''Veteran'' 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 ...

R&B recording artist

Marques Houston Marques Barrett Houston (born August 4, 1981) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and actor. A member of the R&B group IMx, Immature/IMx from 1990 until 2002, Houston went solo in 2003. As an actor, he is best known for his ...

. It was released by

The Ultimate Group TUG Entertainment (TUG stands for The Ultimate Group), was a record label/ Management Company that was once home to such artists as B2K, Omarion, Marques Houston, Mila J, O'Ryan, Jhené Aiko, One Luv, 2 Much and NLT, Simon Phenix/Rawwtunez for Un ...

and

Universal Motown Records Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the "urban" half of UMG, although there were some ...

on March 20, 2007 in the United States, following the merger of

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in 2005. The album features a wide of range of collaborators, including Bryan-Michael Cox,

Rob Knox Robert Arthur Knox (21 August 1989 – 24 May 2008) was an English actor who portrayed the character of Marcus Belby in the film ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', and had signed to appear in the film '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Ha ...

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

, Chris Stokes,

The Stereotypes The Stereotypes are a production team created in 2003, comprising Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves and Ray Charles McCullough II. In June 2010, they were listed among the "Top 10 Songwriters and Producers to Watch" in ''Billboard'' magazi ...

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, The Underdogs. Guest vocals were provided by singer

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

as well as rappers

Shawnna Rashawnna Guy (born January 3, 1978), better known by her stage name Shawnna, is an American rapper. She was the first female artist signed to Def Jam South through Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace Records. She is a former member of the female Chi ...

and

Yung Joc Jasiel Amon Robinson (born September 20, 1980), better known by his stage name Yung Joc, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 2006 hit single " It's Goin' Down". and as a feature on T-Pain's US number-one single "Buy U a Drank (Shawt ...

Critical reception

''Veteran'' received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics.

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editor Andy Kellman praised the production and lyrical qualities for being more hi-standard compared to Houston's previous efforts and for the maturity in his vocal delivery, saying that "he works the more romantic sentiments with enough conviction to indicate that he has more life experiences from which to draw." Joshua Alston of ''

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 productio ...

'' saw Houston's vocal work similar to that of

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

, saying that he "sounds sexier when he isn't working so damn hard at it. If only he had a clue." Adam Pearthree of

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commended the mature approach the album takes with its songs but found it forgettable, along with Houston's identity crisis in his vocal performance, concluding that, "With stronger song selection arquesHouston could still come up with the adult oriented album he wants, but as of now, ''Veteran'' simply falls short." Mike Joseph of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' also found the production and songwriting adequate at best but felt it was too reminiscent of other established R&B artists, saying that " e moments you notice on ''Veteran'' are the ones that remind you of other artists. Now in his mid-twenties, it’s hard to say whether Houston will ever develop the singular personality that will elevate his career to the next level of hitmaker status."

Commercial performance

In the United States, ''Veteran'' debuted and peaked at number 5 on the US ''

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,''EURweb.com'' and number 1 on ''Billboard''s

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 ...

. This marked Houston's first number one solo album as well as his highest-charting album yet. ''Veteran'' sold almost 70,000 units in its first week.

Track listing

;Notes * signifies a co-

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;Sample credits * "So Right for Mee" contains elements from "Pack'd My Bags" written by

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

and

Tony Maiden Tony Maiden (died 17 February 2004 in Torrevieja, Alicante, Spain) was an English actor, who is best known for playing “Albert Clifton” in all episodes in the first series of the British television series ''The Adventures of Black Beauty' ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veteran (Album) Albums produced by Bryan-Michael Cox Albums produced by the Underdogs (production team) Marques Houston albums Universal Records albums 2007 albums