This Is M.E.

This Is M.E. is the thirteenth studio album by American rock/pop musician Melissa Etheridge, released on September 30, 2014 by Etheridge's own label ME Records, which is distributed by Primary Wave Records. It features eleven tracks on the standard release and four bonus tracks on the Target exclusive version.[4]

This Is M.E.
Studio album by Melissa Etheridge
Released	September 30, 2014
Genre	Rock
Length	41:11
Label	ME Records
Producer	Jerry Wonda, RoccStar, Jerrod Bettis, Jon Levine, Melissa Etheridge [1]
Melissa Etheridge chronology
4th Street Feeling (2012) This Is M.E. (2014) A Little Bit of Me: Live In L.A. (2015)
Singles from This Is M.E.
"Take My Number" Released: July 1, 2014 [2] "Monster" Released: March 30, 2015 [3]

Reception

Chart history

In its first week on the Billboard 200, This Is M.E. debuted at No. 21. It also debuted at No. 23 on the Digital Albums chart, and No. 5 on the Top Rock Albums chart,[5] selling 14,000 copies in the first week. The album has sold 50,000 copies in the United States as of September 2016.[6]

Critical reception

Allmusic said of the album, "There's something appealing in hearing Etheridge try a number of new sounds: not everything fits but the restlessness is admirable", and awarded the album three stars.[7] Rolling Stone also awarded the album three stars, and wrote "As always, her voice can walk a fine line between passionate and histrionic, but when she dials it back on the smoldering 'Like A Preacher', it's clear that this honeymoon might be the start of a whole new her."[8]

Promotion

Album cover

On June 18, 2014, Etheridge posted a video to her YouTube page calling for fans to submit photos of themselves for her new album cover.[9] Etheridge said of this "Because my fans are such a huge part of ME, and I wouldn't be ME without YOU, I took photos submitted by my fans and turned it into my album cover".[10] The finished album cover is a mosaic of numerous small photos of fans, with colors slightly tinted to form the appearance of Etheridge.

Press tour and YouTube duet

Etheridge embarked on an extensive promotional tour in support of the album, appearing on such shows as The Meredith Vieira Show, Entertainment Tonight, The View, Good Morning America, and Live with Kelly and Michael. On October 3, 2014, singer/songwriter Sam Tsui released a video on YouTube of his cover of "A Little Hard Hearted," in which featured Etheridge as well.[11]

Track listing

All songs written or co-written by Melissa Etheridge.[7][12]

Standard version

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Won't Be Alone Tonight"	Melissa Etheridge, Jon Levine	4:28
2.	"Take My Number"	Etheridge, Jerrod Bettis	3:55
3.	"A Little Hard Hearted"	Etheridge, Levine	3:49
4.	"Do It Again"	Etheridge, Arden Altino, Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, Angela Hunte	2:59
5.	"Monster"	Etheridge, Altino, Duplessis	3:29
6.	"Ain't That Bad"	Etheridge, Leon "RoccStar" Youngblood Jr., Adam Kapit	3:12
7.	"All the Way Home"	Etheridge, Levine	4:14
8.	"Like a Preacher"	Etheridge, Bettis, Noah Diamond, Kelsy Karter	4:05
9.	"Stranger Road"	Etheridge, Levine	3:25
10.	"A Little Bit of Me"	Etheridge, Bettis, Christian Seibert	3:26
11.	"Who Are You Waiting For"	Etheridge	4:09
Total length:			41:11

Target Exclusive bonus tracks / Australian release

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Favorite Song"	Etheridge, Levine	3:33
13.	"What I Do"	Etheridge, Altino, Duplessis, Hunte, Bernard Grobman	3:47
14.	"Soul Brothers"	Etheridge, Mark Batson	2:52
15.	"Saturday Dancing"	Etheridge, Mark Batson	3:18
Total length:			55:39[13]

Personnel

Performance Credits

• Melissa Etheridge – guitar, harmonica, piano, vocals
• Bernard Grobman – guitar, steel guitar
• Jon Levine – Hammond organ, bass guitar, piano, glockenspiel, keyboards
• Randy Cooke – drums
• Angela Hunt – vocals
• Angela Hunte – vocals
• Natalie Walker – vocals
• Jonathan Li – voices
• Farrah "Fendi" Fleurimond – vocals
• MBF – voices
• Jerrod Bettis – bass guitar
• M B F – voices
• Jon Levin – Hammond organ, piano, keyboards
• Melissa Papp – voices
• Amritha Vaz – strings
• Neyla Pekarek – cello, vocals
• Jon Sosin – banjo, ukulele
• Bruce Crews – voices
• Jamale Hopkins – percussion, drums
• Roccstar – guitar
• Brie Biblow – voices
• Natalie Loren Walker – vocals
• Robert L. Morris – drums, percussion

Technical Credits

• Melissa Etheridge – Composer, Executive Producer
• Stephen Marcussen – Mastering
• Jon Levine – Composer, Producer
• Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis – Composer, Producer
• Josh Grabelle – Artwork
• J.J. Blair – Engineer
• Arden Altino – Composer
• Angela Hunte – Composer
• Sergio "Sergical" Tsai – Engineer
• Adam Kapit – Composer, Producer
• Nick Radovanovic – Associate Remixing Engineer
• Arden "Keyz" Altino – Producer
• Daniel Piscina – Engineer
• Christian Seibert – Composer
• Josh Gwilliam – Engineer
• Andrew Robertson – Engineer
• Jerrod Bettis – Composer, Producer
• Lance Powell – Engineer
• Todd Hurtt – Engineer
• Roccstar – Composer, Producer
• Ralph Rhim – Engineer
• Noah Diamond – Composer
• Kelsey Eckstein – Composer
• Ralph Phim – Engineer
• Marcel Pariseau – Public Relations

Charts

Chart (2014–15)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14]	34
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15]	61
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16]	106
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17]	34
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18]	41
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19]	96
US Billboard 200[20]	21
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[21]	2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[22]	5

References

1. "Melissa Etheridge Official Store – This is M.E. CD". Melissa Etheridge Official Store – This is M.E. CD. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
2. "iTunes – Music – Take My Number – Single by Melissa Etheridge". iTunes. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
3. "iTunes – Music – Monster- Single by Melissa Etheridge". iTunes. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
4. "Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E. (Deluxe Edition)". Target. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
5. "Melissa Etheridge". Billboard.com. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
6. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on September 28, 2016.
7. "This Is M.E. – Melissa Etheridge". AllMusic. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
8. "Rolling Stone This Is M.E. 3-Star Review". Melissaetheridge.com. September 24, 2014. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
9. "Melissa Etheridge – This Is ME – Album Photo Submissions". YouTube. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
10. "Melissa Etheridge – This is M.E. Mosaic". Melissaetheridge.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
11. "A Little Hard Hearted (Sam Tsui and Melissa Etheridge)". Retrieved 31 October 2014.
12. "ACE Repertory – Etheridge Melissa". ASCAP. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
13. "This Is M.E. by Melissa Etheridge". iTunes Australia. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
14. "Australiancharts.com – Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E.". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
15. "Austriancharts.at – Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E." (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
16. "Ultratop.be – Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E." (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E." (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E." (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E.". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
20. "Melissa Etheridge Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
21. "Melissa Etheridge Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
22. "Melissa Etheridge Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2016.