Chapters (Yuna Album)

''Chapters'' is the third international studio album (sixth overall release) by Malaysian singer-songwriter, Yuna released on May 20, 2016, through Verve Records. The album is the follow-up to her second international studio album ''Nocturnal'' (2013), and features guest appearances from Usher and Jhené Aiko. ''Chapters'' made its way to the top 10 of the Billboard's Best R&B Albums of 2016: Critic's Picks and Rolling Stone's 20 Best R&B Albums of 2016.

One of the songs in the album, "All I Do" was chosen as the soundtrack for the pilot episode of 13th season of ''Grey's Anatomy''.

Background

Prior to the album's release, it has been reported in October 2015 that Yuna's upcoming studio album which is 90 percent to completed and originally to be released by February 2016. In an exclusive interview with ''Utusan Malaysia'', Yuna said about the album:

Yuna revealed the album title, ''Chapters'' in an interview with ''The Fader'' on February 19, 2016, and announced May 20 as the album's release date.

Singles

A total of six singles were released during 2016 and 2017 to support the album. The lead single, "Crush" featuring Usher was released on February 29, 2016. The song debuted at No. 24 and has peaked at No. 1 on the Malaysia Music Weekly, the first and only single to reach the top of the list in one week. As of March 9, the song peaked on the singles list at No. 12 (Indonesia), No. 17 (Singapore), No. 6 (Cambodia) and No. 3 (United States R&B Billboard). "Crush" was the first song on Yuna to receive gold certification from RIAA with certified sales of 500,000 copies, in April 2019, three years following its release.

"Lanes" was in May 2016 the second single released. "Mannequin" and "Poor Heart" were released in September and October respectively.

The fifth single, "Best Love" was released in January 2017 to a moderate success, peaking higher than "Crush" at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Adult R&B Songs.

"Unrequited Love" was released in February 2017 as the sixth and final single of ''Chapters''.

Promotional singles

The first promotional single, "Places To Go" in collaboration with DJ Premier was released on February 20, 2016.

Critical reception

Gail Mitchell from ''Billboard'' wrote that this compelling album proves through such Sade-channeling selections as "Best Love" and "Unrequited Love". ''Rolling Stone'' opined that ''Chapters'', segmented like pages torn from a diary, than its occasional starry cameos or production from alt-R&B heavyweight Robin Hannibal. Her emotional sincerity is underlined by her quiet yet insistent voice, and she often sounds like she is whispering as she lyrically dismantles her ex-lover's arguments. Much of ''Chapters'' finds her falling out of love, but there are a few happy moments in this beautifully broken valentine. Writing for Star2.com, Angelin Yeoh praises Yuna for her ability to turn heartbreaks into stellar numbers in Chapters. Where as Pulse undoubtedly louded "Chapters" as Yuna's best work ever as the album perfectly highlights her vocal maturity. Sputnikmusic praised for the album productions, stating "It has to be said that Chapters’ spacious production does wonders for Yuna's tender soprano, and when the two elements manage to combine over an honest-to-goodness number, such as in the case of "All I Do" and “Too Close”, the result is good enough to make heartbreak contemporaries Adele and Jessie Ware blush." However on the negative side described the bulk of the material she's working with, "unfortunately, is on a lower level."

Year-end lists

Certifications

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from ''Chapters'' booklet liner notes and Discogs.

* A&R – Ben Willis (2), Mike Rittberg (2)
* A&R oordinator, Administrator– Evelyn Morgan
* Art direction – Yuna
* Design – Made In Katana
* Edited by dditional– Robert Castillo (2) (tracks: 2, 5, 8)
* Engineer – Aaron Espinoza (tracks: 5, 7), Bryan Todd (tracks: 10), Christian Plata (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 13), Fisticuffs (2) (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 13), Jochem van der Saag (tracks: 10), Jorge Vivo (tracks: 10)
* Executive producer – Ben Willis (2), Fisticuffs (2)
* Legal – Peter Rosenthal, Esq., Ritholz Levy
* Management – Benjamin Willis*, Indie-Pop
* Mastered By – Chris Gehringer
* Mixed by – DJ Premier (tracks: 11), Erik Madrid (tracks: 1 to 8, 12, 13), Jochem van der Saag (tracks: 9, 10)
* Mixed by ssistant– Ellis Tucker (tracks: 1 to 8, 12, 13)
* Photography by – Aris Jerome
* Product manager – Holly Adams
* Production manager – Kam Sangha
* Recorded by – Parks (8) (tracks: 11), King Of Chill* (tracks: 11)
* Recorded by hené Aiko Vocals– Jim Caruana (tracks: 6)
* Recorded by sher Vocals– Mark "Exit" Goodchild (tracks: 3)
* Recorded by ocals– Alex Williams (9) (tracks: 11)
* Technician ocal Production, Assistant– Kory Aaron (tracks: 3)
* Technician ocal Production– Natural (10) (tracks: 3)
* Tracking By ocals– Tucker Robinson (tracks: 2, 5, 7, 8)
* Vocals – Yuna
* Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Verve Music Group
* Copyright (c) – The Verve Music Group
* Manufactured By – Universal Music Distribution
* Distributed By – Universal Music Distribution
* Mastered At – Sterling Sound

Charts

Release history

References

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Yuna (singer) albums
2016 albums
Verve Records albums
Albums produced by DJ Premier