I don’t care if people don’t like Amerie or her music and I am such a fan! I love and adore her so much and I have been with her since I first heard “Why Don’t We fall In Love.” Face it, people are going to have different opinions with music artists and that’s something that people just gotta understand. I only have a problem with those who support these bubblegum manufactured artists because they feed into the hype and don’t give Amerie the time of day ONLY because she’s not big right now.

Anyway, Amerie is extremely creative and talented. She has a very beautiful and unique voice, it’s just that she’s singing too HIGH! She doesn’t sound like how she did on her “All I have” album. Whoever told her to sing higher needs to be punched! Her lyrics are relatable and cleverly written, but her beats are outta date. All of those horns and that 60’s-70’s bass is what turn people away. I know it comes from that GoGo feel in DC, but it needs to be more up to date.

Amerie makes me mad because I’ve been waiting for her career to take off, but she doesn’t have the right promo team around her or the right producers; he can definitely keep B. Cox. Rich Harrison knows how to have a nice GoGo feel to music, but still keep it upbeat, modern, and maybe she needs to go back to him.

I love it!!!

I ain’t even gonna spend no time defending this album. It’s hot, and that’s that. Ya’ll are some haters who probably havn’t even heard every song on the album. People think Amerie’s music is wack, yet the same people are the ones listening to crappy ringtone hip hop like Soulja Boy. Enough said.

Amerie will never be as popular as other chicks out there because 1) she has no public drama 2) she isn’t in a high profile relationship and 3) she doesn’t hop on “what’s hot” just to sell records. While people are watching Rihanna’s every move and stalking Beyonce, good girls like Amerie get no attention and slip through the cracks. It’s a damn shame.

This album is one of the best I heard this year. Thank you Amerie!

and fck promotion…the artist have all the promo in the world, still have trash albums.
It’s the really good artist who don’t get as much promo

Amerie is amazing and Def SCAM sucks azz for the lack of promotion IN LOVE & WAR is getting!
They are too far up Rihanna’s ass releasing her garbage music, when they should be focusing on Amerie who is releasing great quality music.

Blah blah blah, poor Amerie. She needs to use that Georgetown degree, cuz honey, this music thing ain’t workin. The exotic look is ‘in’, so scoot on over to modeling. And NOTHING stands out about her singing. I can name at least five people that I know personally who can sing better than this child. And yes, she cakes on the makeup, just like everybody else…I’ve seen here in person….ANOTHER FLOP….

Booo…that’s all I have to say about this mess. Amerie - GO SIT DOWN…

OKAY - For me the gripe basically comes from the fact that she attempted to recreate the RICHCRAFT(Rich Harrison) sound and didnt succeed. To distance yourself completely away from the sound that made you famous is idiodic and she needs to call him now and start working on album number 5. As far as Def Jam… HAVE THEY LEARNED NOTHING ABOUT HIRING LA REID. Im sorry hes the reason LAFACE went into the ground, why Arista was suffering for all those years, and now he’s brought his cancer to Def Jam. LAReid is not the great business man people claim he is. He’s too busy golfing, shopping, and doing nothing. Since he’s been the CEO Def Jams sales have declined, and its not the market, part of its these whack as songs that sound more like Amerie wanna be’s than Amerie and the other part is LA REID not doing his damn job making sure his artist are eating. ALSO REMEMBER DEF JAM was about to DROP Amerie before ‘Why R U’ was recorded

def jam to business promoting rihanna!

why the hell u gonna release rihanna video on the same day as her album?

ppl really just dont kno that her album and ryan leslie new sh!t go hard. I got them ALREADY!!!

I love Amerie her last two albums was off the chain and i know for a fact this one will be also this girl is not playing at all she is hitting them hard she is also 1 of my favorite R&B singers out right now DO YO THING AMERIE !!!!!!

This music industry is so dead these days. Remember the days when an artist would release a single, and within a month or two, the album would come out as planned, and everything is all good. Columbia and Def Jam records are two in particular that choose their favorites and toss the rest. The fucked up part about it (sorry CL for profanity, but I am mad), many of the top artists out there put out nothing but garbage and make it to number one, and the lesser known artists can write such great material. This is why I listen to so much music before my time, cause I honestly wish I could travel back in time when music actually had substance. It is too much about SWAG these days, men & women, and putting on a front.

..Pretty sure she went to Howard not Georgetown. Not that it makes a difference, school is school but still.

PRETTY BROWN EYES and MORE THAN LOVE are the best chill tracks on this cd honestly.

PLEASE! Let this no-talent bitch fail so we can move on with our lives, her voice, and her choice in clothing are synonymous with a blind/dead mouse on crack, and I’m tired of her being up-played by people today, this is why the industry is failing creatively.

Brian, I would have to respectfully disagree with your assessment of this album. It is not the electronica-acid-pop that everyone of late has used on their album, its hard-hitting hip-hop beats, guitars riffs, and funk - all in all it quintessential Amerie! It is clear that Rich Harrison is not on this album, but I dig Amerie for her artistry and not who she’s working with. The album goes hard from track one to the end, so it surprises me that this review claims that her album is lackluster. Don’t get me wrong, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I would have to disagree Brian.

In regards to many of the comments, apparently many have not listened to the album, and have resolved to join the “roast-Amerie-fest” by saying she needs to use her college degree to sit down. Credit given where credit is due, the girl does have a degree from Georgetown, and its that intelligence that is apparent in her interviews and in her control over the album. If Amerie was not worth signing, trust me, L.A. Reid would have passed.

I really enjoyed this album, and will be bumpin’ it in my car for weeks to come. So before people write her off, please listen to the music first!!! Peace

WTF? WHY ARE PEOPLE IN HERE BLAMING RIHANNA FOR AMERIE NOT GETTING ANY SHINE?? THAT IS HER OWN FAULT FOR NOT GOING OUT AND HUSTLING. Y’ALL CAN SAY RIHANNA ONLY WALKED AROUND THE STREETS OF NY DOING NOTHING BUT ONE THING IS FOR SURE SHE STAYED IN THE SPOTLIGHT AND MADE SURE PEOPLE TOOK NOTICE! SHE PROMOTED HER SELF AND THAT’S WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO THESE DAYS.

AND WHAT ABOUT ALL OF AMERIE’S OTHER FLOPS??? RIHANNA WASN’T EVEN DOING BIG THINGS THEN. SO WHO ARE YOU GOING TO BLAME FOR THOSE??

SHE HAS NO ONE TO BLAME BUT HERSELF, NOT DEF JAM, NOT RIHANNA. THERE ARE MANY OUTLETS TO GET YOUR NAME OUT THERE THESE DAYS. GET OFF YOUR A$$ AND PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE. OTHERWISE STFU.

i like about two or three songs off the album….the first 4 or 5 songs started so sound the same…the track order didn’t help. sorry but maybe she or whoever runs her camp need to re-evaluate the track listing so there’s diversity.

Love Amerie and I will support her music. We don’t have many true R&B artist left in the industry. Love Pretty Brown Eyes, More Than Love, Why RU

I bought amerie’s album and i must say she did her THANG! im proud of her and wish her the best of luck!

It’s obvious 95% of the people on this board have no idea how this industry works… everybody’s saying she’s going to flop… she’s already flopped. The industry doesn’t consider 40,000 for first week sales a flop anymore. There’s a reason why we hire and pay our accountants and statisticians $50… 60… $70,000 a year so we know how many copies to press, how much of an advance should be paid, etc.

No other country sees album sales, or has a market like the United States does… if an entire album sells 75,000 copies over the course of it’s life cycle in almost any European country that is a HUGE success. BPI certifies an album silver after 60k, gold after 100k, and platinum after 300k.

On top of all that, advances aren’t a million dollars anymore, there maybe a low 1xx,000 and almost always recouped after a month or two of live performance touring. Get with the program… read a text book… apply to NYU’s Music Business program, learn something then bitch about it with the proper facts.

92 - No one is blaming her, were blaming Def Jam. I understand why they’re up Rihanna’s ass, but it’s still bullshit……. ON DEF JAM’S so yeah… I love the song w/Trey, but I think she needs some more collabs w/more popular artists to get things going. I dunno I think she has a lot of talent. And whoever said it, she’s too short to model anyway.

I love the songs I heard, she’s great, I love that her style is sickening and u dont see her jocking anybody sound or style. These songs i heard go hard I hope she get what she wants from this album she’s very underated.

I dont think Brian spoke for all of her fans. I missed her collaborations with Rich on the last album, because that album was weak.

This time around, she sounds comfortable being without him. And being that she wrote and co-produced the majority of the album, I think its safe to say she’s not mimicking someone elses style, just being true to herself.

There was another chick writing reviews for ConcreteLoop, and I appreciated her more. Less bias. Brian Michael-Cox contribution to the album was NOT a stand-out…

I’m really trying to like Amerie but she just doesn’t do it for me. She doesn’t have the vocal prowess to stand out from other artists. I didn’t even know she had that many albums. I can’t name one song that I like. Maybe she needs to have someone else write her songs or get new producers.

i still love AMERIE, even though promo was sub par. “In love & war” is hot of coarse! yall make sure yall go cop it!! best wishes and prayer 4 Amerie with this album that is takes off and does well!

bump the haters! shes different and so is her music. jus because somebody isnt all over tabloids or on gossip websites doesnt make then boring. ppl really have that confused!

Amerie is a very underestamatied artist. Her vocals are out of this world and her music is so soulful and filled with lots meaning. I dont know why she hasnt recieved the reconition she deserves. So for all the haters blogging about her not having talent KNOCK IT THE FUCK OFF HATEZ!

comment # 10 and others that agree, you are sooo right. thats what i’ve been saying. Amerie’s been busy but she cant expect the label to do all her promoting. She needs to get out, be seen in crowded events. Stop by some clubs and events (just out of the blue) and get on the mic and say hey everbody, remeber me, i’m Amerie and if you liked 1 thing, i have a new album coming out, be looking out for me. Do some ribbon cuttings, audition for some product commercials if she has too. just get out and be seen and tell crowds of people bout her music in the process.

Yep she needs to get off her azz and promote herself and stop thinking she’s too cute to get her hands dirty. If def jam isn’t making a way you have to make your own way.

I’m going to support it like I have all her others (including the one that wasn’t released here in the states 2 years ago), but I think it basically boiled down to her thinking she was a star because she had a semi-cross over hit with ‘1 Thing,’ then she started thinking she was at the top of her game when she really wasn’t. Dropping Rich, being photographed everywhere at events, I mean she just showed out and her music suffered because of it. Amerie to me is just like Rihanna, a singles girl…there’s never much effort or direction put into her albums to make them all-around quality works, therefore it always sounds all over the place. Her only decent album to me was the first.

Amerie stans need to come together and Amerie needs to do more on her part. #1 if you don’t come with it music wise YOU WILL NOT SELL!! I have not heard a song from Amerie that really made me go wow that is a hit. Her fans/stans are not buying her album. You can’t blame Rihanna for what she is lacking. I’ve seen Amerie on this site a lot lately and only a few people talk about buying it. Amerie knows she doesn’t have a big fan base she needs to hustle. Like someone else says there are people with no major label and they sell millions and even make it on the Hot 100. She can’t expect her label to do everything especially if she’s not a big star. You can’t drop a single and album with no kind of promotion or SELF promotion and expect people to drop whatever they are doing and buy it IF YOU NOT ANY WHERE NEAR BEING A BIG STAR. Idk who she think she is that she feels she don’t need to hustle and idk why people are not seeing that the girl does not try hard enough.

love the album! and i do wish amerie the best…. ppl are too focused on image these days to regc. talent and good music . . . support amerie!!…. and melanie fiona!!

@ 104

Exactly!! She needs to get off her ass and do what she has to do. If she has to move to LA and walk her ass up and down the street like Rihanna to get the paps and the white folk to notice her then that’s what she needs to do. She does not promote herself at all. She releases an album then goes on vacation. You never see her perform and she barely goes to events. You HAVE to be seen EVERYWHERE.

Love Amerie I hope this album goes far. Does anyone know who made that white lace

dress she’s wearing?

She needs to do a bit more dancing and bring a bit more energy to her performances. A lot of her songs stay sounding like “One Thing”.

I just purchased this cd on itunes and I absolutely love this cd. My favorite songs are Highrer, Swag Back, Pretty Brown, More Than Love, and Red Eye just to name a few. People please go out and support real music for a change. And please stop passing judgement before you even hear her cd!

She needs to give it up.

Whats with that half as*ed album review., are you serious? I’ve seen you give longer and more in depth reviews for albums that down right sucked and for artist with half the talent of Amerie. This review was filled with snarky disdain. Yes you have dedicated your website layout to her album but come on man you could have broken down the album track by track a little more.

This album isn’t bad, it’s not bad at all actually. Yes there are some tracks that should have been left off, Heard Em All and IMO Pretty Brown. This albums shows that Amerie is sticking to her signature sound, yet evolving as an artist by working with other people, hence her sound is evolving. Which you can clearly hear on “Higher” and “Dangerous” with the incorporation of guitars over her classic horn sound. “The Flowers” recalls “Float” from her All I Have album with the piano driven melody. My mian and only gripe about this album is that the latter songs sound like Mariah Carey tracks beat wise(Red Eye and most of all Dear John), but lyrically they are Amerie.

I’m not worried about whether or not her album flops or is #1 because Amerie has never been that type of artist. It’s about the music with her. While other girls focus on trying to create radio friendly hits, she actually works on her craft and enhancing her already impressive catalog. I feel when you look back on this decade her albums will actually stand the test of time as tangibale R&B along with Mary J Blidge, Floetry, Brandy, Jill Scott, Keyshia Cole, Tweet and others.

And like some others have said already this album will do better in the UK than in the US. Which is why her last album Because I Love It wasn’t released in the states but in the UK.

ANOTHER FLOP under her belt! good job AMERIE! :SIKE!!!

@ Gia and Nicholas Ryan, a review is not always going praise an artist. Its supposed to be honest. Brian and the other chick that do reviews usually do good reviews. CL is one of the few blogs that actually does its own reviews and they also include other related stuff (like Def Jam sleeping on this album)

@ 113

I don’t think Amerie is focusing on her craft. In fact Amerie has gotten weaker and weaker as an artist. Girlie has not evolved..at all. The album is slightly better than the previous album, and that’s not saying much. “Heard ‘em Say”, is way too repetitive and there’s too much screaming going on. The strongest song on the album was “Why R U”. I agree with everybody’s comment about Amerie needing to reunite with Rich.

More than Love is the joint!!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t understand why I don’t hear it on the radio more often. Its better than that stupid wasted song by gucci dumb mane. Her music is a breath of fresh air (and letoya luckett) from the stale mess on the radio. Def gonna cop the album.

all her songs sound the same to me sorry

It’s a shame she’s flopping again, but her music just doesn’t have that spark. Couple that with Def ‘We only support Rihanna’ Jam and she was screwed the second she signed the contract. Maybe she should go the independent route like Solange is. She must have enough money from her One Thing hit.

Bought her album yesterday, and I love it. We have to return to the era of supporting real and true talent. Amerie is part of that field. I am really feeling this album, and highly recommend it. Love Pretty Brown, More than Love, Swag Back, Why R U, among others. Go get that album!!!

@ 115, I wouldn’t of had as much of a problem with the negative tone of his review if were more detailed. My biggest problem was that the review was so short. The album reviews are one of the things I love about CL and how they go into depth about who the artist worked with, the differnet tracks, I just expected more.

@116, your entitled to your opinion about her music. I may not agree with it, since I feel she keeps getting better with every album. I agree about Heard Em All, it’s pretty much in the same vein as “Touch”, it seems like it was just thrown on for commercial effect. I think their are songs on the album just as good if not better than “Why R U” though. And although I would love to see her get back with Rich, I can understand her wanting to venture out and work with other people instead of working with the same guy over and over again. Now when she goes back to Rich she will be able to bring something new to the table because of her experience with other producers. But your opinion is your opinion and I repsect that.

Putting on my Flip FLOPs.

She’s boring and her music sounds empty.

I think she’s trying to go the ‘unique’ with this album but it sounds like little effort was put into this project. Amerie seriously tries to hard to be ‘different’ and it doesn’t come of right, just awkward. Hell! Even Rihanna has more personality then this girl.

LMAO @ 122 FLOPALICIOUS!!!

I loooove Pretty Brown Eyes. Whooo With Trey on it too.

I loooove Pretty Brown Eyes. Whooo With Trey on it too.

Amerie is the truth! Concrete Loop is a breeding ground for idiots!

people dont know what there talking about on here, i agree with Tjack25, i really really really lve amerie but in the u.s she’s wack she is so beautiful but i heard the album and the only song i really liked was, red eye, and it’s NOT THE RECORD LABEL FAULT ITS HER FAULT SHE NEED TO PROMOTE HER OWN SHIT,,,,,,,,
ALONG TIME AGO THERE WAS A RAPPER CALLED MASTER P HE DID NOT WAIT ON HIS ANYBODY TO PROMOTE HIM THE MAJOR RECORD LABEL CAME LOOKIN 4 HIM SO WHAT IM SAYIN IS………U I MEAN U GOT 2 GET YOUR OWN SHIT OUT THERE IN THE STREETS ….. AS A ARTIST

Def Jam aint shit ! It went down hill when Jayz got there ! He care about himself only, trading in friendships for money will come back and bite u n the ass !!!!