The Bridge (Melanie Fiona album)

The Bridge is the debut album of Canadian R&B/soul singer Melanie Fiona, released under the SRC/Universal Motown label in June 2009. It was released in the United States on November 10, 2009. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at number 57 on the Billboard 200 chart, where it later peaked at number 27. The album received generally favorable reviews. As of February 2012, the album has sold 450,000 copies in the United States.[1]

The Bridge
Studio album by
Melanie Fiona
ReleasedJune 26, 2009
Recorded2008–2009
GenreR&B, soul
Length45:06
LabelSRC, Universal Motown
ProducerMelanie Fiona, Andrea Martin, Rob Fusari, Peter Wade Keusch, Sidh Solanki, Vada Nobles, Bill Blast, Future Cut, Stereotypes, Dan Strong, JK, Jay Fenix, Affiliate
Melanie Fiona chronology
The Bridge
(2009)		 The MF Life
(2012)
Singles from The Bridge
  1. "Give It to Me Right"
    Released: February 28, 2009
  2. "It Kills Me"
    Released: July 22, 2009
  3. "Bang Bang"
    Released: October 18, 2009
  4. "Monday Morning"
    Released: October 25, 2009
  5. "Ay Yo"
    Released: April 17, 2010
  6. "Priceless"
    Released: April 2010

Background

The album is a mixture of soul, R&B, neo soul, reggae and hip hop music influenced by pop music. In an interview, Fiona described the album's sound as "pop soul".[2] On the album, she worked with Andrea Martin, Rob Fusari, Peter Wade Keusch, Sidh Solanki, Vada Nobles, Bill Blast, Future Cut, Stereotypes, Dan Strong, JK, Jay Fenix, Affiliate.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[3]
AllMusic[4]
Hot Press(favorable)[5]
The Observer(mixed)[6]
Planet Sound(7/10)[7]
Shields Gazette(8/10)[8]
Sunday Mercury(favorable)[9]
The Couch Sessions[10]

The Bridge has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Edwin McFee of Hot Press called the album "an intelligent homage to ‘60s Motown, sampling soul classics while putting her own unique stamp on things".[5] Allmusic's Matthew Chisling gave it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote that "where it does go, it goes masterfully", concerning its sound.[4] Despite noting a weakness in the album's cohesiveness, Mark Edward Nero of About.com wrote favorably of the album's production and commended Fiona for her vocal ability. "It Kills Me" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.[3]

Singles

"Sad Songs" was released in April 2009 in the UK only as a digital download, with the reggae-tinged songs "Somebody Come Get Me" and "Island Boy" as B-sides.[11] "Sad Songs" did not chart in the UK.

"Give It to Me Right" was the first official single from The Bridge. The song peaked at number 41 in the UK but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. It did, however, reach number 57 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

"It Kills Me" was Fiona's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, charting at number 43.[12] The single was the second from the album in the US and charted at number one on the US R&B chart. It was released in Canada as the third single from the album and was released as the third single in the UK on June 14, 2010.

"Bang Bang" was sent to radio in the UK and Canada as the second single for top 40 and hot adult contemporary radio stations.

"Monday Morning" charted in Switzerland and Poland at number one[13][14] and in Austria at number five.[15] It was released as the third US single (however, "Bang Bang" was sent to radio as the second Canadian single for Canadian top 40 & hot AC play), but due to "Priceless" not being released in Canada, "Monday Morning" served as the fifth single in Canada due to hot adult contemporary radio station CKZZ-FM (Virgin Radio 953) in Vancouver having the song on its playlist.

"Ay Yo" was released as the fourth official single from The Bridge, according to Fiona's website and Twitter. The music video premiered on April 12, 2010.

"Priceless" was the fifth US single due to airplay on urban adult contemporary stations. Due to "Priceless" not being released in Canada, "Monday Morning" was serviced to Canadian stations as the fifth single, even though "Monday Morning" was released as the third American single.

Promotional singles

"You Stop My Heart" was released as a promotional single to coincide with Valentine's Day. The music video was released on Valentine's Day, 2010.

A music video was also released for "Bang Bang", and the song was used as the second Canadian single. The song was featured in an episode of ABC's Ugly Betty.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Give It to Me Right"Rod Argent, Andrea MartinMartin3:43
2."Bang Bang"Rob Fusari, Angela Hunte, Janet Sewell-UlepićFusari3:28
3."Monday Morning"Charlene Gilliam, Peter Wade Keusch, Sidh SolanskiKeusch, Solanski3:38
4."Please Don’t Go (Cry Baby)"Bill Blast, Alisha "Mjestie" Brooks, Holland–Dozier–HollandBlast, Vada Nobles3:15
5."Ay Yo"Iyiola Babalola, Melanie Fiona, Darren Lewis, Martin, Allen ToussaintFuture Cut3:18
6."Walk On By"Don Davis, MartinMartin3:31
7."You Stop My Heart"Babalola, Lewis, Ed Marshall, MartinFuture Cut3:46
8."Johnny"Fiona, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus, Jonathan YipThe Stereotypes3:42
9."Sad Songs"Gene Allen, Diana Bovell, John Myatt, Bobby VintonMartin4:38
10."Priceless"Raymond Angry, Claude Kelly, Dan WilenskiJoel "JK" Kipnis, Dan Strong3:47
11."It Kills Me"Leon Carr, Robert Littlejohn Jr., Martin, Melvin "Melomuzic Parker", Earl ShumanJay Fenix, Martin4:10
12."Teach Him"Diego Baliardo, Paco Baliardo, Tonino Baliardo, Martin, André Reyes, Canut Reyes, Nicolas ReyesMartin4:10
Deluxe edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."G.A.M." (Bonus track)2:50
Samples

Charts
Chart (2009–2010) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[16] 25
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 35
Italian Albums (FIMI)[18] 61
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 22
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 3
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 98
US Billboard 200[22] 27
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[23] 4

Year-end charts
Chart (2010) Position
Swiss Albums Chart[24] 99
US Billboard 200[25] 117

Personnel

Technical personnel
  • Andrea Martin – producer on tracks 1, 6, 9, 11–12
  • Rob Fusari – producer on track 2
  • Peter Wade Keusch – producer on track 3
  • Sidh Solanki – producer on track 3
  • Vada Nobles – producer on track 4
  • Bill Blast – producer on track 4
  • Future Cut – producer on tracks 5, 7 and 13
  • Stereotypes – producer on track 8
  • Dan Strong – producer on track 10
  • JK – producer on track 10
  • Jay Fenix – producer on track 11
  • Affiliate – producer on track 11

Release history
Region Date
Italy June 26, 2009
Canada June 30, 2009
United Kingdom July 20, 2009
United States November 10, 2009
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References
  1. "Upcoming Releases". HITS Daily Double. Archived from the original on 2014-01-29. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
  2. Interview: Melanie Fiona Gives it To Us Right Killahbeez.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-14.
  3. Nero, Mark Edward. Review: The Bridge. About.com. Retrieved on 2009-10-12.
  4. Chisling, Matthew. Review: The Bridge. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2009-10-12.
  5. McFee, Edwin. Review: The Bridge. Hot Press. Retrieved on 2009-10-12.
  6. Spencer, Neil. Review: The Bridge. The Observer. Retrieved on 2009-10-12.
  7. Earls, John. "Review: Melanie Fiona/The Bridge". Teletext. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  8. Columnist. "Melanie Fiona could be next big thing". 5 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  9. Cole, Paul. Review: The Bridge. Sunday Mercury. Retrieved on 2009-10-12.
  10. Dowling, Marcus. Review: The Bridge Retrieved on 2010-10-28.
  11. "Sad Songs: Melanie Fiona: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
  12. "It Kills Me Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
  13. Steffen Hung. "Swiss Charts - Singles Top 75 12.02.2012". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  14. Nielsen Music Control Poland Archived 2010-03-09 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 29 March 2010
  15. Steffen Hung. "Melanie Fiona - Monday Morning". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  16. "Melanie Fiona Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  17. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  18. "Italiancharts.com – Melanie Fiona – The Bridge". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  19. "Swedishcharts.com – Melanie Fiona – The Bridge". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  20. "Swisscharts.com – Melanie Fiona – The Bridge". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  21. "Melanie Fiona | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  22. "Melanie Fiona Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  23. "Melanie Fiona Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  24. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2009". Media Control. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  25. "Best of 2010 - Billboard Top 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
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