| FanMail | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 23, 1999 (1999-02-23) | |||
| Recorded | April–December 1998 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 63:31 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| TLC chronology | ||||
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| Singles from FanMail | ||||
FanMail is the third studio album by American girl groupTLC, released on February 23, 1999, byLaFace andArista Records. The album title is a tribute to TLC's fans who sent themfan mail during their hiatus.FanMail debuted at number one on the USBillboard 200, selling 318,000 copies in its first week of release, and spent five weeks at number one.
To promote the album, TLC embarked on their first concert tour titled theFanMail Tour.FanMail received acclaim from most music critics, who praised its innovative sound and themes. The album received eight nominations at the42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including one forAlbum of the Year, winning three. It has been certified six-times platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold 10 million copies worldwide.FanMail is TLC's second-best-selling album after their 1994 studio albumCrazySexyCool.
Released following a period of uncertainty marked by financial difficulties and disputes with their record label and among group members,FanMail reaffirmed TLC's commercial viability. The album's incorporation of technological themes and futuristic production has been credited with helping to reshape the sound of R&B at the turn of the 21st century. TLC were among the first mainstream artists to aestheticize the internet in their music, andFanMail is regarded as an early precursor to the direct artist-to-fan interaction that would later become common in the era of social media. It was the group's final album released inLisa "Left Eye" Lopes' lifetime before she died on April 25, 2002, as she was killed in a car crash prior to the release of their fourth studio album3D (2002).[1][2]
After filing forChapter 11bankruptcy on July 3, 1995, the group went on a recording hiatus. The suit was eventually settled on November 25, 1996.[3] Preliminary work on their third studio album was delayed when friction arose between the group and their main producerDallas Austin, who was at the time dating memberRozonda "Chilli" Thomas, and helped to raise their son Tron. Austin wanted $4.2 million and creative control on the project, resulting in a stand-off between him and the group. TLC eventually entered recording studios in April 1998 to start work on their then-untitled third album with Austin, who returned with a handshake agreement. While he contributed the most to the album and served as theexecutive producer, they also collaborated with long-term producersBabyface andL.A. Reid, as well as withKevin "She'kspere" Briggs,Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.[4]FanMail was initially scheduled for release on November 10, 1998, but was delayed to the first quarter of 1999.[5][6]
Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes wrote and composed eight songs for the album, all of which Austin rejected, stating that they were "inferior".[7] Consequently, Lopes toldMTV News in July 1998 that she decided to work on a solo album assisted byErick Sermon. The album was planned to be released beforeFanMail, further causing tension among the group.[4][8] During an interview withVibe in 1999, Lopes publicly derided her involvement in TLC, remarking: "I've graduated from this era. I cannot stand 100 percent behind this TLC project and the music that is supposed to represent me. This will be my last interview until I can speak freely about the truth and present myself on my solo project."[4]
During the recording ofFanMail, the group were offered many songs that would eventually be recorded by other artists such as702's "Where My Girls At?" (1999),[9]Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel" (1998),[10] andBritney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" (1998). Thomas stated that the group considered recording each track but were worried that it did not represent them well.Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins reiterated Thomas' reasoning in an interview withMTV News, stating that "...Baby One More Time" was not good for them despite appreciating and respecting Spears' decision to record it.[11] Each member received at least one songwriting credit throughoutFanMail.[12]
Watkins decided to begin writing poetry to deal with her emotions after being in and out of hospital due tosickle cell disease. She took her collection of poems to Austin, who helped her adapt one into the song "Unpretty", while another was adapted by Babyface into "Dear Lie". While writing and recording "I'm Good at Being Bad" in Minneapolis, Watkins had been inspired bygrunge bandNirvana's loud and soft dynamic shifts in their discography, and wanted to create a song in a similar style for TLC. Jam encouraged her to hum the melody while he played the beat in the recording booth, which was unlike her usual process of listening to the beat and writing out the lyrics. She stated that the technique influenced her as a songwriter. She sought to have Lopes rap the pre-chorus herself, but Lopes insisted that Watkins' thicker voice should be used for the track. Watkins also contributed to writing two more songs for the album, co-writing "If They Knew" and "Shout" with Austin and Lopes. Two of the album's tracks, "Come on Down" and "I Miss You So Much", were originally written for Watkins to sing lead. However, she decided that Thomas would be more suited as the lead vocalist after attempting to record them. During the recording of the latter, Thomas was suffering from a sinus infection. She asked to re-record the song the next week despite it being near the album's deadline, but Babyface decided that the vocal take she had recorded would be suitable for the final version. "No Scrubs" was one of the final tracks recorded for the album. It was originally written byKandi Burruss,Tameka Cottle, and Briggs for the former two artists to record together as part of the girl groupXscape. However, Austin persuaded Briggs to give the song to TLC as their first single forFanMail, with Thomas singing the lead vocals. Austin further emphasized that it was a breakthrough for her, as he believed that she was more capable than being relegated to a secondary vocalist.[13]
FanMail took on a new, futuristic style, due to the rapid advancement in technology heading into the new millennium such as theY2K bug andNapster.[2][14] This was effectively portrayed in the album's most popular song "No Scrubs" along with the music video, which embraces a modern emphasis on female strength and independence.[10] The album contains several tracks featuring vocals by the computer modulated voice Vic-E, a talking android which is reminiscent of the "tour guide" onA Tribe Called Quest's 1993 studio album,Midnight Marauders.[14] Initially, the android was created through theMacintosh's greeting voice as a replacement for Lopes, as she refused to work with the group. However, once she reconciled with them, she approved of the android and decided to include it on the album as a character.[13]
FanMail is anR&B andpop album, that includes tracks featuringfunk,hip hop-inspireddance-pop, andballads.[2][15][16][17][18] Several producers were involved in the album's production, including Dallas Austin, Babyface,Jermaine Dupri, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis.[2] Throughout 17 tracks, TLC brought up issues of sexuality, insecurities, self-reliance, and vulnerability with resistant messaging.[14] It fused elements of"new jill swing" and sounds created from aRoland TR-808, to form a "cyber-R&B masterpiece".[19] On the first track "FanMail", Austin used multiplesamples from the internet and movies in order to create a "space sound" that "will sound like what the album cover looks like". The background noise consisting of typewriters and printers was incorporated to represent the fan letters and fan mail, while Austin added a sample from an interview with Lopes commenting "all these conflicting fan mail", and created ahook with it.[20] The song consisted of a sneaking bassline, vocal stutters, and glitches similar to that ofdial-up Internet.[10] However, in contrast to the album's dominating technological sound, "Unpretty" is analternative pop song that describes the insecurity caused by body-shaming. The song was inspired by a poem written by Watkins. "Communicate (Interlude)" establishes the connection between the thoughts and feelings of people nearby through technology. The lyrics from the song, "There's over a thousand ways/ To communicate in our world today/ And it's a shame/ That we don't connect" describe the lack of interaction between humans, which in turn has increased the rate ofdepression among adolescents.[14] It combines the typing of a keyboard in the background with Left Eye's vocals, "will you communicate with me?".[10]
TheFanMail cover featured a custom font design, and cover art with decode-ablebinary code which included images of the TLC members in metallic skin tones.[10][14] The photographer, Dan Levy, shot the silver-painted group members without any digital alterations.[13] Writing fori-D, Annie Lord described the members on the cover as "three digitised [sic], disembodied cyborgs from another dimension", and compared the binary code across their faces toThe Matrix.[21] The CD insert folds out to form a large poster featuring a picture of the three TLC members and the names of thousands of people who sent them fan mail throughout their career.[22] A limited edition of the album was released, which had an insert with a lenticular version of the cover placed in front of the original booklet in the jewel case.[23]
The album title is a tribute to TLC's fans after their five-year hiatus. It came from Lopes, who also coined the group's first two album titlesOoooooohhh... On the TLC Tip andCrazySexyCool, and initially wanted to name the albumFan2See.[4][13] She stated to the group, "let's write and sing one big fan letter. Let's put fan names on everything – all the singles, the album cover, T-shirts, mugs. Just show our appreciation".[14]
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"FanMail", "Silly Ho", "I'm Good at Being Bad", and "My Life" served aspromotional singles for the album. Those songs charted on the USBillboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
"No Scrubs" was the official lead single and topped the USBillboard Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks, becoming TLC's biggest commercial success in years. It also ranked at number two onBillboard's Year-End Hot 100 of 1999.[24]
Follow-up single "Unpretty" also topped theBillboard Hot 100, spending three weeks at number one and placing at number 20 on the Year-End Hot 100.[24]
Originally, "Shout" was planned to be a single in the United States, while "Dear Lie" would be a single internationally, but only the latter would end up being released as a single with an accompanying music video. It peaked at number 51 on theBillboard Hot 100.[24][25]
TLC embarked on theFanMail Tour to promote the album. It was their first headlining tour, and their first tour in five years. As part of a sponsorship withMP3.com, the group released "I Need That", with proceeds sent to theSickle Cell Disease Association of America. The song was described by the producer Rico Lumpkins as "more R&B thanhip-hop". The stage and costumes were all designed by each TLC member.[26] The FanMail Tour became the highest-grossing tour by a girl group, as it grossed over $72.8 million. It was the final tour with all three members together.[27]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [18] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[28] |
| The Guardian | [29] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [30] |
| Muzik | [31] |
| NME | 8/10[32] |
| Q | [33] |
| Rolling Stone | [34] |
| Spin | 6/10[35] |
| USA Today | [36] |
Upon release,FanMail received acclaim from most music critics, many of whom regarded it as TLC's most progressive project to date.[2][37] Reviewers also complimented the album's sound and lyrics for addressing complex themes in a catchy, mainstream manner.[38]
Writing forMuzik, Tony Farsides stated thatFanMail was "a real grower" in comparison to other albums released during the time.[31]NME writer Roger Morton compared the album's "cyber concept" toPrince'selectronic funk discography and opined that TLC were not diminished by other girl groups such asHoneyz,All Saints, and theSpice Girls.[32]
Ann Powers ofRolling Stone opined that elements ofFanMail were "fragmented" despite sounding more "sharper [and] aggressive" thanCrazySexyCool, but praised the TLC members for taking "brave" risks.[34] Writing forAllMusic,Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that the group were attempting to imitate the production ofCrazySexyCool although he noted the album's versatility.[18]Los Angeles Times staff writer Marc Weingarten negatively stated that the vocals were "wispy [and] flat", and that all members were "severely limited singers". However, he commented that the album's production managed to overpower their vocals with "sinewy beats and startling arrangements".[30]
David Browne ofEntertainment Weekly criticized TLC's "startlingly faceless and homogeneous" vocals and opined thatFanMail was an "endless parade of hooks" without the essence of R&B. He acknowledged that their vocals were typical of some R&B artists in the 1990s who "warble in the same half-asleep murmur" and lamented that the genre is "curiously dispassionate".[28] Writing forSpin,Joshua Clover stated that the album was "a burning, physical message that looks like a spectacle but reads like sexual politics" and criticized the producers for attempting to resembleTimbaland's production.[35]
In the United States,FanMail debuted at number one on theBillboard 200 and theTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts with 318,000 copies sold in its first week, becoming TLC's first number-one album on both charts.[39] On June 21, 2000, it was certified six-times platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). According toNielsen SoundScan, the album had sold 4.8 million copies in the United States as of July 2017;[40] it had sold an additional 877,000 copies through theBMG Music Club as of February 2003.[41] Internationally, the album reached the top 10 in New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. As of February 2019,FanMail has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.[15]
FanMail marked a return to form for TLC, following a turbulent hiatus from recording music that included a highly publicized period of financial struggles, record label disagreements, and internal conflict among group members.[2][10][15][42] Although it did not replicate the commercial success ofCrazySexyCool,FanMail further cemented TLC's status as one of the most influential girl groups of all-time,[43][44] and nevertheless established them as the best-selling female musical act in the United States.[14] According to Preezy Brown ofRevolt, its success proved their longevity as the preeminent R&B girl group of the 1990s, "bookend[ing] one of the dominant runs we’ve seen in music over the past quarter-century and stamped TLC as modern-day legends".[37] In aBBC Radio 1 listener poll,FanMail was voted the 17th best album of the 1993-2003 decade.[45]
The album is credited with helping to reshape the sound of R&B upon the turn of the 21st century.[12] Its production, which incorporated futuristic and electronic sounds, influenced the genre's shift towards a more technology-inspired style,[38][46] consequently introducing other sub-genres of R&B.[12] Music journalistSuzy Exposito said the album "would serve as a blueprint for a new, digitally-savvy generation of genre-defying musicians".[19] With the album's release, TLC were among the first artists to adopt asoundscape and aesthetic inspired by the country's fascination with and fear of thenew millennium, the internet, and Y2K,[12][13][22][47] with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd ofComplex declaring them "the most accurately prescient of any of the musicians" who donnedmetallic outfits.[10] According to Natelegé Whaley ofVibe, it "proved that TLC was more in tune with the future than their pop peers".[14]Rated R&B's Danielle Brissett agreed that it "launched them into a space that most female R&B groups had yet to experience", while allowing them to compete alongside the likes of emerging R&B girl groups such as702,Blaque, andDestiny’s Child by releasing music that sounded different than theirs.[12]Apple Music said the album maintains relevance despite itsretrofuturism, writing, "there isn't a better snapshot of where things were headed around the turn of the millennium".[42]
Music publications have discussed the impact of the album's themes.[19][47] Apple Music said the project "delivered some of R&B's most timeless empowerment anthems and channeled the future with remarkable prescience".[42] Similarly, Nick C. Levine ofDazed said in 2019 that the album's themes about self-preservation and self-worth continue to resonate.[15] In response, TLC has received an outpouring of support from both established and new fans during and decades after the album's release, who wrote to them sharing their own struggles with body image and other issues.[19] Whaley believes the record's defiance granted women "permission to be vocal about the spectrum of their emotions", particularly via its most popular single, "No Scrubs".[14] In addition to introducing the term "scrub" into the public'slexicon, the song had been sampled on over 37 songs by 2019.[47] A reviewer forSputnikmusic crowned the album "THE female urban album of our generation to evoke integrity in women, and companionship with their special someone", which they found deserving of TLC's recognition in the history books.[48] In retrospect, some critics have admitted that certain aspects ofFanMail sound outdated.[22][47] However, Kish Lal ofJunkee noted that althoughFanMail may contain dated production elements, its thematic substance and overarching messages remain timeless compared to offerings from other contemporary artists attempting Y2K-inspired pop at the time.[47] Shepherd noted that the "weightless" production that characterizedFanMail had fallen out of fashion but already resurged by 2014.[10]
Because of its title and tracks that directly address fans, several reporters have noted that the album positioned TLC as early adopters ofdigital fan engagement in apre-social media era,[10][43] with both Chilli and T-Boz frequently interacting with their fans online.[21] Lindsay Zoladz ofPitchfork reported that becauseFanMail is often overlooked in favor of its immediate predecessor,CrazySexyCool, fans fail to realize that the album is responsible for "a whole crop of web-minded, Tumblr-savvy, android-obsessed artists".[22] Zoladz argues thatFanMail explores the isolating effects of being constantly connected; she sees this theme reflected across contemporary media, from Drake'sTake Care (2011) toThe Social Network (2010) andGirls (2012-2017), all of which similarly grapple with the emotional toll of digital life.[22] Lal said in 2019 "The disconnect that TLC emanates inFanMail has trickled into the lives of everyone on social media",[47] whilei-D's Annie Lord said TLC "predicted internet anxiety".[21] The album has been cited as an influence on the works of female R&B artists in particular, namely Destiny’s Child,SZA,H.E.R., andSummer Walker.[14] In 2019, Brissett credited the album's success with helping launch aBlack music movement "that went against the norm" and "has a heavy presence today".[12]FanMail was the final album TLC released comprising their original trio,[37] becoming the last album they recorded with Lopes prior to her death in 2002.[42]Double J contributor Sose Fuamoli said that, even when removed from Lopes's legacy,FanMail's "importance at the end of the 90s is untouchable".[2]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "FanMail" | Dallas Austin | Cyptron | 3:59 |
| 2. | "The Vic-E Interpretation – Interlude" | Austin | Cyptron | 0:18 |
| 3. | "Silly Ho" | Austin | Cyptron | 4:15 |
| 4. | "Whispering Playa – Interlude" |
| Austin | 0:52 |
| 5. | "No Scrubs" | Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs | 3:34 | |
| 6. | "I'm Good at Being Bad" | Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis | 5:39 | |
| 7. | "If They Knew" |
|
| 4:04 |
| 8. | "I Miss You So Much" |
| 4:56 | |
| 9. | "Unpretty" |
| Austin | 4:38 |
| 10. | "My Life" |
|
| 4:01 |
| 11. | "Shout" |
| Austin | 3:57 |
| 12. | "Come On Down" | Diane Warren |
| 4:17 |
| 13. | "Dear Lie" |
| Babyface | 5:10 |
| 14. | "Communicate – Interlude" | Austin | Austin | 0:51 |
| 15. | "Lovesick" |
| Austin | 3:52 |
| 16. | "Automatic" | Austin | Austin | 4:31 |
| 17. | "Don't Pull Out on Me Yet" | Austin |
| 4:33 |
Notes
Sample credits
Credits adapted from the liner notes ofFanMail.[23]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
Decade-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[92] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Belgium (BRMA)[93] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Canada (Music Canada)[94] | 4× Platinum | 400,000^ |
| France (SNEP)[95] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Germany | — | 250,000[96] |
| Japan (RIAJ)[97] | Million | 1,000,000^ |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[98] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[99] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[100] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[102] | Platinum | 395,877[101] |
| United States (RIAA)[104] | 6× Platinum | 5,677,000[i] |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[105] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
| Worldwide | — | 10,000,000[15] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
FanMail became another critical success.
a sleek and seductive pop-R&B
...TLC returned with the superb, futuristic R&B of 1999's 'FanMail'.
...Fanmail, a futuristic pop odyssey...
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)FanMail was acclaimed by critics of all varieties with the album receiving glowing reviews as their most progressive work at the time
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Studio albums | |
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| Related articles | |
