Full Moon (album)

Infobox Album
Name = Full Moon
Type = studio
Artist = Brandy


Released = flagicon|Europe February 25, 2002
flagicon|USAflagicon|Canada March 5, 2002
flagicon|France March 26, 2002

Recorded = 2000–2001;
The Record Planet
(Los Angeles, California),
Darkchild Studios
(Pleasantville, New Jersey),
Human Rhythm Studios
(Los Angeles, California),
The Hit Factory
(New York City, New York),
The Studios
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Genre = R&B, pop, dance-pop
Length = 70:34
Label = Atlantic
83493
Producer = Brandy Norwood, Warryn Campbell, Mike City, Keith Crouch, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, Robert "Big Bert" Smith
Reviews =
* AMG Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ex2uak5k0m3z link]
* "Entertainment Weekly" (A-) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,251312,00.html link]
* "Rolling Stone" Rating|2|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/brandy/albums/album/138185/review/6067490/full_moon link]
* "Slant Magazine" Rating|3|5 [http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=22 link]
Last album = "Never Say Never"
(1998)
This album = "Full Moon"
(2002)
Next album = "Afrodisiac"
(2004)
Misc = Singles
Name = Full Moon
Type = studio
Single 1 = What About Us?
Single 1 date = February 2002
Single 2 = Full Moon
Single 2 date = June 2002
Single 3 = He Is
Single 3 date = September 2002

"Full Moon" is the third studio album by American R&B/pop singer Brandy, released by Atlantic Records on February 25, 2002 outside North America, and on March 5, 2002 (see 2002 in music) in Canada and the United States. Brandy primarily worked with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins on the majority of the album's production.

History

Production and title

After a lengthy hiatus that saw the end of the "Moesha" television series, and a flurry of tabloid headlines discussing her bout with "dehydration", Brandy eventually entered recording studios in mid-2000 to start work on her then-untitled third album with producer Rodney Jerkins, and his Darkchild crew, among Fred Jerkins III, Nora Payne, and LaShawn Daniels. [ [http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1446863/20010822/brandy.jhtml "Brandy, Rodney Jerkins Hope To Repeat Chemistry"] . "VH1.com". August 23, 2001. Retrieved on January 20, 2007.] While Jerkins contributed most to the album and moreover served as its executive producer, Norwood also worked with producers Keith Crouch, Mike City, Warryn Campbell, and Robert "Big Bert" Smith. In addition, she also recorded with Babyface, Soulshock & Karlin, The Neptunes, and rapper Ja Rule, but none of the songs written with them made the final tracklisting. [ [http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1445950/20010802/brandy.jhtml "Brandy Finishing Album With Babyface"] . "VH1.com". August 3, 2001. Retrieved January 20, 2007.] [ [http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1448513/20010829/brandy.jhtml "Ja Rule Helps J. Lo Deliver Hot Crossover Joints"] . "VH1.com". September 3, 2001. Retrieved January 20, 2007.]

Although the singer revealed that the album's "focus was very much on the technical", and "about how it sounded," [ [http://netmusiccountdown.com/inc/artist.php?artist=Brandy "Afrodisiac"] . "Net Music Countdown". Retrieved January 20, 2007.] Brandy regarded "Full Moon" as a pure concept album based on the development of a male-female relationship: "It's definitely the concept for the album--me falling in love, then going through some turbulence, and then, at the end, I find the person that I really want to be with--so it's a great concept and it's a great experience that I had." [ [http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12060360 "Jay-Z, Al Sharpton, Ananda Lewis & Others Turn Out For Brandy's Album-Release Party"] . "Yahoo! Music". March 5, 2002. Retrieved January 20, 2007.] In an interview with "MTV News" Norwood told, that she entitled the album "Full Moon", because she had done a "complete circle" and felt "whole": "All of that's reflected in the music. It's autobiographical. Everything that I've gone through in the last three years is reflected." [ [http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1452576/20020222/brandy.jhtml "Fans Will Get A New Taste Of Brandy On Full Moon"] . "VH1.com". February 25, 2002. Retrieved January 20, 2007.] The album was originally set to be released on November 20 2001, but plans were scrapped. [ [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1446863/20010822/brandy.jhtml Rodney Jerkins On New Brandy - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News ] ]

Release and reception

Although "Full Moon" was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary R&B Album", media reception for the album was generally mixed. While most professional reviewers saw comparisons to Michael Jackson's 2001 studio album "Invincible", the album was praised for Brandy and Jerkins' idea of "forward-thinking musical maturity" and the growth of Norwood's "now scratchy, evocative edge" in her voice. By contrast, "Rolling Stone Magazine" declared "Full Moon" as "frantic, faceless, fake-sexy R&B", and Andy Kellman from Allmusic cited the album "more mature and consistent" but "too lengthy." However, Brandy's third album became a global success: "Full Moon" debuted on top of the U.S. "Billboard" Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and at number two on the "Billboard" 200, approximately 160,000 copies in its first week of release. [Joe D'Angelo. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1489256/20040707/story.jhtml Brandy Settles for #3] . "MTV.com". Retrieved on July 5, 2004.] Sales declined soon but uniformly continuous, and the album eventually received a platinum certification by the RIAA for more than one million copies shipped to stores. [ [http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/18021422 Brandy To Release Greatest Hits Album] . "Yahoo.com". Retrieved on March 30, 2005.] While the album entered the top twenty on the majority of the charts it appeared on oustide the United States, it also reached the top ten in Switzerland, Germany, Canada, and the UK.

Track listing

References