''Solo Star'' is the debut studio album by American singer Solange, released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

and

Music World Music World Corporation is an American music production and music publishing company, representing hundreds of song and music cue titles for a small clientele of composers and lyricists including the company founder. The company was founded in 195 ...

on December 26, 2002 in Japan and January 21, 2003 in the United States. It debuted and peaked at number forty-nine on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and number twenty-three on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine that ranks contemporary R&B, R&B and hip hop music, hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Th ...

in early February 2003. The album produced two singles: " Feelin' You" (featuring N.O.R.E.) and "Crush" (later renamed to "Don't Fight the Feeling"). "Feelin' You" reached no. 73 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart.

Critical reception

William Ruhlmann of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

gave the album three out of five stars saying: "Executive producer athewKnowles has surrounded Solange with a bevy of trendy writer/producers, including The Underdogs, Platinum Status,

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...

and

Rockwilder Dana Stinson (born February 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Rockwilder, is an American hip hop record producer and rapper. A long term friend of Def Jam rapper Redman, Rockwilder got his start producing for East Coast hip hop artists ...

, along with such guest stars as B2K and Lil' Romeo. The result is a state-of-the-art contemporary R&B album full of big beats, catchy choruses, and gimmicky production effects. But the nominal star of the show is lost somewhere in the mix. It doesn't help that the 16-year-old has a thin, undeveloped voice that is easily overwhelmed. ''

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 Yo ...

'' gave two out of five stars, saying: "The largely synthetic-sounding Solo Star follows the growing industry standard in which the focus is on production rather songwriting", also adding that Solange's voice is uncannily similar to Beyoncé's.

Release and promotion

The album was released in December 2002 in Japan, while it was released in United States following month. It under-performed in the United States, selling 112,000 copies according to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

, and dropped off the chart five weeks after its debut. The only two singles released from the album, the N.O.R.E.-featured " Feelin' You (Part II)" and the Neptunes-produced "Crush" (also known as "Don't Fight the Feeling"), failed to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The album is no longer in print and the online music website iTunes does not sell the album. A re-recording of "Crush", with vastly different instrumental and harmonies and featuring Papa Reu, was included on the movie soundtrack for ''

The Fighting Temptations ''The Fighting Temptations'' is a 2003 American musical comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, written by Elizabeth Hunter and Saladin K. Patterson, and distributed by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films. The main plot revolves around Darrin Hill ( ...

'' which stars Solange's sister Beyoncé. This re-recording was renamed "Don't Fight the Feeling" to match the movie poster's tagline. The album was promoted with the Solo Star Tour in 2003.

Track listing

*Note: tracks 17, 18 and 19 are four seconds of silence each with these bonus tracks following: Sample credits *"True Love" contains replayed elements from " So Amazing" by

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

*"Thinkin' About You" contains replayed elements from "

Scooby Doo Where Are You ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. The series premiered as part of the network's Saturday morning cartoon schedule on Septem ...

" by

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian i ...

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the ani ...

, and Hoyt Curtin

2006 re-release

''Solo Star'' was re-released in November 2006 with a different artwork and track listing. The reissue album contained twelve tracks: seven tracks from 2002 standard release, four remixes and previously unreleased track titled "Bring It on Home". There is a newly recorded version of "Feelin' You" which features American rapper

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, " Still Tippin'". In July 2005, ...

. Both singles from the album were remixed. "Crush" was remixed by Vibelicious. Also, a duet with Beyoncé featuring

Da Brat Shawntae Harris-Dupart (born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992, the year she signed with So So Def Records. Her debut album ''Funkda ...

titled "Naïve" was remixed by

Maurice Joshua Maurice Joshua (born in Chicago, Illinois), usually credited under the name Maurice, is an American record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in p ...

Personnel

* Solange Knowles – composer, primary artist, producer, vocal producer *Ketrina Askew – composer * B2K – featured artist, guest artist, primary artist *Rich Balmer – engineer *

– composer *

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

– producer *Bruce Buechner – engineer *William Burke – programming *Skip Burrow – engineer * Kandi Burruss – producer *Kim Burse – A&R *Scott Gusty Christensen – engineer *Cedric Courtois – producer *John Czornyj – mixing *Myke Diesel – engineer, mixing, producer * Jimmy Douglass – mixing *Erica Dymakkus – backing vocals * Damon Elliott – drum programming, engineer, keyboards, percussion, producer *Brian Garten – engineer *Serban Ghenea – mixing *Dabling Harward – recording *

A. Jackson Jackson () is a common American, Scottish, Irish and English surname. In 1980, Jackson was the 24th most popular surname in England and Wales. In the 1990 United States Census, Jackson was the thirteenth most frequently reported surname, accounting ...

– composer * Alonzo Jackson – producer *

Troy Johnson Troy Johnson may refer to: *Troy Johnson (cricketer), New Zealand cricketer * Troy Johnson (footballer), former Australian rules footballer *Troy Johnson (singer), American gospel and soul singer *Troy Johnson (wide receiver), football wide receive ...

– composer, engineer, producer *Jerome Jones – composer *Talib Kareem – producer * Mathew Knowles – executive producer *

Emily Lazar Emily B. Lazar is an American mastering engineer. She is the founder, president, and chief mastering engineer of The Lodge, an audio mastering facility that has operated in New York City's Greenwich Village since 1997. She won a Grammy Award fo ...

– mastering *

Murphy Lee Torhi Harper (born December 18 1979), better known by his stage name Murphy Lee, is an American rapper, best known as a member of the hip hop group St. Lunatics. His debut album, '' Murphy's Law'', peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' 200 mu ...

– featured artist, primary artist * Lil' Romeo – guest artist, primary artist *

Tony Maserati Tony Maserati is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in mixing. He was involved in the development of the New York R&B and hip-hop scene in the 1990s, working with Mary J. Blige, Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and Que ...

– mixing *

Master P Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...

– composer *Michael McClain – producer * Ramon Morales – engineer * N.O.R.E. – composer, guest artist, primary artist *Huy Nguyen – A&R assistance, artist coordination *

Tony Oliver Tony Oliver is an American voice actor best known for voicing Rick Hunter from ''Robotech'', Lancer from '' Fate/stay night'', and Arsène Lupin III from '' Lupin the Third''. He helped produce the live action shows ''Mighty Morphin Power Range ...

– composer *Kevin Parker – mixing * Mark Penn – producer *

Dave Pensado Dave Pensado is a Grammy Award-winning mix engineer. His career began in Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s doing live and studio sound engineering. He has lived in Los Angeles since 1990. He mixes between 200 and 250 songs a year at Larrabee Studios ...

– mixing *

Linda Perry Linda Perry (born April 15, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. She was the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, and has since founded two record labels and composed and produced hit songs for s ...

– producer *Platinum Status – producer *

– composer, producer *Dexter Simmons – mixing *

– primary artist * Chris Stokes – producer *

– mixing, producer *

– composer

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2002 debut albums Columbia Records albums Solange Knowles albums Albums produced by Timbaland Albums produced by the Neptunes Albums produced by Linda Perry Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri Albums produced by Rockwilder