''Vitamin C'' is the debut studio album by pop singer

Vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) an ...

, released in 1999. The album was a runaway success. Initially failing to chart, it later climbed the ''Billboard'' 200 to number 29 and was certified as

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and later certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. The Japanese edition featured the song "The Only One" as a bonus track. The album spawned two hits, the Gold-selling top 20 hit "

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

" and the Top 40 hit "

Graduation (Friends Forever) "Graduation (Friends Forever)" (also titled "Friends Forever (Graduation)") is a song by American pop singer Vitamin C, released as the third single from her self-titled debut studio album (1999). Vitamin C wrote the song as a response to how ...

". The album features guest appearances by

Lady Saw Marion Hall (born 12 July 1969; formerly known by the stage name Lady Saw) is a Jamaican singer and songwriter whose career has spanned over two decades. Formerly known as the Queen of Dancehall, she is the first female deejay to be certified ...

Count Bass D Dwight Conroy Farrell (born August 25, 1973), better known by his stage name Count Bass D, is an American rapper, record producer and multi-instrumentalist who resides in Millheim, Pennsylvania. His production style is characterised by layers o ...

, and Waymon Boone. On the track "Fear of Flying" Vitamin C samples

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

's "

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself initially relea ...

Critical reception

The album elicited generally positive reviews from music critics upon its release. Tom Demalon, writing for

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 ...

, gave the album four stars and likewise praised her range, adding that "there is no shortage of hooks" on the album and concluding that "there's not a weak track on this stellar record." ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the album an "A−" and called that the album "the unabashedly great pop album the Spice Girls might have made (but never quite did)." However, some critics were less favorable in their assessments of the album. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

s Neva Chonin awarded the album two and a half stars, praising the album's stylistic range but criticizing its production, which she felt "makes it difficult to tell where the cut-and-paste production ends and Vitamin C begins."

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1999 debut albums Elektra Records albums Vitamin C (singer) albums Pop albums by American artists Pop rock albums by American artists