''21'' is the second studio album by American R&B singer

Omarion Omari Ishmael Grandberry (born November 12, 1984), better known by his stage name Omarion, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actor and dancer. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the boy band B2K. The group achieved success in the e ...

. It was released on December 12, 2006, by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical m ...

and

Sony Urban Music Sony Urban Music was a division of Sony BMG, active from 2004 to 2006, The division handled R&B, soul, and hip hop releases by artists nominally signed to Sony's Columbia and Epic labels. During its existence, Sony Urban managed releases by ar ...

. The album was produced by

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...

Eric Hudson Eric Hudson (born October 15, 1986) is an American and Grammy award-winning music producer. His parents are Curtis and Phyllis Bivins-Hudson. Curtis is a songwriter and producer, and most notably the co-writer of Madonna's song "Holiday", co-writ ...

and

Bryan-Michael Cox Bryan-Michael Paul Cox (born December 1, 1977) is an American record producer and songwriter who is notable for his work with artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton. Among his most notable productions are "Be Wit ...

and saw Omarion co-write every song on the album. The album's title was inspired from when Omarion turned 21 years old months before the album's release. The album spawned two singles: "

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

" and "

Ice Box An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...

". Exclusively at

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

, ''21'' was packaged with a bonus DVD titled ''BET Presents Omarion'' (2006). The DVD features

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

and performance highlights, and music videos from Omarion's solo career. ''21'' also received mildly positive reviews from critics, who saw it as an improvement over his debut record '' O'' (2005). The album debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 119,000 copies in its first week. The European edition add a bonus track: "Man Up", featuring Korean singer

Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...

Critical reception

''21'' received mildly positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. Andy Kellman of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

gave it an "Album Pick" title, praising the production throughout and Omarion for putting more input as a songwriter and performer, saying that he "truly surpassed his status as the former member of a boy band." DJ Z of DJBooth commented on the lyricism feeling mature and the production showing more sophistication, saying that "Omarion's second album is a welcome addition to his musical catalog and should appeal to both his fan base and a more adult crowd." Thomas Inskeep of Stylus Magazine also praised the album for its production and having a good ratio of solid-to-great songs. Putting it alongside

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

's '' The Evolution'' for "best straight-up R&B album" he said that "the pair leave plenty of encouragement about the future of the genre." Damien Scott of ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...

'' gave a mixed review, saying that Omarion lacked range in his performance and that he's "never fully in charge." Mark Edward Nero of

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

was also mixed towards the album, praising the first two singles but found the other tracks above-average at best, in terms of production and vocal quality that "range from average ("Obsession," Made For TV,") to fair ("Midnight," "Beg For It")." He concluded with: "Although O's taken a step forward in establishing himself as an adult solo artist, he still hasn't completely arrived yet. But at only 21 years of age, he's still got plenty of room to grow."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 119,000 copies in its first week. This became Omarion's first US number one debut and his second US top-ten album. In its second week, the album dropped to number ten on the chart, selling an additional 42,000 copies. As of November 2008, the album has sold over 390,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing

;Notes * signifies a co- producer

Personnel

Adapted from the ''21'' liner notes. * Chris Stokes, Omari Grandberry, Kawan 'KP' Prather, Ketrina 'Taz' Askew,

Marques Houston Marques Barrett Houston (born August 4, 1981) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and actor. A member of the R&B group Immature/IMx from 1990 until 2002, Houston went solo in 2003. As an actor, he is best known for his role as Roger Evans ...

and Henley 'Jr.' Regisford: executive producers * Brian "Big Bass" Gardner: mastering ( Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, CA) * Chris "Tek" O'Ryan:

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...

The Ultimate Group TUG Entertainment (TUG stands for The Ultimate Group), was a record label/ Management Company that was once home to such artists as B2K, Omarion, Marques Houston, Mila J, O'Ryan, Jhené Aiko, One Luv, 2 Much and NLT, Simon Phenix/Rawwtunez for U ...

: management * Kenny Meiselas, Esq. (Grubman, Indursky, PC) and Tabetha D. Plummer, Esq. (The Plummer Law Group):

legal representation In a civil proceeding or criminal prosecution under the common law or under statute, a defendant may raise a defense (or defence) in an effort to avert civil liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a party to defeat ...

* Kawan Prather: A&R,

* Jennifer Gray: A&R Operations, Sony Urban Music * David "Touch" Wright: A&R Coordinator, Sony Urban Music * Amberdawn Alexander: marketing, Sony Urban Music * Michelle Holme and Erwin Gorostiza: art direction * Eric Ogden: photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2006 albums Omarion albums Epic Records albums Sony Urban Music albums Albums produced by Bryan-Michael Cox Albums produced by Eric Hudson Albums produced by Timbaland Albums produced by the Neptunes Albums produced by the Underdogs (production team) Albums recorded at Record Plant (Los Angeles)