Black and White Heart

Black and White Heart
Studio album by Andee
Released May 26, 2015 (2015-05-26)
Recorded 2013–14 in Montréal, QC
(Man of the Hour Studio, Fever Music Group)
Genre
Length 54:28
Language
  • English
  • French
Label Universal Canada
Producer Sébastien Lefebvre
Singles from Black and White Heart
  1. "Never Gone"
    Released: May 19, 2014
  2. "Sorries"
    Released: October 21, 2014
  3. "Black and White Heart"
    Released: May 25, 2015
  4. "Tu Enflammes Mon Corps"
    Released: August 2015

Black and White Heart is the debut studio album recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Andee, released May 26, 2015 through Universal Music Canada.[1] Primarily an English language album, the deluxe edition includes four tracks recorded in French to reflect Andee's heritage as a French Canadian. Musically, the album incorporates elements of pop, rock, and soul.[2][3][4][5] Sébastien Lefebvre, best known as a member of Simple Plan, produced the album and also co-wrote nine of the thirteen songs; Andee is credited as a writer (under her birth name Andrée-Anne Leclerc) on eight tracks.

The album received generally positive reviews upon release, with critics noting Andee's "powerhouse" vocals and unique sound.[4][5] It entered the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart at number sixteen on the chart dated June 6, 2015.[6] On iTunes Canada, the album reached as high as number four on the pop sales chart.[7] The album has produced three singles, including the top-forty-peaking lead single "Never Gone".

Background

In 2012, Andrée-Anne Leclerc auditioned for the fifth edition of the Québecois reality singing competition Star Académie, where she eventually placed in the top eight.[8] On the show, she was discovered by Paul Jessop, the vice-president of promotions at Universal Music Canada, who requested her to perform the French vocals for the "Version Française" of Universal-signed band Hedley's hit single "Kiss You Inside Out", released in June 2012.[9] This version is included on the deluxe edition of Black and White Heart. Leclerc encountered Simple Plan guitarist Sébastien Lefebvre in the spring of 2013, who reportedly knew upon hearing her for the first time that Leclerc had the ability to "touch people deeply with her music," and the two decided to work together on her debut studio album.[3] In January 2014, Leclerc adopted the stage name Andee (an anglophone derivative of her birth name, Andrée-Anne) and signed a record deal with Universal Music Canada and a management deal with Coalition Music.[9]

Recorded principally between the summers of 2013 and 2014,[10] Black and White Heart is executive produced by Lefebvre and features mostly songs written by Lefebvre and/or Andee. The song "Sorries" was written for Andee by Pink, Kara Dioguardi and The New Royales, while "Beautiful Bullet" from the deluxe edition was initially intended to be recorded by its co-writer Anjulie.[11] Described as pop rock with a blend of soul,[3] the album's sound was developed by merging Lefebvre and Andee's musical influences.[2] Black and White Heart became available for pre-order on May 12, 2015 and was released May 26, 2015.[12][1]

Singles

"Never Gone" serves as the album's lead single and was released to digital retailers in both English and French versions on May 19, 2014.[13] Its music video, directed by Alon Isocianu, premiered June 26, 2014.[14] "Never Gone" entered the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 at number ninety-four for the week of June 28, 2014 and rose to its peak position of forty for the week of August 23, 2014.[15] It saw the most commercial success at adult contemporary radio, where it reached a peak airplay position of six.[16]

The second single was "Sorries," released digitally on October 21, 2014.[17] The song was co-written by Pink, Kara DioGuardi, and Canadian-American music group The New Royales as a "gift" welcoming Andee to the industry.[11][18] It is the only track on the standard edition on which neither Andee nor Lefebvre collaborated. "Sorries" peaked at a moderate position of fifty-three on the Canadian Hot 100.

The title track, "Black and White Heart," was released as the album's third single. It impacted Canadian adult contemporary radio on May 25, 2015 in conjunction with the album's release and has so far risen to a position of 30 on the AC airplay chart.

"Tu Enflammes Mon Corps" was released in August 2015 as the album's second francophone single (following the Version Française of "Never Gone") and the fourth single from the album overall.[19]

Track listing

Black and White Heart — Standard edition[1]
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "If You Want Me"  
 0:32
2. "Bit O' Love"  
  • J. Cerf
  • Leclerc
  • S. Lefebvre
2:41
3. "Never Gone"  
  • Leclerc
  • S. Lefebvre
2:51
4. "Hope"  
  • Leclerc
  • S. Lefebvre
3:10
5. "Mute"  Leclerc 3:39
6. "Black and White Heart"  
 3:49
7. "Unblind Me"  
  • J. Cerf
  • Andy Duguid
  • Jean-François Lefebvre
  • S. Lefebvre
3:40
8. "Sorries"  
 3:36
9. "For Better or Worse"  
  • J. Cerf
  • S. Lefebvre
3:47
10. "Calling"  
  • J. Cerf
  • Leclerc
  • J. Lefebvre
  • S. Lefebvre
3:16
11. "Let 'Em Talk"  
  • J. Cerf
  • Matt Cerf
  • J. Lefebvre
  • S. Lefebvre
3:46
Notes
  1. ↑ "Kiss You Inside Out" is credited to Hedley featuring Andrée-Anne Leclerc.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.[18][upper-alpha 1]

Recorded and mixed at
  • Acton Vale, Québec (Power Plant Studio)
  • Montréal, Québec (Man of the Hour Studio, Fever Music Group)
  • Virginia Beach, Virginia (Mixstar Studio)
Performance credits

Instruments

  • Bass – Sébastien Lefebvre
  • Cello – Christine Giguère
  • Drums – Chris Crippin (16)
  • Guitar – Jacob Hoggard (16), Sébastien Lefebvre, Dave Rosin (16)

Production

  • A&R – Paul Jessop
  • Arrangement – Sébastien Lefebvre
    • String arrangement – Andrée-Anne Leclerc, Jay Lefebvre, Sébastien Lefebvre
  • Art director and designer – Susan Michalek
  • Digital editor – Adrian Newman (16)
  • Engineers – Frank Joly, Sébastien Lefebvre, Adrian Newman (16)
    • Vocal engineers – Jean-Sebastien Fournier (16), Jay Van Poederooyen (16)
  • Management – Coalition Music Toronto (Eric Lawrence, Rob Lanni)
  • Mastering – Matt Cerf, Ted Jensen (16), Ryan Morey
  • Mixers – Serban Ghenea, Frank Joley, Tony Maseratti
  • Photographer – Crila Photo

Notes
  1. ↑ Credits denoted by (16) refer exclusively to track 16, i.e. "Kiss You Inside Out".

Charts

Album

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart (Billboard)[6] 16

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
CAN
[21]		 CAN
AC
[16]		 CAN
CHR
[22]		 CAN
Hot AC
[23]
2014 "Never Gone" 40 6 25 15
"Sorries" 53 7 22 12
2015 "Black and White Heart" — 30 — —
"Tu Enflammes Mon Corps" — — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Black and White Heart by Andee". iTunes Store (CA). Apple Inc. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 Jutras Christine (11 June 2015). "ENTREVUE: Andee" (in French). Confront Magazine. Retrieved 25 June 2015. En décrivant le type de musique que tu fais, tu parles de rock-pop-soul [...]
  3. 1 2 3 Lepage-Boily, Elizabeth (26 May 2015). "Lancement de l'album Black and White Heart d'Andee". Showbizz.net (in French) (Média Happy Geeks). Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 PT, Shawn (26 May 2015). "Andee’s Got Soul on Black and White Heart". Canadian Music Blog. Music Canada. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  5. 1 2 Melanson, Jenna (28 May 2015). "Review – Andee". Canadian Beats. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Billboard Canadian Albums: Top Albums Chart" (The Week Of: June 13, 2015). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ AndeeOfficial (30 May 2015). "ANDEE on Twitter "It is nice to be riding shot gun with Taylor Swift! 4e position des ventes pop sur iTunes, merci! #BlackAndWhiteHeart"". Twitter. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Andrée-Anne Leclerc- | Star Académie". Star Académie. Québecor Média. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  9. 1 2 Verge, Isabelle. "Andrée-Anne Leclerc signe avec Universal Music". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Canoe Sun Media. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Never Gone by Andee". Sébastien Lefebvre. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  11. 1 2 Jessica (30 April 2015). "Andee Has Big Florence, McCartney & Gaga Collaboration Dreams". MuchMusic (Viacom). Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  12. ↑ Coalition Music (11 May 2015). "Coalition Music on Twitter "The presale for @andeeofficial's album #BlackAndWhiteHeart is TOMORROW! It's available in stores and online May 26th!"". Twitter. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  13. ↑ References for language-specific releases of "Never Gone":
  14. ↑ "Andee - Never Gone (2014)". IMVDb. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  15. ↑ References for chart trajectory of "Never Gone":
  16. 1 2 "Chart Search". Billboard Canada AC for Andee. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  17. ↑ "Sorries - Single by Andee". iTunes Store (CA). Apple Inc. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  18. 1 2 Black and White Heart (booklet). Andee. Universal Music Canada Inc. 2015. B00WRLK5HS.
  19. ↑ Coalition Music (August 21, 2015). "Coalition Music on Twitter: "Download @AndeeOfficial's debut album #BlackAndWhiteHeart to hear her new single “Tu Enflammes Mon Corps”!"". Twitter. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  20. ↑ "Black and White Heart (Deluxe) by Andee". iTunes Store (CA). Apple Inc. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "Andee Album & Song Chart History (Billboard Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  22. ↑ "Chart Search". Billboard Canada CHR/Top 40 for Andee. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  23. ↑ "Chart Search". Billboard Canada Hot AC for Andee. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
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