''So Many Ways'' is the debut album by American
R&B vocal group
The Braxtons
The Braxtons are an American musical quintet consisting of singer Toni Braxton and her younger sisters, Traci Braxton, Towanda Braxton, Trina Braxton, and Tamar Braxton. Despite being commercially unsuccessful, the group's first single, " Good ...
. Released on August 6, 1996, the album produced four singles; "
So Many Ways", "
Only Love", "
The Boss" – which peaked at number-one in the
''Billboard'' Dance Charts – and "
Slow Flow". "So Many Ways" peaked at No. 26 on the
''Billboard'' R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts
and No. 3 on the
Heatseekers Albums chart.
Background
The Braxtons originally started out in 1989. They first signed as a fivesome to
Arista Records which consisted of
Toni Braxton
Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won ...
and her four sisters,
Tamar, Trina, Towanda and Traci. In 1990, they released their first single "
Good Life". It would be their only single as a fivesome. "Good Life" failed to become a hit and The Braxtons were dropped from
Arista Records. Despite the single's underwhelming performance,
Toni Braxton
Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won ...
's vocals caught the attention of
Antonio "L.A." Reid and
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds
Kenneth Brian Edmonds (born April 10, 1959), better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 12 Grammy A ...
who were in the process of forming
LaFace Records
LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achiev ...
. Eventually, Toni signed as a solo artist and started her career in 1992. In 1996, three out of the four Braxtons, Trina, Tamar and Towanda reunited and released their album ''So Many Ways''. Their older sister Traci, did not join them as she was pregnant at the time they signed a new contract. The album produced four singles: "So Many Ways", "Only Love", "Slow Flow" and "The Boss"; the latter peaked at number-one in the
''Billboard'' Dance Charts.
Singles
"
So Many Ways" was released as the lead single from the album July 23, 1996.
On August 17, 1996, The Braxtons released the video for the song, it was directed by Cameron Casey and featured actor
Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Phifer (; born December 29, 1974) is an American actor. He portrayed Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama '' ER'' until 2008 and had a co-starring role opposite actor/rapper Eminem in the 2002 feature film '' 8 Mile''. He was ...
. The single was also used as the opening track for the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
to the comedy film ''
High School High
''High School High'' is a 1996 American comedy film about an inner city high school in the Los Angeles, California area, starring Jon Lovitz, Tia Carrere, Mekhi Phifer, Louise Fletcher, Malinda Williams, and Brian Hooks. It is a spoof of movies ...
''.
The song charted at 83 on
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and 22 on
US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in the US.
The song reached the top 40 in the UK charting at 32 and in New Zealand the song charted at 17.
The trio also performed a remixed version of "So Many Ways" with rapper
Jay-Z on September 9, 1996 at the
Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards.
"
Only Love" was released as the album's second single on January 25, 1997. The song charted at #52 on ''Billboards
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 ...
spending fourteen weeks in total on the chart.
The song charted at #3 on New Zealand's Top 40 chart.
A music video for this song was also released.
"
The Boss" was released as the album's third single in early 1997. A music video was released to promote the song. On February 1, 1997 the
Masters At Work
Masters at Work is the American garage house production and remix team of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. The duo has produced music together under the names MAW, KenLou, Sole Fusion, Hardrive, and Nuyorican Soul. They have been ...
version topped the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart for one week a #1 in the United States. The song stayed in the chart for 14 weeks.
On March 29, 1997 the song debuted at number 31 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
The song spent a total of three weeks on the chart at numbers 50 and 69 respectively before leaving the Top 75 on April 12, 1997 becoming their second top 40 in the UK.
"
Slow Flow" was released as the fourth and final single from the album. Despite failing to chart in the U.S. the song charted at #26 on
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
becoming their highest chart to date.
The song also charted in New Zealand at #38 on
New Zealand Singles Chart
The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...
.
The Braxtons also served as the opening act for Toni Braxton on the European Leg of her
Secrets Tour
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.
Secrecy is often controvers ...
in 1997.
Commercial performance
''So Many Ways'' peaked at No. 26 on the
''Billboard'' R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
It reached #2 on the
Heatseekers Albums chart.
Track listing
Charts
Release history
References
External links
Next (Sep 1996): The Braxtonsat ''
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 ...
''
{{Authority control
1996 debut albums
The Braxtons albums
Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri