
(2001)
Singles from Back at One
  1. "Back at One"
    Released: August 17, 1999
  2. "Stay or Let It Go"
    Released: January 11, 2000
  3. "6, 8, 12"
    Released: May 2, 2000

Back at One is the fifth studio album by American singer Brian McKnight, released on September 21, 1999, by Motown Records. The album followed the same pattern as McKnight's previous album of original material, Anytime (1997), in which he began his transition from urban adult contemporary into the hip hop soul market. Back at One contains a mix of hip hop-influenced contemporary R&B songs, as well as a variety of ballads. While McKnight co-wrote and produced nearly every song on the album, he also worked with a few new producers, including Rodney Jerkins, his brother Fred Jerkins III, and Anthony Nance.

Upon its release, the album received generally mixed reviews from music critics. A commercial success, Back at One sold 144,000 units in its first week of release, reaching number seven on the US Billboard 200. McKnight's most successful album to date, it sold more than 3.0 million copies worldwide and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and platinum by Music Canada. The album produced three singles, including its title track which reached number two in the US, and garnered nominations for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album and the Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Album.

Background

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In 1997, Brian McKnight released his third studio album Anytime. Following the moderate success of his previous album I Remember You (1995), the singer, who was used to writing, playing and producing most of his music by himself, decided to work with a wider range of musicians on the album, including Sean "Puffy" Combs, Keith Thomas, and Poke & Tone.[1] However, while Anytime exposed McKnight to a wider audience, taking his work further into the hip hop soul genre, McKnight disliked their approach to incorporate sampling on their songs.[1] After the commercial triumph of Anytime, McKnight signed with Motown Records to release his first Christmas album Bethlehem (1998) and began work on his fourth album.[1] While he enjoyed working on the record, McKnight was tormented by personal problems during the production process since he had fallen in love with someone else outside of his marriage with his wife Julie.[1] In a 2012 interview, McKnight elaborated : "If Anytime was the spark, then Back at One became the fire. I was doing things then that I had never done before, that an audience had never heard or seen [...] I don't even listen to that record because it was the highest and lowest point of my life, because of this person."[1]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Billboardfavorable[3]
Los Angeles Times[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic felt that with Back at One "McKnight has figured out a way to make his gospel-flavored contemporary urban soul sound fresh, mainly by keeping the focus on the songs. There's nothing extraneous on Back at One: All 13 songs are given clean presentations, and he blesses them with impassioned performances. At times, the material itself is not particularly interesting, but most albums have filler; what counts is the good stuff, and there's enough of it on Back at One to make it another solid effort from McKnight."[2] In a contemporary review, The Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that "excepting the occasional boilerplate slow jam, One is McKnight's finest effort."[5]

Writing for Billboard, Michael Paoletta found that "like its predecessor, 1997's Anytime, Back at One finds the singer keeping it sublime yet simple on an acoustic-based set. This, of course, allows McKnight ample room to showcase his smooth, simmering vocals."[3] In her review for the Los Angeles Times, Connie Johnson wrote that "McKnight records the ultimate background music, ideally suited for a candlelight dinner for two, not to mention more intimate interludes – music that's not distracting, in other words. McKnight is certainly not unpredictable [...] Everything is as classy and correct as one would expect from a McKnight project. Basically, it's pretty but not essential."[4]

Chart performance

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In the United States, Back at One debuted and peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200, selling 144,000 copies in its first week.[6] This marked McKnight's highest first weeks sales as well as highest-charting debut then, according to SoundScan.[7] In addition, it reached the top five on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming McKnight's third album to do so.[8] With sales in excess of more than 3.0 million copies, the album went on to become McKnight's biggest seller within his discography.[9] It was eventually certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[10] Billboard ranked the album 56th and 37th on its Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums year-end rankings in 1999 and 2000, respectively.[11][12] Also McKnight's first album to chart internationally, Back at One entered the top twenty in Canada, where it certified platinum by Music Canada.[13]

"Back at One", the album's title track, was issued as the album's lead single. It reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and hit number seven on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming McKnight's highest-charting single to date. In addition, it became a top ten hit in Canada and New Zealand, and entered the top thiry in Australia and the Netherlands. Jerkins-produced "Stay or Let It Go" was released on a double single with the song "Win", McKnight's contribution to the soundtrack of the 2000 American drama film Men of Honor. It reached the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 26 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, with "Win" reaching number 51. Third and final single "6, 8, 12" entered the top fifty on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Last Dance"
  • McKnight
  • Brandon Barnes
McKnight4:45
2."Stay"McKnightMcKnight4:23
3."Played Yourself"
  • R. Jerkins
  • F. Jerkins
4:16
4."Back at One"McKnightMcKnight4:23
5."Stay or Let It Go"
  • McKnight
  • R. Jerkins
  • Mason
  • Daniels
  • F. Jerkins
  • R. Jerkins
  • F. Jerkins
4:40
6."6, 8, 12"
  • McKnight
  • Barnes
McKnight4:07
7."You Could Be the One"
  • McKnight
  • Anthony Nance
  • McKnight
  • Nance[a]
5:39
8."Shall We Begin"McKnightMcKnight3:59
9."Gothic Interlude"McKnightMcKnight1:00
10."Can You Read My Mind"
  • McKnight
  • Barnes
McKnight3:57
11."Lonely"McKnightMcKnight4:26
12."Cherish"McKnightMcKnight4:05
13."Home"McKnightMcKnight4:22

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer.

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Back at One.[14]

  • Tom Bender – mixing assistant (tracks 4, 6)
  • Jerry Christie – assistant engineer (track 10)
  • Derek "Hot Sauce" Cumming – guitars (track 11)
  • LaShawn Daniels – vocal production (tracks 3, 5)
  • Dylan "3D" Dresdow – mixing assistant (tracks 1, 2, 7–13)
  • Jean-Marie Horvat – engineer and mixing (tracks 3, 5)
  • Dave Fredric – assistant engineer (track 2)
  • Mick Guzauski – mixing (tracks 4, 6)
  • Anthony Jeffries – engineer (track 7)
  • Fred Jerkins III – music and production (tracks 3, 5)
  • Rodney Jerkins – music and production (tracks 3, 5)
  • Greg Leisz – pedal steel (track 6)
  • Harvey Mason, Jr. – additional music, programming, Pro Tools, and engineer (tracks 3, 5)
  • Brian McKnight – vocals (all tracks), production and arrangements (1, 2, 4, 6–13), keyboards (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10–13), drum programming (4, 6, 11, 13), bass (4, 6, 10, 11, 13), percussion (4)
  • "McNoche" – guitars (tracks 2, 6, 8, 10, 12)
  • Bill K. Meyers – orchestral arrangements (tracks 4, 13)
  • Anthony Nance – co-producer (track 7), drum programming (1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 12), synth bass (1), keyboards (7)
  • Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado – mixing (tracks 1, 2, 7–13)
  • Herb Powers – mastering
  • Wayne S. Rodrigues – Scratches (track 10)
  • Mary Ann Souza – assistant engineer (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6–9, 11–13)
  • Tommy Vicari – orchestral engineer (tracks 4, 13)
  • Chris Wood – engineer (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6–13)

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[13] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[10] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "The Real Brian McKnight Pt. 2". irockjazz.com. June 10, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  2. ^ a b allmusic review
  3. ^ a b Paoletta, Michael (25 September 1999). "Review". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Johnson, Connie (August 11, 1995). "McKnight Returns to Form With Mellowness and Reliability". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743201698. Retrieved January 10, 2020. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Gill, John (September 30, 1999). "Brian McKnight Takes A Step Forward With "Back At One"". MTV.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Brian McKnight Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Brian McKnight Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  9. ^ "Brian McKnight Brings Holiday Show to SugarHouse Casino". businesswire.com. September 3, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "American album certifications – Brian McKnight – Anytime". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  11. ^ a b "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Best of 1999". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Best of 2000". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Canadian album certifications – Brian McKnight – Anytime". Music Canada. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  14. ^ Back at One (liner notes). Brian McKnight. Motown Records. 1999.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 182.
  16. ^ "Brian McKnight Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. October 4, 1999. Archived from the original on October 7, 1999. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Brian McKnight – Back at One" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  19. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Brian McKnight – Back at One" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  21. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Albums of 2000". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  22. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
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