| Passion, Pain & Pleasure | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 14, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | March – July 2010 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 55:50 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Trey Songz chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Passion, Pain & Pleasure | ||||
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Passion, Pain & Pleasure (stylized asPASSION PAIN & PLEASURE) is the fourthstudio album by AmericanR&B recording artistTrey Songz; it was released on September 14, 2010. The album serves as a follow-up to his commercial breakthroughReady (2009). Production for the album took place from March 2010 to July 2010 and was handled by several record producers, including his mentorTroy Taylor,Bryan-Michael Cox,Stargate andMario Winans, among others.
The album debuted at number 2 on the USBillboard 200, selling 240,000 copies in its first week. It has produced two singles, including "Can't Be Friends" andBillboard hit "Bottoms Up". The album was certifiedplatinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for combined sales and streaming equivalent units of over a million units. Upon its release,Passion, Pain & Pleasure received positive reviews from most music critics. Songz promoted the album via his Summer 2010 tour with R&B singerMonica.
The album's lead single "Bottoms Up" featuringNicki Minaj, was released on July 27, 2010. The music video was filmed on July 31, 2010 and was released Tuesday, August 17, 2010 onBET.[3] It has reached at number 2 on the USBillboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and at number 6 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart.[4][5]
The album's second single "Can't Be Friends" was released on September 28, 2010. The song produced by Mario Winans and it contains asample of composerRyuichi Sakamoto's "Bibo no Aozora" from thescore of 2006 drama filmBabel.[6] It charted at number 1 on theBillboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and at number 43 on theBillboard Hot 100.[4][5] The music video was filmed and was released on September 7, 2010.
"Love Faces" and "Unusual" featuringDrake were released as the third and fourth singles respectively.[1]
In August 2010, the tracks "Love Faces" and "Doorbell" leaked through the internet.[7] On hisUstream.tv channel, Songz expressed his feelings regarding the leaks, stating "Shout out to everybody who didn't listen to the leaks. Bootleggers gotta eat. I ain't mad at y'all boys".[7] In his response, Songz also premiered the track "Massage", a boudior-oriented slow jam about giving a lover a head-to-toe massage that he performs on tour with giving a selected audience member a massage onstage.[7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |    [8] |
| Allmusic | [9] |
| BBC Online | (favorable)[10] |
| Los Angeles Times | [11] |
| PopMatters | (8/10)[12] |
| Rolling Stone | [13] |
| The Sydney Morning Herald | [14] |
| USA Today | [15] |
| The Washington Post | (favorable)[16] |
Passion, Pain & Pleasure received positive reviews from most music critics.[17] AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received anaverage score of 71, based on five reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[17]Allmusic writer Andy Kellman gave it four out of five stars and complimented its second half as "the strongest, most varied side of a Trey Songz album, just about flawless. It smoothly shifts through several moods".[9]BBC Online's Mike Diver praised the album's "in-depth descriptions of how our protagonist is going to pleasure his other half" and noted Songz's performance as a strength, stating "The skill is in the execution, in the articulation – and Trey is well studied and blessed with some wonderfully smooth vocals".[10] Sean Fennessey ofThe Washington Post wrote that the album "is softer and subtler than'Ready'. There are more ballads here -- and fewer 'panty-droppers' and 'baby-makers'. Instead, Trey is making 'Love Faces' at his girl, or growing reflective, and occasionally maudlin, as on 'Can't Be Friends'".[16] Tyler Lewis ofPopMatters commented that "Songz rides the tonal and rhythmic shifts with impressive agility" and commended "a clearly rejuvenated songwriting team of Troy Taylor, Edrick Miles, Tony Scales, and Songz himself, who in various combinations wrote the lyrics and melodies to nearly every song here".[12]
In contrast,Rolling Stone writer Will Hermes gave the album two out of five stars and stated "it's just steady mackin' over dull, airbrushed slow-jams".[13] Andrew Murfett ofThe Sydney Morning Herald expressed a negative response towards its sexual content and stated "Little, if anything, is left to the imagination here".[14]Los Angeles Times writer August Brown viewed that Songz "lacks an especially charismatic voice", but complimented its musical quality and wrote that the album "leaves you like a perfect one night stand — you don’t have to remember the person, just the way he or she made you feel".[11]About.com's Mark Edward Nero stated "this album's musical and vocal quality are consistently good from track to track" and concluded "despite the few miscues, this is clearly Trey's most consistent album yet".[8]USA Today's Steve Jones gave the album three out of four stars and stated "his consistent passion makes listening a pleasure".[15]
The album debuted at number 2 on the USBillboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 240,000 copies.[18] In its second week, it dropped to number 7 on the chart and sold 66,000 copies.[19] The album remained at number 7 and sold 42,000 copies in its third week.[20] It fell two spots to number 9 on the chart and sold 32,000 copies in its fourth week.[21] The album has currently sold 823,000 copies in the United States.[22] The album was certifiedplatinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for combined sales and streaming equivalent units of over a million units.Passion, Pain & Pleasure debuted at number 32 on Canada'sTop 100 Albums chart.[23]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Here We Go Again (Intro)" |
| 0:40 | |
| 2. | "Love Faces" |
|
| 4:02 |
| 3. | "Massage" |
|
| 4:17 |
| 4. | "Alone" |
| Tha Bizness | 3:31 |
| 5. | "Bottoms Up" (featuringNicki Minaj) |
|
| 4:00 |
| 6. | "Pain (Interlude)" |
|
| 1:26 |
| 7. | "Can't Be Friends" |
| Mario Winans | 3:45 |
| 8. | "Please Return My Call" |
|
| 3:57 |
| 9. | "Made to Be Together" |
|
| 4:28 |
| 10. | "Pleasure (Interlude)" | Taylor | T. Taylor | 1:29 |
| 11. | "Red Lipstick" |
|
| 4:00 |
| 12. | "Unusual" (featuringDrake) |
|
| 3:32 |
| 13. | "Doorbell" |
|
| 3:56 |
| 14. | "Passion (Interlude)" | Bei Maejor | 1:24 | |
| 15. | "Unfortunate" |
|
| 3:49 |
| 16. | "Blind" |
| Bei Maejor | 4:06 |
| 17. | "You Just Need Me" |
|
| 3:32 |
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18. | "Already Taken" | Polow Da Don | 3:58 |
| 19. | "I Like Dat" (featuringSwizz Beatz andT.I.) | Swizz Beatz | 3:44 |
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18. | "Panty Droppa" (The Complete Edition) |
| 3:52 |
| 19. | "Love Me Better" (Here We Go Again Complete Edition) |
| 3:39 |
Notes
Credits forPassion, Pain & Pleasure adapted fromAllmusic.[24]
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Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[38] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Country | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| United States | September 14, 2010[39] |
|
| United Kingdom | November 1, 2010[40] | Atlantic Records |
| Germany | March 11, 2011[41] |
