I Am (Monrose album)

I Am
Studio album by Monrose
Released 26 September 2008
Recorded 2008
Genre Dance-pop, electropop
Length 50:13
Label Starwatch, Warner Music
Producer Carl Björsell, T. J. Cases, Cutfather, Oscar Gorres, JoelJoel, Edwin "Lil Eddie" Serrano, Jonas Jeberg, Jiant, Roman Preylowski, Emanuel Rehwald, Snowflakers, Ryan "Alias" Tedder, Didrik Thott
Monrose chronology
Strictly Physical
(2007)		 I Am
(2008)		 Ladylike
(2010)
Singles from I Am
  1. "Strike the Match"
    Released: 6 June 2008
  2. "Hit'n'Run"
    Released: 3 October 2008
  3. "Why Not Us"
    Released: 28 November 2008

I Am is the third studio album by German pop trio Monrose, released by Starwatch Music and the Warner Music Group on 26 September 2008 (see 2008 in music) in German-speaking Europe and 29 September 2008 in Poland. The album features production by Jiant, Snowflakers, Guy Chambers, Edwin "Lil Eddie" Serrano, and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder among others.[1][2]

Taking Monrose's work further into dance and electro music, the album scored a generally negative reception from music critics, with laut.de calling them "the Sugababes for discount store-fans."[3]

Production and songs

The songs on I Am were selected out of more than six hundred demo tracks.[4] The album's opening track, "Strike the Match", was penned by OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder and Deborah Epstein. Selected out of several tracks in Tedder's repertoire, it was the first song confirmed to be appearing on the album.[2] Released as its leading single, the song reached the top ten of the German Singles Chart.[5] Second track "A Love Bizarre" is a cover version of the 1985 single by Sheila E. and Prince. Using the original instrumental as produced by Prince, the song has been described as all-time favorite by band member Guemmour.[6] "Certified" was written by longtime contributors Edwin "Lil' Eddie" Serrano and Jonas Jeberg, and has been described as "high-pitched, technical, and scratching."[7]

"Why Not Us" by Guy Chambers has been categorized as an "emotional mid-tempo ballad [...] for the wintertime."[4] Originally planned to be released as the album's second single, it was released as the third.[4] In addition, the song served as a promotional track for the We Love Otto mail order campaign. "Stolen" features background vocals by Jamie Pineda from the successful pop music project Sweetbox after Jamie had recorded the song first. Fifth track "Going Out Tonight" incorporates elements of ragga and dancehall music, including rapped verses by all three band members,[4] while "You Can Look" combines dance-pop with rock music.[7] "Teach Me How to Jump" deals with death. The song was recorded in dedication to lost ones, including Guemmour's father, who died in 1992.[6]

Reviews

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
CDStarts[8]
laut.de[9]
LetMeEntertainYou[10]

I Am received mainly negative reviews. LetMeEntertainYou entitled the album's tracks as "sorted out material from the collection of immoral books of Timbaland," calling it also "fiddling" and "sparsely innovative." Further criticisms stated that the girls' voices had been edited into digital cawings which get dislodged from the professional but overproduced music. Although CDStarts dismissed Monrose's original R'n'B/Pop-style, it deplored their attempt to go more into electropop as doing them no favors, and suggested that it could lead to a downfall from their established position in the German music scene.[7]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Strike the Match"  Ryan Tedder, Deborah EpsteinRyan Tedder 2:56
2. "A Love Bizarre"  Sheila Escovedo, Prince Rogers NelsonJiant, Snowflakers 3:47
3. "Certified"  Edwin Serrano, Eritza LauesJonas Jeberg, Cutfather 3:06
4. "Why Not Us"  Guy Chambers, Alexis StrumGuy Chambers, Pete Kirtley 3:29
5. "Going Out Tonight"  Pete Kirtley, Obi MhonderaJiant 2:50
6. "You Can Look"  Nermin Harambasic, Anne Judith Wik, Ronny Svendsen, Robin JenssenRonny Svendsen, Nermin Harambasic 3:25
7. "Tip Toe"  C. Costi, C. Ryden, Hugo Lira, Ian-Paolo Lira, Thomas GustafssonJiant 2:59
8. "Teach Me How To Jump"  David Eriksen, Virginia McGrailJiant, Snowflakers 3:31
9. "Stolen"  Carl Björsell, Edward Steve Louis, Didrik ThottCarl Björsell, Didrik Thott 3:19
10. "Electricity"  Daniel Volpe, Thomas LippRoman Preylowski, Emanuel Rehwald, Jiant 2:56
11. "Hit 'N' Run"  JoelJoel, The Provider, Charlie MasonJoelJoel, Oscar Gorres 3:14
12. "No Never"  Rob Divas, Shelly PooleJiant, Snowflakers 3:45
13. "Stained"  Andreas Romdhane, Josef Larossi, Linda Kiraly, Savan KotechaJiant, Snowflakers 3:37
14. "What They Want"  Alex Cartana, Pete Martin, Jasmine BairdJiant, Snowflakers 3:53
15. "Don't Touch The Fader"  Karen Poole, Mathias Wollo, Jonas QuantJiant, Snowflakers 3:17
16. "Step Aside (iTunes Bonus Track)"  Edwin Serrano, Eritza LauesJonas Jeberg, Cutfather 3:07

Release history

Country Date
Germany September 26, 2008
Poland September 29, 2008

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[5] 20
European Top 100 Albums 35
German Albums Chart[5] 9
Swiss Albums Chart[5] 14

References

  1. ↑ "Diary entry". Official fanclub. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  2. 1 2 "Ryan Tedder: Konkurrenz für Top-Produzent Timbaland?". Bild-Zeitung. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  3. ↑ Artur Schulz. "I Am review". laut.de. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Kraus, Walter (2008-09-22). "Interview mit Monrose-Chanteuse Bahar". Beatblogger. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "'Strike the Match' - song performance". A-Charts. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  6. 1 2 "Unser Team ist einfach perfekt!". Woodz. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
  7. 1 2 3 Ranner, Albert (2008-10-01). "I Am review". CDStars. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  8. ↑ CDStarts review
  9. ↑ laut.de review
  10. ↑ LetMeEntertainYou review

External links

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