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Tamia
Tamia
Studio album by Tamia
Released	April 14, 1998
Length	60:57
Label	Qwest; Warner Bros.;
Producer	Tim & Bob; Keith Crouch; J-Dub; Jermaine Dupri; Stevie J; Samuel J. Sapp; Manuel Seal; Tim Shider; Daryl Simmons; Tricky Stewart; Mario Winans;
Tamia chronology
Singles from Tamia
	"Imagination"; Released: February 10, 1998; "So into You"; Released: June 23, 1998; "Loving You Still"; Released: March 2, 1999;

Tamia is the debut studio album by Canadian recording artist Tamia. It was released on April 14, 1998, on Quincy Jones's Qwest Records, while distribution was handled through Warner Bros. Recorded after the release of her Grammy Award-nominated collaborations with Jones and the single "Missing You", her contribution to the soundtrack of the 1996 motion picture Set It Off, Tamia worked with a plethora of producers on her debut, including Jermaine Dupri, Tim & Bob, Mario Winans, J-Dub, Keith Crouch, and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, many of which would become frequent producers on subsequent projects.

Upon its release, Tamia received a mixed to positive reception by critics, who complimented Tamia's vocal performance and the progression from her earlier recordings but found the material uneven. It debuted and peaked at number sixty-seven on the Billboard 200 chart and entered the top twenty of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Five singles were released from the album. "Imagination" was chosen as the album's lead single, reaching the top 20 in Canada and top forty in both the United States and New Zealand. The album's second single produced by Tim & Bob called "So into You" was well-received and charted even higher. A remake of "Careless Whisper" was released as the album's fourth single in Japan. A critical success, Tamia garnered the singer two Juno Award nominations for Best New Solo Artist and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the 1999 award ceremony.

Background

After dominating local talent competitions through her teenage years, in 1994, Windsor native Tamia performed at a multiple sclerosis benefit in Aspen, Colorado, when she met music manager, Lionel Richie's ex-wife Brenda Richie, who was cosponsoring the event and introduced herself to Tamia after the show.^[1] A few months later, Tamia, who was being courted by Warner Bros. Records at the time, called Richie to say that she was coming to Los Angeles for a photo session, resulting in her lasting stay and a management deal with Richie.^[1] Weeks later, Richie arranged for her to perform at a star-studded party that she held for singer Luther Vandross.^[1] Her performance reportedly impressed all in attendance, including veteran producer Quincy Jones, who later offered her the chance to appear on his album Q's Jook Joint (1995).^[1]

Overwhelmed by his offer, Tamia recorded vocals for "You Put a Move on My Heart", which Jones later selected as the album's first single.^[2] A moderate commercial success, the collaboration earned acclaim from critics; it was later nominated for a Grammy Award along with their second collaboration "Slow Jams" and "Missing You", a song she recorded with Brandy, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan for the soundtrack of the 1996 motion picture Set It Off.^[3] All three track reached the top twenty on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart and gained Tamia additional recognition with nominations from the Soul Train Music Awards and the NAACP Image Awards.^[2] Following this, Jones signed her his label Qwest Records, a joint venture with Warner Bros., and enlisted the services of several producers to work on her debut self-titled album.^[2] Recording was reportedly intermitted when Tamia filmed the role of Sheri Silver in Speed 2: Cruise Control, playing the part of a featured vocalist at the dinner theatre aboard the luxury cruise ship.^[2]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]

Tamia earned mixed to positive reviews from critics. Leo Stanley of AllMusic remarked that the album "is an appealingly stylish collection of contemporary urban soul", while also stating that "it suffers from some uneven material". He rated the album three out of five stars.^[4] Cherie Saunders from Vibe found that "the disc is a deliberate attempt – and successful one – to free Tamia from the steely adult-contemporary cage". Impressed with the up-tempo songs on the album, she however found that Tamia's "strength clearly lies with ballads", concluding that "despite some inconsistency, Tamia's shining vocal skills prove that she won't get pushed around by anyone on today's music playground".^[5] In his review for Billboard, Paul Verna wrote that Tamia "excels at ballad and midtempo tracks such as "So into You", "Falling for You", and "Rain on Me". He was less impressed with lead single "Imagination", which he criticized for Jermaine Dupri's unsuitable guest rap and a lack of "vocal punch".^[6]

Upon its release, Tamia debuted and peaked at sixty-seven on the US Billboard 200 and reached the eighteenth spot on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.^[7] In total, the album sold 416,000 copies in the United States,^[8] and finished sixty-second on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums year-end chart in 1998.^[9] In Japan, Tamia was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) in June 1998 for more than 100,000 copies shipped to stores.^[10] Five singles were released from the album, including "Imagination" and "So into You" both of which reached the top forty of the US Billboard Hot 100. A critical success, Tamia garnered the singer two Juno Award nominations for Best New Solo Artist and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the 1999 award ceremony.

Track listing

*Tamia* – Standard edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Imagination" (featuring Jermaine Dupri)	Dupri Manuel Seal Berry Gordy Alphonzo Mizell Freddie Perren Deke Richards	Dupri Seal (co.)	3:33
2.	"So Into You"	Tim Kelley Bob Robinson Tamia Lionel Richie Ronald LaPread	Tim & Bob	4:21
3.	"Never Gonna Let You Go"	Mario Winans Arthur Hoyle Kenny Hickson	Winans	4:01
4.	"Falling for You"	Tamia Gordon Chambers Terrell Carter William Turpin Steven Jordan Maurice White Al McKay	Stevie J.	5:11
5.	"Show Me Love"	J-Dub Paige Lackey	J-Dub	4:06
6.	"Rain on Me"	Winans Tamia Hickson	Winans	4:22
7.	"Is That You?" (featuring Jermaine Dupri)	Dupri Seal	Dupri Seal (co.)	3:22
8.	"Who Do You Tell?"	Marc Nelson Sherree Ford-Payne Fred Z Mark Coleman	Daryl Simmons	4:20
9.	"Gotta Move On"	Keith Crouch John Jubu Smith Tamia	Crouch	5:08
10.	"This Time It's Love"	Christopher Stewart Sean Hall Tamia	Chris "Tricky" Stewart	5:52
11.	"Loving You Still"	Simmons	Simmons	5:09
12.	"Careless Whisper"	George Michael Andrew Ridgeley	Samuel J. Sapp Tim Shider (co.)	5:12
13.	"You Put a Move on My Heart"	Rod Temperton	Quincy Jones	6:12
Total length:				60:57

Bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"So Young"	Alex Rowe	Jon-John Robinson

Notes and sample credits

"Imagination" contains a sample of "I Want You Back", written by Berry Gordy, Alphonso Mizell, Freddie Perren and Deke Richards.
"So Into You" contains a sample of "Say Yeah" performed by The Commodores, written by Lionel Richie and Ronald LaPread.
"Falling For You" contains a sample of "Best of My Love" performed by The Emotions, written by Maurice White and Al McKay.
"Careless Whisper" is a cover of George Michael's "Careless Whisper".
"You Put a Move on My Heart" is a cover of Mica Paris's "You Put a Move on My Heart".

Personnel

Musicians

Tamia – lead vocals, background vocals (1-10, 12)
Alex Al – bass guitar (10)
Gerald Albright – saxophone solo (12)
George Bohanon – trombone (13)
Oscar Brashear – trumpet (13)
Liza Broome – background vocals (11)
Alex Brown – background vocals (13)
Ray Brown – trumpet (13)
Bridgette Bryant – background vocals (13)
Terrell Carter – additional background vocals (4)
Gordon Chambers – vocal arrangements and additional background vocals (4)
Pete Christlieb – saxophone (13)
Jeff Clayton – saxophone (13)
John Clayton – arranger and conductor (13)
Pamela Cork – background vocals (11)
Keith Crouch – arranger, instruments, and vocal arrangements (9)
Chelle Davis – background vocals (11)
Jermaine Dupri – rap (1), background vocals (7)
Ronnie Garrett – bass guitar (11)
Siedah Garrett – background vocals (13)
Gary Grant – trumpet (13)
Erik Hanson – drum programming and synth programming (13)
Jerry Hey – trumpet (13)
Stevie J – vocal arrangements (4)

Fred Jackson Jr. – saxophone (13)
Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (13)
Charles Loper – trombone (13)
Steven Meeder – drums (8, 11)
Marc Nelson – background vocals and background vocal arrangements (8)
Jack Nimitz – saxophone (13)
Greg Phillinganes – keyboards (6, 13)
QDIII – drum programming (13)
Bill Reichenbach – trombone (13)
Bob Robinson – acoustic piano (6)
John Robinson – drums (13)
Tom Scott – saxophone (13)
Manuel Seal – background vocals (1)
Daryl Simmons – keyboards and drum programming (8, 11), acoustic piano and percussion (8)
John "Jubu" Smith – guitar (9)
Tanya "Tann" Smith – background vocals (11)
Ralph Stacy – bass guitar (8)
Chris "Tricky" Stewart – keyboards, programming, and sequencing (10)
Neil Stubenhaus – bass guitar (13)
Rod Temperton – arranger and keyboards (13)
Michael Thompson – guitar (8, 11)
Mario Winans – background vocals (2, 3, 6), instruments (6)
Reggie Young – trombone (13)
Snooky Young – trumpet (13)