Coloured (album)

Coloured
Coloured
	Standard edition cover artwork
Studio album by Priscilla Renea
Released	June 22, 2018
Recorded	2015–2017
Studio	Boots Ottestad home studio; Compound Studios; Speakeasy Sound; Sony Tree Studios (live band); Windmark Recording Studio;
Genre	Americana; country-soul; R&B;
Length	36:49
Label	Thirty Tigers
Producer	Priscilla Renea, Per Kristian Ottestad, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., Curtis Wilson, Supa Dups, Raysean Hairston, Jesse "Corparal" Wilson
Priscilla Renea chronology
Singles from Coloured
	"Gentle Hands"; Released: April 6, 2018; "Heavenly"; Released: April 6, 2018; "Family Tree"; Released: May 10, 2018;

Coloured is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Priscilla Renea, released on June 22, 2018 through Thirty Tigers.^[4]^[5] The first two singles, "Gentle Hands" and "Heavenly", were released on April 6, 2018 with accompanying music videos. "Family Tree" was released on May 10, 2018 as the third official single from Coloured.^[6]

Background and recording

After nearly a decade focused on songwriting, Coloured marked Priscilla Renea's return to the public as an artist. Since releasing her debut album (Jukebox) in 2009, Renea had become an award-winning songwriter, with credits on "Timber" for Pitbull and Ke$ha, "Somethin' Bad" for Miranda Lambert,^[6] "California King Bed" for Rihanna, "Worth It" for Fifth Harmony, and "Don't Mind" for Mary J. Blige.^[5]

Renea's decision to title the album Coloured was called provocative by some, due to the racial stigma of the term "colored" in American history. In interviews, she explains that by spelling it with a "u", the word "our" appears in the middle as her statement of inclusivity.^[1]

As early as 2015, Renea spoke in interviews about her working on her forthcoming album. Renea continued songwriting, but no official music was released until "Kiss Me" in February 2017 and "Do Wut" in January 2018.

Coloured was written and recorded between Nashville and Los Angeles in 2016.^[2]^[3]

Composition and themes

Renea spent several months writing and recording the core records of Coloured at songwriter and "Heavenly" co-writer Brett James' converted barn recording studio.^[3] The 10-song collection brings together hip-hop producers (Honorable C.N.O.T.E, Curtis "Sauce" Wilson, Theron Feemster, Brett James) with Nashville songwriters (Ashley Gorley, Kevin Kadish).^[2] Coloured is a mix of classic R&B, dark-edged Country and Urban Soul songs that were inspired by incidents in Priscilla's childhood in rural Florida, relationships, and racial trauma. Guitar, piano, and violin can be heard throughout the record.^[6]

Release and promotion

On April 2, 2018, Renea revealed on Instagram that her second studio album would be released in Summer 2018. The following week Paper Magazine^[5] premiered two music videos for singles on her forthcoming album. Renea promoted the album with a special show at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.^[7]

Singles

On April 6, 2018, Renea released "Gentle Hands" and "Heavenly", the first two singles from Coloured. Music videos for both singles premiered online via Paper Magazine.^[5] The third single from Coloured was released on May 10, 2018.^[6] "Family Tree" is an autobiographical track written by Renea about her distressed teenage years, and overcoming challenges within her family.

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Family Tree"	Priscilla Renea, Per Kristian "Boots" Ottestad, Ben Burgess, Erick Walls^[6]	Per Kristian "Boots" Ottestad	3:55
2.	"Jonjo"	Priscilla Renea, Per Kristian "Boots" Ottestad, Lindsey Bachelder, Carlton Mays (Honorable C.N.O.T.E.)	Per Kristian "Boots" Ottestad, Honorable C.N.O.T.E.	2:40
3.	"Gentle Hands^[5]"	Priscilla Renea, Curtis "Sauce" Wilson, Kevin Kadish, Emily Shackelton, Carlton Mays (Honorable C.N.O.T.E.)	Curtis Wilson, Honorable C.N.O.T.E.	3:20
4.	"Heavenly"	Priscilla Renea, Brett James, James T. Slater, Theron Feemster	Theron Feemster	3:22
5.	"You Shaped Box"	Priscilla Renea, Marti Frederiksen, Danny Myrick, Erick Walls	Priscilla Renea	2:48
6.	"If I Ever Loved You"	Priscilla Renea, Ashley Gorley	Priscilla Renea	4:42
7.	"Different Color"	Priscilla Renea, Frank Romano, Dwayne (Supa Dups), Raysean Hairston	Supa Dups	3:04
8.	"Denim"	Priscilla Renea, Jesse Wilson, Curtis "Sauce" Wilson, Raysean Hairston	Jesse Williams (Produced by Jesse "Corparal" Wilson for The Art of Winning, LLC), Curtis Wilson	3:24
9.	"Let's Build A House"	Priscilla Renea, Ashley Gorley, Theron "Neff-U" Feemster	Priscilla Renea, Theron Feemster	4:17
10.	"Land of the Free"	Priscilla Renea, Raysean Hairston, Donovan Bennett, Joel Augustin, Theron "Neff-U" Feemster, Erick Walls	Raysean Hairston, Theron Feemster	5:07
Total length:				36:49