''I Am'' is the third studio album by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

pop trio

Monrose Monrose was a German pop girl group, first established in November 2006. Formed on the fifth installment of the German adaption of the international television talent show '' Popstars'', the trio consisted of singers Mandy Capristo, Senna Gam ...

. It was first released by Starwatch Music, Cheyenne Records and

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

on 26 September 2008 in

German-speaking Europe This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the German-speaking area (german: Deutscher Sprachraum) in Europe ...

. The band reunited with frequent contributors Jiant and Snowflakers and Danish producer

Jonas Jeberg Jonas Jeberg (born January 28, 1975), is a Danish songwriter and music producer residing in Los Angeles. He has written and produced hit songs including Panic! at the Disco's " High Hopes", Selena Gomez's " Fetish" featuring Gucci Mane, Fifth Har ...

to work on the bulk of the album, though several new collaborators were consulted to hand in music, including Ronny Svendsen and Nermin Harambasic from Norwegian music collective

Dsign Music Dsign Music is a songwriting and production team. Dsign Music was founded in 2005 by Robin Jenssen, Anne Judith Stokke Wik, Nermin Harambašić and Ronny Vidar Svendsen in Trondheim, Norway. Since the start they have scored more than 60 Billboard ...

, Oscar Gorres, Didrik Thott, Carl Björsell, JoelJoel,

Guy Chambers Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams. Education Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, h ...

, and OneRepublic frontman

Ryan Tedder Ryan Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. As well as being the lead vocalist of the pop rock band OneRepublic, he has an independent career as a songwriter and producer for various artists since th ...

. Taking Monrose's work further into dance and electro music, the album scored a generally negative reception from music critics, with ''laut.de'' calling them "the

Sugababes Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...

for

discount store A discount store or discounter offers a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down cost ...

-fans." Upon its release, ''I Am'' debuted at number nine on the

German Albums Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustr ...

and reached top twenty in Austria and Switzerland. It spawned three singles, including Tedder-penned up tempo song " Strike the Match", which became a top ten hit in Germany, as well as " Hit'n'Run" and " Why Not Us", both of which missed the top ten.

Production and songs

The songs on ''I Am'' were selected out of more than six hundred demo tracks. The album's

opening track An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

, " Strike the Match", was penned by OneRepublic singer

and

Deborah Epstein SoShy (born Deborah Sarah Epstein;), is a French singer, songwriter, actress, DJ and model. Early life She was born Deborah Sarah Epstein in Paris, France, on September 14, 1984,SoShy in thFrench National Library/ref> to a French-Argentine-Ita ...

. Selected out of several tracks in Tedder's

repertoire A repertoire () is a list or set of dramas, operas, musical compositions or roles which a company or person is prepared to perform. Musicians often have a musical repertoire. The first known use of the word ''repertoire'' was in 1847. It is a ...

, it was the first song confirmed to be appearing on the album. Released as its leading single, the song reached the top ten of the

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

. Second track "

A Love Bizarre "A Love Bizarre" is a song written by Prince and Sheila E. The song is a duet between both singers and it appears on Sheila E.'s 1985 album '' Romance 1600''. It clocks in at 12:16, but the single version is 3:46 in duration. It made its debut i ...

" is a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the 1985 single by Sheila E. and

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

. Using the original

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

as produced by Prince, the song has been described as all-time favorite by band member Guemmour. "Certified" was written by longtime contributors Edwin "Lil' Eddie" Serrano and Jonas Jeberg, and has been described as "high-pitched, technical, and scratching." " Why Not Us" by

has been categorized as an "emotional mid-tempo ballad ..for the

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

time." Originally planned to be released as the album's second single, it was released as the third. In addition, the song served as a promotional track for the ''We Love''

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded f ...

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing ...

campaign. "Stolen" features background vocals by Jamie Pineda from the successful pop music project

Sweetbox Sweetbox is a German based pop music project formed in 1995 by executive producer Heiko Schmidt and music producer Roberto "Geo" Rosan. Throughout the years Sweetbox has had several lead singers including Kimberly Kearney, Dacia Bridges, Tina H ...

after Jamie had recorded the song first. Fifth track "Going Out Tonight" incorporates elements of

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Smi ...

and

dancehall music Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The R ...

, including rapped verses by all three band members, while "You Can Look" combines dance-pop with

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

. "Teach Me How to Jump" deals with

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

. The song was recorded in dedication to lost ones, including Guemmour's father, who died in 1992.

Critical reception

''I Am'' received mainly negative reviews. ''LetMeEntertainYou'' entitled the album's tracks as "sorted out material from the collection of immoral books of

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 ...

," calling it also "fiddling" and "sparsely innovative." Further criticisms stated that the girls' voices had been edited into digital cawings which get dislodged from the professional but overproduced music. Although ''CDStarts'' dismissed Monrose's original R'n'B/Pop-style, it deplored their attempt to go more into electropop as doing them no favors, and suggested that it could lead to a downfall from their established position in the German music scene.

Chart performance

''I Am'' debuted and peaked at number 9 on the

on 10 October 2008. It marked the band's third consecutive top ten entry and remained 14 weeks on the chart. In Switzerland, ''I Am'' debuted at number 14 on the Swiss Hitparade. It spent another four weeks on the chart. In Austria, the album became the band's first album to miss the top 20 of the Ö3 Austria Albums Chart. It peaked at number 20.

Track listing

Notes * denotes additional producer * denotes co-producer Sample credits *"

" is a

of the same-titled 1985 song performed by American singer Sheila E.

Charts

Release history

References

External links

Monrose.de
nbsp;— official site {{Authority control 2008 albums Monrose albums Warner Music Group albums Albums produced by Cutfather Albums produced by Ryan Tedder