''The Bridge'' is the debut album of Canadian R&B/soul singer

Melanie Fiona Melanie Fiona Hallim (born July 4, 1983) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario.SRC/

Universal Motown Universal Motown Records was an American record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company tha ...

label in June 2009. It was released in the United States on November 10, 2009. The album debuted at number four on the '' Billboard''

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 ...

chart and at number 57 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, where it later peaked at number 27. The album received generally favorable reviews. As of February 2012, the album has sold 450,000 copies in the United States.

Background

The album is a mixture of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

, R&B,

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and hip hop

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

influenced by

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

. In an interview, Fiona described the album's sound as " pop

". On the album, she worked with

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...

, Rob Fusari,

Peter Wade Keusch Peter Wade Keusch, more commonly known as Peter Wade, is a record producer, recording engineer, mixer, songwriter and A&R. His artist development projects include MNDR, Party Nails and numerous songwriters and producers signed to his record label ...

, Sidh Solanki,

Vada Nobles Vada Nobles is an American record producer and songwriter. He provided production for " Lost Ones" on Lauryn Hill's debut solo album, ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' (1998).McLeod, Rodd"The reeducation of Lauryn Hill". Salon.com. May 10, 2000. ...

, Bill Blast, Future Cut,

Stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

, Dan Strong, JK, Jay Fenix, Affiliate.

Reception

''The Bridge'' has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Edwin McFee of ''

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...

'' called the album "an intelligent homage to ‘60s Motown, sampling soul classics while putting her own unique stamp on things".

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 ...

's Matthew Chisling gave it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote that "where it does go, it goes masterfully", concerning its sound. Despite noting a weakness in the album's cohesiveness, 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, ...

wrote favorably of the album's production and commended Fiona for her vocal ability. "It Kills Me" was nominated for the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards ...

Singles

"Sad Songs" was released in April 2009 in the UK only as a digital download, with the

-tinged songs "Somebody Come Get Me" and "Island Boy" as B-sides. "Sad Songs" did not chart in the UK. "

Give It to Me Right "Give It to Me Right" is a song by Canadian contemporary R&B, R&B singer Melanie Fiona from her debut album, ''The Bridge (Melanie Fiona album), The Bridge'' (2009). Written and produced by Andrea Martin (musician), Andrea Martin and Rod Argent, t ...

" was the first official single from ''The Bridge''. The song peaked at number 41 in the UK but failed to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US. It did, however, reach number 57 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "

It Kills Me "It Kills Me" is a R&B single by Melanie Fiona as the second U.S. single (third in Canada after " Give It to Me Right") from '' The Bridge''. The track spent nine weeks as number-one on the US Billboard R&B singles chart. The track also peaked jus ...

" was Fiona's first entry on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, charting at number 43. The single was the second from the album in the US and charted at number one on the US R&B chart. It was released in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

as the third single from the album and was released as the third single in the UK on June 14, 2010. " Bang Bang" was sent to radio in the UK and Canada as the second single for

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

and

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

radio stations. " Monday Morning" charted in Switzerland and Poland at number one and in Austria at number five. It was released as the third US single (however, "Bang Bang" was sent to radio as the second Canadian single for Canadian top 40 & hot AC play), but due to "Priceless" not being released in Canada, "Monday Morning" served as the fifth single in Canada due to

radio station

CKZZ-FM CKZZ-FM (''Z95.3'') is a Canadian radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia. It broadcasts at 95.3 FM with an effective radiated power of 71,300 watts from a transmitter on Mount Seymour, and its studios are located in Richmond. The station h ...

(Virgin Radio 953) in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

having the song on its playlist. "Ay Yo" was released as the fourth official single from ''The Bridge'', according to Fiona's website and Twitter. The music video premiered on April 12, 2010. "Priceless" was the fifth US single due to airplay on

urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music ...

stations. Due to "Priceless" not being released in Canada, "Monday Morning" was serviced to Canadian stations as the fifth single, even though "Monday Morning" was released as the third American single.

Promotional singles

"You Stop My Heart" was released as a promotional single to coincide with Valentine's Day. The music video was released on Valentine's Day, 2010. A music video was also released for "Bang Bang", and the song was used as the second Canadian single. The song was featured in an episode of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombi ...

''.

Track listing

; Samples *"

Time of the Season "Time of the Season" is a song by the British rock band the Zombies, featured on their 1968 album ''Odessey and Oracle''. It was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1967. Over a year after its origin ...

" by

The Zombies The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American chart-topper, hit in 1964 with "She's Not ...

on ''

'' *"

Jimmy Mack "Jimmy Mack" is a pop/soul song that in 1967 became a hit single by Martha and the Vandellas for Motown's Gordy imprint. Written and produced by Motown's main creative team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Jimmy Mack" was the final Top 10 pop h ...

" by Martha and the Vandellas on ''Please Don't Go (Cry Baby)'' *"Tampin'" by The Rhine Oaks on ''Ay Yo'' *" I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)" by

Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. In 2022, Taylor ...

on ''Walk On By'' *"

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

" by

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...

on ''You Stop My Heart'' *" Mr. Lonely" by Bobby Vinton & "Silly Games" by

Janet Kay Janet Kay Bogle (born 17 January 1958) is an English actor and vocalist, best known for her 1979 lovers rock hit "Silly Games". Biography Janet Kay Bogle was born in Willesden, North West London. She was discovered singing impromptu at a rehea ...

on ''Sad Songs'' *"Hey There Lonely Girl" by

The Softones The Softones are an American male singing group from the city of Baltimore, Maryland, best known for their 'sweet' soul recordings of the 1970s. History They recorded for the New York-based Avco Records label (later renamed H&L Records) from the ...

on ''

'' *"No Volveré" by

Gipsy Kings Gipsy Kings are a group of flamenco, salsa, and pop musicians from Arles and Montpellier in southern France, who perform mostly in Catalan but also mix in Spanish with southern French dialects. Although the group members were born in France, th ...

on ''Teach Him''

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

Melanie Fiona Melanie Fiona Hallim (born July 4, 1983) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario.vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

Technical personnel

– producer on tracks 1, 6, 9, 11–12 * Rob Fusari – producer on track 2 *

– producer on track 3 * Sidh Solanki – producer on track 3 *

– producer on track 4 * Bill Blast – producer on track 4 * Future Cut – producer on tracks 5, 7 and 13 *

– producer on track 8 * Dan Strong – producer on track 10 * JK – producer on track 10 * Jay Fenix – producer on track 11 * Affiliate – producer on track 11

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridge 2009 debut albums Melanie Fiona albums Universal Motown Records albums