Colby O

Colby O is the debut and only studio album by American singer Colby O'Donis. It was released on September 16, 2008 through Akon's record label Kon Live.

Colby O
Studio album by Colby O'Donis
Released	September 16, 2008 (2008-09-16)
Recorded	2007–08
Genre	Pop, R&B, electropop
Label	Kon Live, Geffen
Producer	Akon (exec.) Colby O'Donis Kamau Georges Christy Hall Kuk Harrell Kay-Ta Matsuno Clinton Sparks Christopher "Tricky" Stewart Alex Teamer The-Dream T-Pain Craig Tucker Giorgio Tuinfort Paul Wall
Singles from Colby O
"What You Got" Released: February 26, 2008 "Don't Turn Back" Released: June 24, 2008 "Let You Go" Released: February 17, 2009

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
DJBooth.net	[2]

Background

Akon served as executive producer and co-wrote 10 tracks with O'Donis (Colby wrote or co-wrote 14 of the 15), and produced eight tracks, including "What You Got." O'Donis produced another four and together they produced one. In an interview O'Donis mentioned to have worked with many African producers including South African producer SpineCracker. O'Donis commented on the writing process as "writing my own songs is extremely important to me. I feel that I've gone through so much in my life and there's no better way of showing the real you than through music. It's a way for me and my fans to connect through the same struggles. There's so much more of me that I haven't revealed and music is my way of letting people know who I am."[3] According to O'Donis, he and Akon had recorded around forty songs for the album and "it was hard to get it down to a manageable number."[4] O'Donis got inspirations from "girls" and "life in general, past experiences and feelings I've gone through."[5]

Colby O includes the Top 40 song "What You Got" featuring Akon and other singles "Don't Turn Back"[6] and "Let You Go".[7] Other guest appearances include T-Pain, Lil Romeo, and Paul Wall. In addition, the O'Donis plays guitar on the album, as well as bass, drums, percussion, synthesizer and keyboards.[8] According to Colby, his album took three years to make because he wanted every song to be a single.[9] As of December 2008, Colby O has sold 142,751 copies.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"What You Got" (featuring Akon)	Aliaune Thiam, Giorgio Tuinfort	Akon Tuinfort	4:03
2.	"Sophisticated Bad Girl"	Colby Colon, Kamau Georges, Clinton Sparks, Thiam	Akon Clinton Sparks (co.)	4:03
3.	"She Wanna Go" (featuring Paul Wall)	Colon, Paul Slayton, Thiam	Akon Colby O'Donis	3:38
4.	"Let You Go"	Colon, Thiam, Tuinfort	Akon Tuinfort (co.)	3:35
5.	"Don't Turn Back"	Colon, Georges, Sparks, Thiam	Akon Sparks (co.)	4:07
6.	"Under My Nose"	Colon, Thiam, Tuinfort	Akon Tuinfort (co.)	3:43
7.	"Take You Away" (featuring Lil' Romeo)	Colon, Percy Miller, Jr.	O'Donis	3:34
8.	"Natural High" (featuring T-Pain)	Colon, David Balfour, Frank Romano, Thiam, Faheem Najm	Akon T-Pain	3:19
9.	"Saved You Money"	Colon	O'Donis	3:03
10.	"Thinking About Ya"	Colon, Derrund Moore, Sparks, Thiam	Akon Sparks (co.) Tombstone (co.)	3:49
11.	"Tell Me This"	Colon, Teamer	O'Donis Alex Teamer (co.)	3:53
12.	"Game for You"	Colon, Kay-Ta Matsuno	O'Donis Matsuno	3:24
13.	"Follow You"	Colon, Moore, Sparks, Thiam	Akon Sparks (co.) Tombstone (co.)	3:33
14.	"The Difference"	Colon, Christopher Stewart, Terius Nash, James Bunton, Corron Ty Cole	JB & Corron Tricky Stewart The-Dream (co.)	4:06
15.	"Hustle Man"	Colon, Sigfredo Colon, Thiam	Akon	3:06

Bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
16.	"What You Got (Spanish Version)" (featuring Akon)	C. Colon, A. Thiam, G. Tuinfort	4:07
17.	"What You Got (Acoustic)" (featuring Akon)	A. Thiam, G. Tuinfort	4:32

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200[10]	41
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[10]	14

References

1. David Jeffries (2008-05-20). "Colby O - Colby O'Donis | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
2. "Colby O'Donis - Colby O - Stream & Read Album Review". Djbooth.net. Archived from the original on 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
3. Nolasco, Stephanie. "Q&A Sessions: Colby O' Donis". NocheLatina. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
4. "Colby O'Donis Biography". Artist Direct. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
5. Osegueda, Elisa. "Colby O'Donis Interview - Grammy Nominee Makes Strides". Splash magazine. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
6. "Colby O'Doni - Don't Turn Back". Youtube.
7. "Colby O'Donis "Let You Go" Music Video Directed By Kel Mitchell". YouTube. 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
8. "Colby O'Donis Set to Issue Debut Album Colby O". Universal Music Group. 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
9. "About to Pop: Colby O'Donis". Nadine Cheung. 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
10. "Slipknot Edges The Game Atop Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-09-29.