| Sean Kingston | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 31, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 51:50 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | J.R. Rotem,DJ Felli Fel | |||
| Sean Kingston chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Sean Kingston | ||||
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Sean Kingston is the debut studio album by American singerSean Kingston, released on July 31, 2007. The album was produced byJ. R. Rotem. Sean Kingston, with help from Evan Bogart, wrote the songs which range from the self-deprecating-schoolboy tale of lost love in the album's most successful single "Beautiful Girls" to the much deeper "Dry Your Eyes", in which he visits the hardship of watching his mother and sister being sent to prison at the age of 15.[2]
The album has been certified gold by theRIAA as ofFebruary 2008 with an excess of 500,000 copies.[3]
The album entered the U.S.Billboard 200 chart at #6 and fell to #13 the following week.[4] The album reached #2 onRIANZ in its second week.
Record executiveE. Kidd Bogart talked about the making of the album in a 2024 interview: “A rapper named ‘Franchise’ wrote this chorus called "Beautiful Girls", it was actually called "Suicidal" at the time (...) and overnight they decided to change the entire Franchise rap album into a singing album, because this dude sang and they didn't realize he could sing. They changed Franchise name to Sean Kingston. (...) We went in and we started re-writing the entireSean Kingston album”.[5] In an interview withHitQuarters, producerJ. R. Rotem described this process with regard to Kingston: “Sean Kingston was a rapper when we found him and it was a development process to get him more melodic. AtBeluga we essentially refine the talent so that it's more of a marketable product.”[6]
Sean Kingston was firstly anticipated by thepromotional single "Colors 2007".[7][8]
The album'slead single, "Beautiful Girls", was released on May 26, 2007. It became a major hit internationally, topping the U.S.Billboard Hot 100, and several other charts, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, the song spent four weeks at the summit of theUK Singles Chart.[9]
The second single "Me Love" was released on July 31, 2007, and entered in the top twenty of the U.S.Billboard Hot 100.
The third single "Take You There" was released on October 23, 2007. In the week of November 17, 2007, the single debuted on theBillboard Hot 100 at number 81, and later peaked at number 7.[10]
"There's Nothin" was released as the album's final single on March 13, 2008.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [11] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[12] |
| USA Today | [13] |
| Yahoo! Music | [14] |
| DJBooth.net | [15] |
AllMusic gave the album a slightly positive review, commenting that it “loads up on enough gimmicks, high-profile samples, hooks, and ridiculous lyrics that it's the textbook definition of love it or hate it and shouldn't be approached by anyone who considers themselves "hardcore."”[16]Entertainment Weekly expressed a mixed opinion: “At its best, Kingston’s debut CD,Sean Kingston, keeps turning familiar riffs into dancehall cotton candy. (...) Unfortunately, a few unconvincingly tough hip-hop tracks seem like vestiges of a plot to present Kingston as a pudgy thug, before ”Girls” made him a star softie”.[17]BBC Music argued that “JR Rotem’s production is clean and shiny, while Sean’s voice sounds a bit likeCollie Buddz - although that may be because they’ve both been processed into oblivion.”[18]The New York Times gaveSean Kingston a negative review “this is a surprisingly awkward album, with too many underbaked love songs and unmenacing threats”.[19]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | Kisean Anderson,J.R. Rotem | 0:34 |
| 2. | "Kingston" | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem | 3:28 |
| 3. | "Take You There" | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem,E. Kidd Bogart, Timothy Thomas, Theron Thomas | 3:57 |
| 4. | "Me Love" | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem,John Bonham,John Paul Jones,Jimmy Page,Robert Plant | 3:24 |
| 5. | "Beautiful Girls" | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem, Sly "Pyper" Jordan,Ben E. King,Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | 4:02 |
| 6. | "Dry Your Eyes" | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem, Sly "Pyper" Jordan, E. Kidd Bogart | 3:32 |
| 7. | "Got No Shorty" | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem, Sly "Pyper" Jordan,Roger A. Graham andSpencer Williams | 3:22 |
| 8. | "There's Nothin" (featuringPaula DeAnda) | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem, E. Kidd Bogart | 3:58 |
| 9. | "I Can Feel It" | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem,Phil Collins | 3:27 |
| 10. | "Drummer Boy" | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem | 3:37 |
| 11. | "Your Sister" | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem, E. Kidd Bogart | 3:30 |
| 12. | "That Ain't Right" | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem | 3:41 |
| 13. | "Change" | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem | 3:38 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 8. | "There's Nothin'" (featuringÉlan andJuelz Santana) | 3:45 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Colors (Reggae Remix)" (featuringVybz Kartel andKardinal Offishall) | Kisean Anderson, J.R. Rotem, Adidja Palmer, Tracy Morrow, Charles Glenn | 4:35 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Personal (Big Girls Remix)" (featuringFergie) | 3:56 |
| 16. | "Beautiful Girls" (Music video) | 4:17 |
| 17. | "Me Love" (Music video) | 3:24 |
| 18. | "Take You There" (Music video) | 4:01 |
| 19. | "There's Nothin" (featuring Élan and Juelz Santana) (Music video) | 3:45 |
The original version of "Colors" is found onThe Game's 2007 mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 4 - Murda Game Chronicles and features Kingston andRick Ross.[21][22][23][24]
Weekly charts[edit]
Year-end charts[edit]
| Certifications[edit]
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