''Nothin' But Trouble'' is the debut studio album by American singer and actress

Nia Peeples Virenia "Nia" Peeples (born December 10, 1961) is an American R&B and dance music singer and actress. Peeples is known for playing Nicole Chapman on the hit TV series '' Fame''; Pam Fields on the drama ''Pretty Little Liars''; Karen Taylor Win ...

. It was released on August 30, 1988 by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

. Peeples decided to venture into the music industry after she came to recognition as a regular cast in the musical television series '' Fame''. She worked with Steve Harvey,

Howard Hewett Howard Hewett Jr. (born October 1, 1955) is an American singer–songwriter. Hewett rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the group Shalamar. In 1985, he left the group to pursue his solo career, but he later returned to the group in 2001. He sig ...

Doc Powell Doc Powell is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was born and raised in Spring Valley, New York. He attended college at University of Charleston. Career He has worked with Wilson Pickett, who chose him to be his musical director. He ha ...

and Tony Prendatt on the album. Musically, ''Nothin' But Trouble'' is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

and R&B album with influence of other popular genres at the time, such as freestyle and

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...

. ''Nothin' But Trouble'' did not receive 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 ...

who compared Peeples' style to

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

and

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

. The album spawned one hit single with a track originally recorded by La Toya Jackson. It was not a commercial success as it didn't receive any certifications. It peaked at number ninety-seven on the ''Billboard'' 200. Three singles were released from the album. The

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

" peaked at number thirty-five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs chart. The album's following singles "High Time" and "I Know How (to Make You Love Me)" were less successful but managed to peak into the Hot Dance Club Songs chart at number ten and twenty-eight respectively.

Background

Another singer and Peeples' labelmate

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

was also working on her debut album '' The Right Stuff'' (1988) at that time. She later commented that the label's focus was on Peeples because of her high-profile role on the television series '' Fame'', so they invested their sales and marketing efforts in her album.

Critical reception

Ron Wynn Ron Wynn is a music critic, author, and AllMusic editor. Wynn was the editor of the first edition of '' The All Music Guide to Jazz'' (1994), and from 1993 to 1994 served as the jazz and rap editor of the ''All Music Guide''. Wynn is the former e ...

from

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 databas ...

mistakenly gave the album four and a half out of five stars and wrote: “Nia Peeples did a creditable job as an actress on the Fame television show, and later hosted a couple of short-lived music programs, including one produced by Arsenio Hall's company. But she never demonstrated on any project that she was a good singer, and her faults were glaring on this late-'80s work. Operating on the premise that they could make Peeples a second-level Paula Abdul, the producers gave her the same type of dance-pop bubblegum fodder, but didn't make it as hook-laden or catchy as Abdul's songs. The results were predictable."

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* ''Nothin' But Trouble''at

* {{Authority control Nia Peeples albums 1988 debut albums Mercury Records albums