Crayons (album)
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''Crayons'' is the seventeenth and final
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
singer
Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...
. It was released through Sony Burgundy on May 20, 2008, in the United States. Recorded over a period of two years since signing with the
Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
label in 2006, ''Crayons'' marked Summer's first full-length studio album in fourteen years since 1994's '' Christmas Spirit'', and her first album of original material since 1991's ''
Mistaken Identity Mistaken identity is a defense in criminal law which claims the actual innocence of the criminal defendant, and attempts to undermine evidence of guilt by asserting that any eyewitness to the crime incorrectly thought that they saw the defend ...
''. She worked with a number of different
producers Producer(s), The Producer(s), or co-producer(s) may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *Producer, a stakeholder of economic production * Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes t ...
and
songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...
s on the album, including
Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to five songs that pe ...
,
J. R. Rotem Jonathan Reuven Rotem (born July 23, 1975) is a South African-born American record producer, songwriter and music publisher. Biography Early life Rotem was born in July 23, 1975 in Johannesburg, South Africa to Jewish Israeli people, Israe ...
,
Wayne Hector Wayne Anthony Hector is a British songwriter who is best known for his work with pop artists such as Nicki Minaj, One Direction, the Wanted, Toše Proeski and Olly Murs. He co-wrote seven of Westlife's number one singles, including " World ...
,
Toby Gad Tobias "Toby" Gad (born 28 March 1968) is a German music producer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. He is known for co-writing songs including John Legend's biggest hit, " All of Me", the fifth-highest certified single in RIAA history, and for ...
,
Lester Mendez Lester Mendez is a multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning record producer, songwriter and composer. His production/writing credits include a multitude of successful hits with Shakira, Jewel, Nelly Furtado, Jessica Simpson, Enrique Iglesias, and ...
. The album debuted and peaked at number 17 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and entered the top fifty of the
Italian Albums Chart The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) or the Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when ...
. ''Crayons'' was preceded by its first official single, " Stamp Your Feet", which was released to radio on April 15, 2008. A follow-up, "
I'm a Fire "I'm a Fire" is the first single from Donna Summer's seventeenth studio album, ''Crayons''. The song was released on March 11, 2008 by Burgundy Records. It was written by Summer, Sebastian Morton and Al Kasha and produced by Morton. The club si ...
", reached number-one on the US
Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...
, giving Summer her 13th number-one hit on that chart. ''Crayons'' marked Summer's last album released before her death on May 17, 2012.


Background

''Crayons'' marked Summer's first full-length studio album in fourteen years since 1994's '' Christmas Spirit''. When commenting on the album, Summer explained, "I wanted this album to have a lot of different directions on it ..I did not want it to be any one baby. I just wanted it to be a sampler of flavors and influences from all over the world. There's a touch of this, a little smidgeon of that, a dash of something else ..like when you're cooking." The lead track "Stamp Your Feet" was originally called "The Player's Anthem" and talks about "being a player in life, coupled with the idea of being a player on an actual field, the whole thing, dealing with the pain and doing things even though you are afraid." Summer wrote "The Queen Is Back" and "Mr. Music" with Jonathan "J.R." Rotem and
Evan Bogart Evan Kidd Bogart (born January 23, 1978) is an American songwriter, music publisher, record executive and television producer. He is the son of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart and former KISS manager Joyce Bogart Trabulus. Bogart has won a ...
, whose father, Casablanca Records boss
Neil Bogart Neil E. Bogart (born Neil Scott Bogatz, February 3, 1943 – May 8, 1982) was an American record executive. He was the founder of Casablanca Records, which later became Casablanca Record and Filmworks. Life and career Born Neil Scott Bogatz i ...
, died from cancer at the age of 39. When Summer met Evan Bogart, she was struck by his uncanny resemblance to his label executive father, commenting: "Evan and I hit it off immediately; there was a synergy that happened really quickly." "The Queen is Back," which discusses her musical legacy and public persona, samples "Lose Control" by
Kevin Federline Kevin Earl Federline, (born March 21, 1978), also known as K-Fed, is an American dancer, actor, and DJ. He is known for his two-year marriage to American singer Britney Spears and the public child custody battle that followed their divorce.Phares ...
. Both songs were produced by Rotem. About the song "Crayons", Summer said, "It encompasses a lot of what the album is about ..Everybody gets crayons at some point in their lives, everybody can relate to the basics. It comes down to that child in us, I think there's a commonality in the concept of crayons."


Critical reception

At
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, ''Crayons'' has an average score of 66 based on 12 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' felt that "this surprisingly lively set finds the former disco diva teaming with a crew of young collaborators for a series of uptempo forays into stomping dance-pop, juke-joint blues-rock, breezy Latin jazz and African-accented soul." Christian John Wikane from ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' wrote that "the core theme of ''Crayons'' is variety. It brazenly flaunts a collage of sounds, while showcasing the multiplicity of Donna Summer's musical selves." In his review for ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'', Alfred Soto found that "on ''Crayons'', it's like no time has passed at all, and of course it hasn't: As Lloyd Richards says to Margo Channing in ''
All About Eve ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story (and subsequent 1949 radio drama) "The Wisdom of E ...
'', the stars never die and never change."
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
editor Andy Kellman found that ''Crayons'' "benefits from Summer's effortless energy; she was clearly into making this album, and her voice is as able and flexible as ever. However, almost all of the material with which she has to work ..would make more sense on an album by a female teen pop group from the UK or, in some cases, a young adult catering to the coffeehouse market ..In-fashion vocal effects, which Summer certainly does not need, detract from a handful of these tracks, but as a whole, the album won't have trouble pleasing fans who just want to hear their queen have a blast and tear it up." ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'' critic Eric Henderson wrote that the album was Summer's "attempt to finally share, but the results are about as personal as food-dyed wax. The music is harmlessly listenable, and the requisite nods to her dance-floor legacy."


Commercial performance

''Crayons'' debuted and peaked at number 17 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 first-week sales of 23,000 units, marking Summer's highest-charting album since her 1983 album ''
She Works Hard for the Money "She Works Hard for the Money" is a song by American singer Donna Summer and the title track from her eleventh studio album of the same name (1983). The song was written by Michael Omartian and Summer, and produced by the former. It was relea ...
''. By November 2008, it had moved 69,000 copies in the United States.


Track listing


Charts


Certifications


Release history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crayons (Album) 2008 albums Albums produced by Greg Kurstin Albums produced by J. R. Rotem Albums produced by Toby Gad Burgundy Records albums Donna Summer albums Hip-hop albums by American artists Albums produced by Sebastian Arocha Morton