The Heat (Toni Braxton album)

The Heat is the third studio album by American singer Toni Braxton, released on April 25, 2000, by LaFace Records. The album marked Braxton's departure from her ballads in favor of a more urban sound. Most of the songs (including the nearly instrumental "The Art of Love") were written and produced by Braxton and her husband Keri Lewis (a former member of Mint Condition); two ballads were penned by Diane Warren, and collaborations featured rappers Dr. Dre and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes.

The Heat opened at number two on the Billboard 200 with 199,000 copies sold in its first week. It was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 13, 2000, with sales of over two million copies in the United States. Additionally, the album was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 2001 Grammy Awards, while lead single "He Wasn't Man Enough" won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and was nominated for Best R&B Song.

Background and production

After the success of her second studio album, Secrets (1996), which spawned Braxton's signature song and biggest commercial success of her career, "Un-Break My Heart", and sold over 15 million copies worldwide, Braxton filed a suit to be released from her contract with Arista and LaFace Records in Los Angeles Superior Court, citing a law that states employers may not enforce labor or service after seven years. After a year of legal issues, Braxton settled her lawsuit with LaFace Records, with plans to release a new album in May 1999.

In February 1999, Babyface told MTV News, "We're getting ready head back in the studio with Braxton and we've got everything worked out, and we're really excited about getting back into the studio, getting back to the music." However, only in January 2000, during an interview with CNN, Braxton revealed that the album was going to be released in March 2000, while stating, "Some of the producers on the album are, of course Babyface, R. Kelly, David Foster, Keith Crouch and Keri Lewis of Mint Condition, just to name a few", while also revealing collaborations with Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes from TLC and Dr. Dre.

Music and lyrics

"The Heat" is built on solid ballads and smoldering, mid-tempo dance numbers, as noted by AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine. has Braxton warning a female friend not to marry a man the singer knows all too well and won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Elsewhere, it topped the Canadian Singles Chart, while reaching the top 10 in Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The album's second single in the US was the song "Just Be a Man About It". It reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. Initially, LaFace Records did not release it as a single due to the promotion of "Just Be a Man About It". It achieved moderate success on the charts around the world, reaching the top 40 in Austria, Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland. In the US, when it was released as the album's third single, "Spanish Guitar" only managed to reach number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 20 on the Adult Contemporary and topped the Dance Music/Club Play Singles.

| rev2 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev2score = B+

| rev3 = The Guardian

| rev3score =

| rev4 = MTV Asia

| rev4score = 7/10

| rev5 = PopMatters

| rev5score = 7/10

| rev6 = Q

| rev6score =

| rev7 = Rolling Stone

| rev7score =

The Heat received mixed to positive reviews from most music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the album as "a confident, assured, sexy effort that reaffirms Braxton's status as one of the finest contemporary mainstream soul singers." He praised the singles "He Wasn't Man Enough", "Spanish Guitar", and "Just Be a Man About It", noting that while "The Heat slightly runs out of momentum toward the end, there aren't many dull spots on the record -- it's all stylish, sultry, seductive, appealing urban contemporary soul that confirms Braxton's prodigious talents." Evelyn Tan of MTV Asia felt that while Braxton's vocals remained strong, the album "suffered from a lack of energy and originality," with many songs feeling bland or run-of-the-mill despite top-tier producers; only tracks like "Gimme Some," "Maybe," and "Just Be a Man About It" provided notable variety.

Accolades

At the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards, the album's lead single, "He Wasn't Man Enough", was nominated for Best R&B Song and eventually won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, while the album itself was nominated for Best R&B Album. Braxton was also nominated for Best R&B/Soul Album, Female at the 2001 Soul Train Music Awards, It debuted at number one on the magazine's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, while the album's lead single, "He Wasn't Man Enough", held onto the top spot of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for the second week in a row. In its third week, the album fell to number seven with 101,000 copies sold. The Heat was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and as of April 2011, it had sold 2,093,000 copies in the US, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

The album topped the Canadian Albums Chart, while it reached number three on the UK Albums Chart, staying 19 weeks on the latter.

Track listing

Notes

signifies a vocal producer
signifies a co-producer

Sample credits

"You've Been Wrong" contains re-sung elements from "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Heat.

Musicians

Toni Braxton – lead vocals ; background vocals ; arrangement ; vocal arrangements ; keyboards
Rodney Jerkins – arrangement, background vocals, all instruments
Fred Jerkins III – arrangement
LaShawn Daniels – arrangement
Nora Payne – background vocals
Sharlotte Gibson – background vocals
Keri – arrangement, all instruments
David Foster – arrangement, keyboards
Simon Franglen – Synclavier programming
Dean Parks – guitars ; acoustic guitars
Andrés de Léon – background vocals
Sue Carwell – background vocals
Felipe Elgueta – Spanish lyrics adaptation ; synth programming
Teddy Bishop – drum programming, keyboards, vocal arrangements ; all instruments ; all other instruments
Debra Killings – background vocals
Sara Martin – background vocals
Dr. Dre – additional vocals
Johntá Austin – vocal arrangements
Babyface – keyboards ; guitar, vocoder ; drum programming, acoustic guitar, background vocals
Jazze Pha – drum programming
Nathan East – bass
Greg Phillinganes – piano
Sherree Ford-Payne – background vocals
Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes – rap
Chris Jennings – drum programming
Michael Thompson – electric guitars
Keith Crouch – arrangement, vocal arrangements, all other instruments
John Smith – guitar
Benjamin Wright – string arrangements, string conducting
Charles Veal Jr. – concertmaster
South Central Chamber Orchestra – strings
Kevin Hicks – guitar
Tamar Braxton – background vocals
Trina Braxton – background vocals
Towanda Braxton – background vocals
Brian Casey – vocal arrangements
Brandon Casey – vocal arrangements
Ray Edwards – keyboards
Dorian "Soul Dog" Daniels – keyboards, bass
Daryl Simmons – keyboards, background vocals
Tony Williams – drum programming
Pamela Cork – additional (bridge) background vocals
Tamecia Simpson – additional (bridge) background vocals

Technical

Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins – production, mixing
Harvey Mason Jr. – recording, Pro Tools
Steve Baughman – recording assistance
Dexter Simmons – mixing
Tyson Leeper – mixing assistance
Roger Lopez – mixing assistance
LaShawn "Big Shiz" Daniels – vocal production
Keri – production, mixing ; recording
Toni Braxton – production ; co-production ; album production
Claude Achille – recording
Xavier "X-Man" Smith – recording assistance ; mixing assistance
Michael Zainer – recording assistance
Steve Hodge – mixing
Brad Yost – mixing assistance
David Foster – production
Felipe Elgueta – recording
Mick Guzauski – mixing
Tom Bender – mixing assistance
Teddy Bishop – production
Bryan-Michael Cox – co-production
Arnold "AJ" Wolfe – recording
Manny Marroquin – mixing
Dylan Vaughan – mixing assistance
Jazze Pha – production
Babyface – production ; album production
Paul Boutin – recording
Victor McCoy – mixing assistance
Ivy Skoff – production coordinator
Jon Gass – mixing
E'lyk – mixing assistance
Keith Crouch – production, recording
Reggie Dozier – string recording
Brent Riley – string recording assistance
Booker T. Jones III – mixing
Joe Brown – mixing assistance
Kevin Hicks – co-production
Daryl Simmons – production
Thom "TK" Kidd – recording
Kevin Lively – mixing assistance
Stephanie Vonarx – mixing assistance
Herb Powers Jr. – mastering
L.A. Reid – album production

Artwork

Jeffrey Schulz – design
Daniela Federici – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Weekly chart performance for The Heat

! scope="col"| Chart (2000)

! scope="col"| Peak<br/>position

! scope="row"|Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)

|style="text-align:center;"|1

! scope="row"| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)

| 3

! scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media)

| 2

! scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)

| 25

! scope="row"| Singaporean Albums (SPVA)

| 2

! scope="row"| Spanish Albums (AFYVE)

| 28

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Year-end chart performance for The Heat

! scope="col"| Chart (2000)

! scope="col"| Position

! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)

| 77

! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)

| 45

! scope="row"| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)

| 54

! scope="row"| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)

| 84

! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)

| 45

! scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media)

| 35

! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)

| 36

! scope="row"| South Korean International Albums (MIAK)

| 31

! scope="row"| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)

| 32

! scope="row"| US Billboard 200

| 41

! scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)

| 11

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

!scope="col"|Chart (2001)

!scope="col"|Position