Emotional (Carl Thomas album)

Emotional
Emotional
Studio album by Carl Thomas
Released	April 18, 2000
Genre	R&B
Length	60:00
Label	Bad Boy; Arista;
Producer	Sean "Puffy" Combs(Exec); Mike City; Gordon Chambers; Sean Combs; D-Dot; Anthony Dent; Damien DeSandies; J-Dub; K-Gee; Brian Keirulf; Heavy D.; Ron Lawrence; Harve Pierre; Joshua M. Schwartz; Garrette "Blake" Smith; Rashad Smith; Carl Thomas; Chucky Thompson; Mario Winans;
Carl Thomas chronology
Singles from Emotional
	"Summer Rain"; Released: January 11, 2000; "I Wish"; Released: February 15, 2000; "Emotional"; Released: September 15, 2000;

Emotional is the debut album by American R&B singer Carl Thomas. It was released by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records on April 18, 2000, in the United States. Emotional earned Thomas a nomination in the Best R&B/Soul Album at the 2001 Soul Train Music Awards, also garnering him a Male & Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist nod. "I Wish" was also nominated for Best R&B/Soul Single.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Rolling Stone	^[3]

Michael Paoletta from Billboard found that on Emotional the singer "shifts into romantic over-drive on his debut album – and that's a good thing [...] Thomas deservedly takes a giant step to the forefront on this 17-track debut," crafting "his own brand of new-millenium soul while paying homage to the original groove of the '70s and '80s."^[4] Rolling Stone rated the album three and a half stars out of five and called the album "an unabashedly romantic work, spun on the twin poles of longing and loss [...] laying bare a notable ambition within the ballad genre [...] Thomas proves himself a more than viable heir to the tradition of race-music crooners." It was included in Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of 2000 listing.

Michael A. Gonzalez, writer for Vibe called Emotional an "exquisite, lush soundtrack that the lovelorn of the world can call their own [...] Thomas endears us with his vulnerability, standing emotionally naked and unpretentious at a time when R&B has lost nearly all of its romance and subtlety."^[5] Allmusic editor Heather Phares rated the album two out of five stars. She felt that "though the set features competent singing, songwriting, and production, outside of the singles, it's not a particularly distinctive collection. Thomas' voice is impressive, but he needs better and more varied material to truly shine."^[2]

Singles

"Summer Rain" was the album's lead single. The song was a sleeper hit and did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 until "I Wish" charted. "Summer Rain" ended up peaking at number 80 on the week of October 14, 2000. "I Wish”, was released as the album's second single. It is the album's highest-charting single. "I Wish" peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of May 13, 2000. The album's final single, the title track "Emotional" performed moderately. The single peaked at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of December 30, 2000. “Woke Up in the Morning” was released as a promotional single in 2000. Its remix features the Notorious B.I.G.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Mario Winans	Winans	0:49
2.	"Emotional"	Carl Thomas Kenneth Hickson Winans Sting	Winans	4:31
3.	"I Wish"	Michael Flowers Thomas	Mike City Thomas^[A]	3:48
4.	"Anything (Interlude)"	Winans	Winans	1:37
5.	"My Valentine"	Gordon Chambers Karl Gordon	Chambers K-Gee	4:11
6.	"Giving You All My Love"	Thomas Isaac Hayes Kelly Price Winans	Winans	3:32
7.	"Cadillac Rap (Interlude)"	Michael Henderson	Thomas	0:54
8.	"Woke Up In the Morning"	Thomas Harve Pierre Sean Combs Winans Christopher Wallace Nashiem Myrick Carlos Broady Darryl McDaniels	Pierre P. Diddy Winans^[A]	4:12
9.	"Come to Me"	Thomas Anthony Dent Jeffery Walker Al Green Al Jackson Jr. Wille Mitchell	Dent J-Dub Pierre^[A]	4:24
10.	"Cold, Cold World"	Thomas Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence Mark Batson	Lawrence Batson^[A]	4:20
11.	"Trouble Won't Last (Interlude)"	Chucky Thompson Malik Yusef	Thompson	2:04
12.	"You Ain't Right"	Flowers Thomas	City Thomas^[A]	3:16
13.	"Lady Lay Your Body"	Thomas Damien DeSandies	DeSandies Pierre Thomas^[A]	5:09
14.	"Supastar"	Brian Keirulf Thomas Joshua M. Schwartz Rashad Smith	Keirulf Schwartz Smith	3:51
15.	"Summer Rain"	DJ Rogers Dwight Myers Stevie Wonder	Heavy D	3:53
16.	"Hey Now"	Thomas Myers	Heavy D	5:22
17.	"Special Lady"	Thomas Deric Angelettie Garrette "Blake" Smith	D-Dot Smith	4:33

Notes

^{^[A]} denotes co-producer

Sample credits

"Emotional" contains samples and interpolations of "Shape of My Heart" by Sting.
"Giving You All My Love" contains a sample of "Wherever You Are" by Isaac Hayes.
"Cadillac Rap (Interlude)" contains a sample of "Be My Girl" by the Dramatics.
"Woke Up in the Morning" contains a sample from "My Downfall" by the Notorious B.I.G.
"Come to Me" contains a sample from "Let's Stay Together" By Roberta Flack.
"Summer Rain" contains an interpolation of "Summer Soft" by Stevie Wonder.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander – engineer, mixing
Ben H. Allen – engineer
Mark Batson – engineer
Rick Brown – associate executive producer
Tom Cassel – recorder
Gordon Chambers – producer
Roger Che – recorder
Mike City – producer
Sean "Puffy" Combs – executive producer
Dave Dar – assistant engineer
Stephen Dent – engineer
John Eaton – engineer
Datu Faison – associate executive producer
Rasheed Goodlowe – assistant engineer
Terri Haskins – wardrobe design
Heavy D – producer
Ron Lawrence – producer
Ken Huffnagle – assistant engineer
Herb Powers – mastering
Jeff Lane – engineer
Paul Logus – mixing
Kim Lumpkin – project manager
Dominick Mancuso – assistant engineer
Tony Maserati – mixing
Lynn Montrose – assistant engineer
Nigel Parry – photography
Rob Paustain – mixing
Joe "Smilin' Joe" Perrera – engineer
Harve Pierre – A&R, associate executive producer, producer
Kelly Price – background vocalist
Nivea - background vocalist
Marlon Robinson – background vocalist
Ed Raso – engineer
Garrett Blake Melodeus Smith – producer
Carl Thomas – producer
Chucky Thompson – producer
J. Willbanks – assistant engineer
Mario Winans – producer, vocals
Malik Yusef – words

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2000)	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[6]	9
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[7]	2

Year-end charts

Chart (2000)	Position
US Billboard 200^[8]	97
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[9]	21
Chart (2001)	Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[10]	77

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[11]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "Carl Thomas Shoots "Emotional," Plans Fourth Single". MTV. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Phares, Heather. "Emotional". AllMusic. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
^ "Reviews & Spotlights". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 7, 2020.^{[dead link‍]}
^ Paoletta, Michael (April 29, 2000). "Reviews & Spotlights". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
^ Gonzalez, Michael A. (July 1, 2000). "Revoltuions". Vibe. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
^ "Carl Thomas Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
^ "Carl Thomas Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
^ "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
^ "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
^ "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
^ "American album certifications – Carl Thomas – Emotional". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 7, 2020.

[1] "Carl Thomas Shoots "Emotional," Plans Fourth Single". MTV. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020.

[allmusic-2] Phares, Heather. "Emotional". AllMusic. Retrieved July 7, 2020.

[rollingstone-3] "Reviews & Spotlights". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 7, 2020.^{[dead link‍]}

[billboard-4] Paoletta, Michael (April 29, 2000). "Reviews & Spotlights". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.

[vibe-5] Gonzalez, Michael A. (July 1, 2000). "Revoltuions". Vibe. Retrieved July 7, 2020.

[ac_Billboard200_Carl_Thomas-6] "Carl Thomas Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.

[ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_Carl_Thomas-7] "Carl Thomas Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.

[8] "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.

[9] "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.

[10] "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.

[United_StatesCarl_ThomasEmotionalalbumCertRef-11] "American album certifications – Carl Thomas – Emotional". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 7, 2020.

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