''Affair'' is the third studio album by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer

Cherrelle Cheryl Anne Norton (born October 13, 1958), better known by her stage name Cherrelle, is an American R&B singer and songwriter who gained fame in the mid-1980s. Her signature hits include "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", "Where Do I Run To", " Ev ...

. Released on October 19, 1988, by Tabu Records, It reached #15 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart; and #106 on

Billboard Top 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artis ...

. It spawned the #1 R&B hit "

Everything I Miss at Home "Everything I Miss at Home" is a 1988 single by Cherrelle from her third studio album ''Affair''. The single was one of the most successful of her career, peaking at number one on The Black Singles chart for one week. Unlike previous Cherrelle r ...

," which is

's only #1 on that chart to date. It would also be her last album with long-time producers

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/ pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

Background

Cherrelle had recorded two albums previous to this: ''

Fragile Fragile or The Fragile may refer to: Film and television * ''Fragile'' (film), a 2005 film by Jaume Balagueró * "Fragile" (''Smallville''), a television episode Literature * ''Fragile'' (manga), a 2016 Japanese series by Bin Kusamizu and Sab ...

'' (1984) and ''

High Priority ''High Priority'' is the second studio album by United States, American singer Cherrelle. Released on October 20, 1985, it reached #9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart and #36 on the Billboard 200. It generated Cherrelle's biggest pop hit with ...

'' (1985). Both albums had been predominantly produced by

, and this third effort was no different. After the success of labelmate and frequent duet partner

Alexander O'Neal Alexander O'Neal (born November 15, 1953) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and arranger from Natchez, Mississippi. O'Neal came to prominence in the mid-1980s as a solo artist, with eleven Top 40 singles on the US R&B chart, three of whic ...

's 1987 concept album ''

Hearsay Hearsay evidence, in a legal forum, is testimony from an under-oath witness who is reciting an out-of-court statement, the content of which is being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. In most courts, hearsay evidence is inadmis ...

'', it was decided that Cherrelle's latest album would also follow a concept, this time one of a romantic relationship that had soured.

would also have co-writing and co-production input on the album for the tracks: "My Friend," "Crazy (For Loving You)" and "Lucky."

Reception

The soulfully introspective lead single from the album, "

" was very popular and paved the way for the album's success. The follow-up single was the up-tempo title track "Affair," which peaked at #4 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart in early 1989. The album's third and final single "What More Can I Do For You," which had a similar sound to the then upcoming ''

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson, released on September 19, 1989, by A&M Records. Although label executives wanted material similar to her previous album, ''Control'' (19 ...

'' would only chart modestly, peaking at #58 on the R&B chart. "Discreet" had two different intros on some releases. One intro of the first three seconds is of Cherrelle saying "What song are we doing now, Jimmy Jam?" played backwards. The other intro segues from "Pick me Up" to a party where Cherrelle and her friend are talking (snippets of the conversation are also heard near the end of the song). The ending is also a few seconds longer on the conversation intro version.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1988 albums Cherrelle albums Albums produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Tabu Records albums