FanMail is the third studio album by American girl group TLC, released on February 23, 1999, by LaFace and Arista Records. The album title is a tribute to TLC's fans who sent them fan mail during their hiatus. FanMail debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 318,000 copies in its first week of release, and spent five weeks at number one.
To promote the album, TLC embarked on their first concert tour titled the FanMail Tour. FanMail received acclaim from most music critics, who praised its innovative sound and themes. The album received eight nominations at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including one for Album of the Year, winning three. It has been certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold 10 million copies worldwide. FanMail is TLC's second-best-selling album after their 1994 studio album CrazySexyCool.
Released following a period of uncertainty marked by financial difficulties and disputes with their record label and among group members, FanMail reaffirmed TLC's commercial viability. The album's incorporation of technological themes and futuristic production has been credited with helping to reshape the sound of R&B at the turn of the 21st century. TLC were among the first mainstream artists to aestheticize the internet in their music, and FanMail is regarded as an early precursor to the direct artist-to-fan interaction that would later become common in the era of social media. It was the group's final album released in Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes' lifetime before she died on April 25, 2002, as she was killed in a car crash prior to the release of their fourth studio album 3D (2002). Preliminary work on their third studio album was delayed when friction arose between the group and their main producer Dallas Austin, who was at the time dating member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, and helped to raise their son Tron. Austin wanted $4.2 million and creative control on the project, resulting in a stand-off between him and the group. TLC eventually entered recording studios in April 1998 to start work on their then-untitled third album with Austin, who returned with a handshake agreement. While he contributed the most to the album and served as the executive producer, they also collaborated with long-term producers Babyface and L.A. Reid, as well as with Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. FanMail was initially scheduled for release on November 10, 1998, but was delayed to the first quarter of 1999.
Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes wrote and composed eight songs for the album, all of which Austin rejected, stating that they were "inferior". Consequently, Lopes told MTV News in July 1998 that she decided to work on a solo album assisted by Erick Sermon. The album was planned to be released before FanMail, further causing tension among the group. During an interview with Vibe in 1999, Lopes publicly derided her involvement in TLC, remarking: "I've graduated from this era. I cannot stand 100 percent behind this TLC project and the music that is supposed to represent me. This will be my last interview until I can speak freely about the truth and present myself on my solo project." Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel" (1998), Each member received at least one songwriting credit throughout FanMail. The album contains several tracks featuring vocals by the computer modulated voice Vic-E, a talking android which is reminiscent of the "tour guide" on A Tribe Called Quest's 1993 studio album, Midnight Marauders.
FanMail is an R&B and pop album, that includes tracks featuring funk, hip hop-inspired dance-pop, and ballads. On the first track "FanMail", Austin used multiple samples from the internet and movies in order to create a "space sound" that "will sound like what the album cover looks like". The background noise consisting of typewriters and printers was incorporated to represent the fan letters and fan mail, while Austin added a sample from an interview with Lopes commenting "all these conflicting fan mail", and created a hook with it. The song consisted of a sneaking bassline, vocal stutters, and glitches similar to that of dial-up Internet. The photographer, Dan Levy, shot the silver-painted group members without any digital alterations. The CD insert folds out to form a large poster featuring a picture of the three TLC members and the names of thousands of people who sent them fan mail throughout their career. A limited edition of the album was released, which had an insert with a lenticular version of the cover placed in front of the original booklet in the jewel case.
Follow-up single "Unpretty" also topped the Billboard Hot 100, spending three weeks at number one and placing at number 20 on the Year-End Hot 100.
Tour
TLC embarked on the FanMail Tour to promote the album. It was their first headlining tour, and their first tour in five years. As part of a sponsorship with MP3.com, the group released "I Need That", with proceeds sent to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. The song was described by the producer Rico Lumpkins as "more R&B than hip-hop". The stage and costumes were all designed by each TLC member. The FanMail Tour became the highest-grossing tour by a girl group, as it grossed over $72.8 million. It was the final tour with all three members together.
Critical reception
Upon release, FanMail received acclaim from most music critics, many of whom regarded it as TLC's most progressive project to date. Reviewers also complimented the album's sound and lyrics for addressing complex themes in a catchy, mainstream manner.
Writing for Muzik, Tony Farsides stated that FanMail was "a real grower" in comparison to other albums released during the time. On June 21, 2000, it was certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album had sold 4.8 million copies in the United States as of July 2017; it had sold an additional 877,000 copies through the BMG Music Club as of February 2003. Internationally, the album reached the top 10 in New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. As of February 2019, FanMail has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
Legacy
FanMail marked a return to form for TLC, following a turbulent hiatus from recording music that included a highly publicized period of financial struggles, record label disagreements, and internal conflict among group members. and nevertheless established them as the best-selling female musical act in the United States.
The album is credited with helping to reshape the sound of R&B upon the turn of the 21st century. consequently introducing other sub-genres of R&B. with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of Complex declaring them "the most accurately prescient of any of the musicians" who donned metallic outfits. In retrospect, some critics have admitted that certain aspects of FanMail sound outdated. with both Chilli and T-Boz frequently interacting with their fans online. Double J contributor Sose Fuamoli said that, even when removed from Lopes's legacy, FanMail<nowiki/>'s "importance at the end of the 90s is untouchable".
| extra_column = Producer(s)
| title18 = U in Me
| writer18 = Austin
| extra18 = Austin
| length18 = 3:50
Digital download track
- "I Need That" – 3:52
- Released online by TLC exclusively on MP3.com to promote the FanMail Tour. Produced by Rico Lumpkins for PWPX, LLC. Written by R. Lumpkins, L. Lopes, and S. Chunn. Left Eye's rap was later expanded and re-recorded on the track "Gimme Some" from Toni Braxton's album The Heat, as well as being completely reused and shortened on the track "Whoop De Woo" from the compilation Now and Forever: The Hits, originally intended for the group's fourth album 3D.
Notes
- signifies a co-producer
- signifies an additional vocal producer
Sample credits
- "FanMail" contains an excerpt from an MTV interview that features the instrumental of TLC's song "Diggin' on You" in the background.
- "I'm Good at Being Bad" contains elements from "Slippin' into Darkness" by War. The song also originally contained interpolated lyrics from "Love to Love You Baby" by Donna Summer, but the interpolated lyrics were later removed on later pressings of the explicit version.
- On initial pressings of the album, "Whispering Playa – Interlude" contained a sample of "Cold Blooded" by Rick James playing in the background. The sample was removed on subsequent editions, with TLC's song "U in Me" being played in the background instead.
- "Automatic" contains portions from Neil Armstrong's "Moon Landing" speech.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of FanMail.
Musicians
- Dallas Austin – arrangements ; gang vocals
- T-Boz – background vocals ; gang vocals
- Chilli – background vocals
- Debra Killings – background vocals ; bass
- Rick Sheppard – MIDI, sound design
- Vic-E – speech ; rap
- Leslie Brathwaite – gang vocals
- Ty Hudson – gang vocals
- Joi Gilliam – gang vocals
- Peach – gang vocals
- Sonji – gang vocals
- Carolyn Paige – gang vocals
- Kevin Wales – gang vocals
- "Big" Stan Smith – gang vocals
- Papi – playa
- Kandi Burruss – background vocals
- Tameka "Tiny" Cottle – background vocals
- She'kspere – MIDI, sound design
- Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – arrangements, all other musical instruments
- Mike Scott – guitar
- Alex Richbourg – drum programming
- Jerry Lumpkins – additional keyboards
- Babyface – drum programming, acoustic guitar ; keyboards, electric guitar
- Greg Phillinganes – piano ; Wurlitzer
- Michael Thompson – acoustic guitar ; electric guitar
- C.C. Thomas – bass
- Necia Bray – background vocals
- Tomi Martin – guitar
- Tom Knight – drums
- LaMarquis Jefferson – bass
- Marde Johnson – gang vocals
- Koko Watkins – gang vocals
- Solomon Jackson – gang vocals
- James Killings – guitar
- Nathan East – bass
- Paulinho da Costa – percussion
- Colin Wolfe – bass
- Melvin M. Jones – trumpet
- Gregory Hudspeth – saxophone
- Anthony Roberson – trombone
Technical
- Cyptron – production
- Carlton Lynn – recording ; recording assistance ; mixing
- Leslie Brathwaite – recording ; mixing
- Jeff Griffin – recording assistance
- Sejoon Kahng – recording assistance
- Alvin Speights – mixing
- Vernon J. Mungo – mixing assistance ; recording assistance ; recording
- Ty Hudson – recording assistance ; mixing assistance
- Dallas Austin – production ; executive production
- Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs – production ; additional vocal production
- Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – production
- Steve Hodge – recording, mixing
- Xavier Smith – recording assistance, mixing assistance
- Dave Rideau – vocal recording
- Gordon Fordyce – vocal recording assistance
- Dylan Dresdow – vocal recording assistance
- Ricciano Lumpkins – production ; recording
- John Horesco IV – mixing assistance ; digital editing
- Babyface – production ; executive production
- Daryl Simmons – production
- Paul Boutin – recording
- Thom "TK" Kidd – lead vocals recording
- Kevin Lively – lead vocals recording assistance ; mixing assistance
- Ralph Cacciurri – lead vocals recording assistance
- Jon Gass – mixing
- Ivy Skoff – production coordination
- Jermaine Dupri – production, mixing
- Carl So-Lowe – co-production
- Brian Frye – recording
- Phil Tan – mixing
- Diane Makowski – production coordination
- Debra Killings – production
- Aman Junaid – recording
- E'lyk – mixing assistance
- Claudine Pontier – recording assistance
- Herb Powers Jr. – mastering
- Antonio M. Reid – executive production
- TLC – executive production
Artwork
- TLC – creative concept
- D.L. Warfield – art direction, design
- Cherie O'Brien – creative coordination
- Nigel Sawyer – layout assistance
- Seb Janiak – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Weekly chart performance for FanMail
! scope="col"| Chart (1999)
! scope="col"| Peak<br/>position
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
|style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media)
| 9
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Irish Albums (IRMA)
| 8
|-
!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)
|10
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Taiwanese Albums (IFPI)
|4
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1999 year-end chart performance for FanMail
! scope="col"| Chart (1999)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 47
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 30
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| 53
|-
! scope="row"| Canadian Top Albums/CDs (RPM)
| 9
|-
! scope="row"| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
| 100
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 31
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media)
| 24
|-
! scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP)
| 65
|-
! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 19
|-
! scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| 58
|-
! scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
| 21
|-
! scope="row"| Swedish Albums & Compilations (Sverigetopplistan)
| 65
|-
! scope="row"| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
| 48
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)
| 28
|-
! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 10
|-
! scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
| 7
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2000 year-end chart performance for FanMail
! scope="col"| Chart (2000)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 147
|}
Decade-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1990–1999 decade-end chart performance for FanMail
! scope="col"| Chart (1990–1999)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 84
|}