Back to Love (Anthony Hamilton album)

Back to Love
Studio album by
Anthony Hamilton
ReleasedDecember 13, 2011 (2011-12-13)
Length46:00 (standard edition)
64:00 (deluxe edition)
LabelRCA
ProducerAnthony Hamilton (exec.), Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Mike City, Bobby Ross & Issiah Avila, Kelvin Wooten, Dre & Vidal, Antonio Dixon, Salaam Remi, Jairus Mozee
Anthony Hamilton chronology
The Point of It All
(2008) 		Back to Love
(2011) 		Home for the Holidays
(2014)
Singles from Back to Love
  1. "Woo"
    Released: October 11, 2011
  2. "Pray for Me"
    Released: March 27, 2012
  3. "Best of Me"
    Released: February 4, 2013

Back to Love is the fifth studio album by American R&B singer Anthony Hamilton. It was released on December 13, 2011, by RCA Records. The album features writing and production from Babyface, Dre & Vidal, Kelvin Wooten, Mike City, Jairus Mozee, The Avila Brothers, as well as Hamilton himself.

It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album in 2013.[1] The album's lead single "Woo", which was released on October 11, 2011. The second single "Pray For Me" was also Grammy nominated in 2013 for Best R&B Song and reached number one on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart.[1][2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[4]
Allmusic[5]
The A.V. ClubA−[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[7]
Los Angeles Times[8][9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Pop Matters6/10[11]
Spin8/10[12]

Back to Love has received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on seven reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[3] Allmusic editor Andy Kellman found that Back to Love "is clearly viewed as a fresh start, even though it offers no more surprises than Ain't Nobody Worryin' or The Point of It All [...] That Back to Love is not a major shake-up is not a bad thing. Most of the songs are instantly ingratiating in some way, with none of the lighter, upbeat numbers the least bit out of character. There are some sad-cat moments that come very close to the standard Hamilton set."[5]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 12 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling over 63,000 copies in the first week.[13] The album has sold 372,000 copies in the US as of February 2016.[14]

Singles

  • The album's lead single "Woo", which was released on October 11, 2011.
  • The album's second single "Pray for Me" was released on March 27, 2012.
  • The album's third single "Best of Me" was released on February 4, 2013.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Back to Love"A. Hamilton, S. Remi, V. HenrySalaam Remi3:20
2."Writing on the Wall"A. Hamilton, M. FlowersMike City3:28
3."Woo"A. Hamilton, A. Dixon, B. Coleman, K. Edmonds, P. SmithBabyface, Antonio Dixon3:15
4."Pray for Me"A. Hamilton, A. Dixon, K. Edmonds, P. SmithBabyface, Antonio Dixon4:40
5."Best of Me"A. Hamilton, J. MozeeJairus Mozee3:46
6."Never Let Go" (featuring Keri Hilson)A. Hamilton, Crystal Johnson, J. WondaJerry Wonda3:40
7."Mad"A. Hamilton, A. Dixon, K. Edmonds, P. SmithBabyface, Antonio Dixon3:43
8."I'll Wait (To Fall in Love)"A. Hamilton, B. Avila, I. AvilaAvila Brothers4:15
9."Sucka for You"A. Hamilton, K. WootenKelvin Wooten4:19
10."Baby Girl"A. Hamilton, K. WootenKelvin Wooten3:34
11."Who's Loving You"A. Hamilton, A. Heard, M. Anzel, Victoria "Bekele" TollossaAndreao Heard3:47
12."Life Has a Way"A. Hamilton, J. PoyserJames Poyser4:15
Total length:46:00
Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Broken Man"A. Hamilton, A. Harris, V. DavisDre & Vidal4:50
14."I'm Ready"A. HamiltonAnthony Hamilton3:54
15."Fair in Love"A. Hamilton, C. Soper, J. Singer, N. BannsChristopher Soper5:32
16."More Than Enough"A. Hamilton, K. WootenKelvin Wooten4:10
Total length:64:00

Charts

References

  1. ^ a b Diehl, Matt (February 8, 2013). "Anthony Hamilton : My Grammy Ritual". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  2. ^ "Anthony Hamilton - Adult R&B Songs Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Back to Love". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  4. ^ "Allmusic Review". Archived from the original on April 16, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "About Review". AllMusic.
  6. ^ "AV Club Review". The A.V. Club. December 20, 2011. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013.
  7. ^ "AV Club Review". Archived from the original on January 13, 2012.
  8. ^ Hardy, Ernest. Review: Comin' from Where I'm From. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-11-09.
  9. ^ "LA Times Review". Los Angeles Times. December 12, 2011.
  10. ^ "LA Times Review". Rolling Stone. December 22, 2011.
  11. ^ "Pop Matters Review".
  12. ^ "Pop Matters Review".
  13. ^ Caulfield, Keith (December 21, 2011). "Michael Buble's 'Christmas' Hits Fourth Week at No. 1". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
  14. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on February 29, 2016.
  15. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Anthony Hamilton – Back to Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  16. ^ "South African Top 20 Albums Chart". RSG. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013.
  17. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  18. ^ "Anthony Hamilton Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  19. ^ "Anthony Hamilton Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
  20. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  21. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  22. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved July 23, 2020.