NEW YORK (Atlantic Records) - Atlantic recording artist
Brandy returns to the top of the national charts this week with her eagerly awaited new album, "AFRODISIAC," which debuts in the #3 spot on the Billboard 200. At the same time, the album has earned the "Pacesetter" award with its No 4 premiere on the magazine's "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums" chart. "AFRODISIAC," Brandy's fourth album, marks her first new music since 2002's RIAA platinum, Grammy-nominated "FULL MOON."
Brandy is heralding the debut of "AFRODISIAC" with a string of major national television appearances, highlighted by upcoming performances on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Tuesday, July 13th; NBC's "Today" show outdoor "Toyota Concert Series" on Friday, July 16th; ABC's "The View" on Monday, July 19th; and both CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn" and the syndicated "On-Air with Ryan Seacrest" on Wednesday, July 14th.
"AFRODISIAC" has been garnering a string of press raves, among them an "A-" lead review in Entertainment Weekly, a four-star "Critic's Choice" pick in People, a three-and-a-half star lead review in Vibe, and three stars in USA Today and the New York Post. She is also featured on the cover of the July issue of Vibe, along with covers and features in a host of other national publications - including ranking in the top ten on Entertainment Weekly's prestigious "Must List."
"AFRODISIAC" includes the lead-off hit single, "Talk About Our Love," produced, co-written by, and featuring Kanye West. The song's companion video is currently the No 1 most-played clip on BET, while Brandy can be seen in a host of special programming airing on BET, MTV, VH1, and Fuse. Brandy celebrated the album's arrival in stores on June 29th with an appearance as a presenter on the 2004 BET Awards show, preceded by a special live performance on "106 & Park." She then headed to New York for July 1st appearances on MTV's "TRL" and Fuse's "Daily Download." In addition, tracks from "AFRODISIAC" were streamed over one million times via mtv.com's "The Leak" in the week preceding the album's release.
Online, Brandy is the LAUNCH "Artist of the Month" for July. The promotion includes an exclusive interview and performance as well as a contest to win a live video chat with Brandy. "Talk About Our Love" has been streamed more than 4.6 million times on LAUNCH since its debut. The "Talk About Our Love" online campaign kicked off with an AOL "First Listen" premiere, and Brandy was AOL's "Artist of the Month" for June. Her "Sessions@AOL" performance will debut on the service at the end of this month.
The majority of the songs on "AFRODISIAC" were produced by Timbaland, including such highlights as "Who Is She 2 U" - which will be the album's second single - and the title track. Other contributing producers included Kanye West ("Talk About Our Love," "Where You Wanna Be," featuring T.I.), Warryn Campbell, Organized Noize, Ron Feemster & Big Chuck, and Walter Millsap. All vocals on the album were produced by Brandy, with Brandy, Craig Kallman, G. Roberson and Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua serving as Executive Producers.
