The Evolution of Robin Thicke

The Evolution of Robin Thicke
Studio album by Robin Thicke
Released	October 3, 2006
Recorded	2005–06
Genre	R&B soul funktronica
Length	60:13
Label	Star Trak Interscope
Producer	Pharrell Williams (exec.) Robin Thicke Pro J The Neptunes
Robin Thicke chronology
A Beautiful World (2003) The Evolution of Robin Thicke (2006) Something Else (2008)
Singles from The Evolution of Robin Thicke
"Wanna Love U Girl" Released: August 9, 2005 "Shooter" Released: April 9, 2006 "Lost Without U" Released: January 30, 2007 "Can U Believe" Released: April 12, 2007 "Got 2 Be Down" Released: October 2, 2007

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[1]
Allmusic	[2]
Blender	[3]
Okayplayer	[4]
Slant Magazine	[5]
Yahoo! Music UK	[6]
Vibe	[7]

The Evolution of Robin Thicke is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Robin Thicke; it was released on October 3, 2006, by Star Trak Records. The album features guest appearances from Faith Evans, Lil Wayne and Pharrell. On February 13, 2007, the album was re-released titling as Deluxe Edition, which included all three new bonus tracks.^[8]

The Evolution of Robin Thicke was supported by two singles; "Wanna Love U Girl" and "Lost Without U". The lead single "Wanna Love You Girl" became an urban hit, while the second single "Lost Without U" became the number-one hit on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

Background

Thicke described the album to Billboard as being about “a guy who's been stripped of everything. He doesn't have any money and is about to lose his house. His wife is off becoming a movie star and everyone else is pretty much leaving him. All the cool friends I'd had stopped inviting me to parties. I was all alone at home writing songs on my piano about what I was feeling. Thus came 'Complicated,' 'Can U Believe,' 'I Need Love,' '2 the Sky' and 'Angels.' All these songs were about brokenhearted loneliness and hopelessness; trying to still believe in myself.”^[9]

Promotion

Thicke toured with India.Arie and then opened for John Legend in late 2006.^[9] Notable performances in support of the album and its single "Lost Without U" include the 2007 BET Awards, The 2007 MOBO Awards,^[10] American Idol,^[11] and the 2007 Soul Train Music Awards.^[12] The song "Angels" appeared on General Hospital, aired on November 22, 2006, during Luke and Laura's goodbye scene. The song "Shooter" was played, during Jason and Sonny's shootout scene from April 12, 2007 to April 13, 2007. The song "Lost Without U" was played on October 2, 2007, during a love scene between Sonny and Kate.^[13]

Singles

The album's lead single, titled "Wanna Love U Girl" featuring Pharrell, was released on August 9, 2005, before the album was officially released. The single has experienced chart success on urban radio in the United Kingdom. The remix to "Wanna Love You Girl" was released, adding to it was an American rapper Busta Rhymes.

The album's second single, "Lost Without U" was released on January 30, 2007. The single began getting a lot of radio airplay in Urban & Rhythmic radio stations from 2006 to 2007. The song reached number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.^[14] As a result, Thicke became the first Caucasian male artist since George Michael to top the R&B singles chart.

Thicke and his record label Interscope was soon considered a potential tracks to be released as the album's third single. Thicke's preference was the track "Can U Believe" (released on April 12, 2007), which has peaked at number 15 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[15]

On October 2, 2007, "Got 2 Be Down" was officially released to radio airplay as the album's fourth single.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 45 on the US Billboard 200, selling 20,000 copies in its first week.^[16] The album reached at a peak position at number 5 on the US Billboard 200, and number 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.^[17] It is the first R&B number one album of Thicke's career. From February 24 to March 3, 2007, both his second single "Lost Without U" and his second album The Evolution of Robin Thicke simultaneously spent two consecutive weeks at number 1 on the both R&B single and album charts, respectively.

On the March 3, 2007 issue of Billboard magazine, Thicke simultaneously topped 4 Billboard charts; including Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Hot Adult R&B Airplay. Due to the popularity of "Lost Without U", the sales of the album has started to increase. As of March 2007, The Evolution of Robin Thicke was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Got 2 Be Down" (featuring Faith Evans)	Robin Thicke James Gass Faith Evans	Robin Thicke Pro J	4:33
2.	"Complicated"	Thicke	Thicke Pro J	4:13
3.	"Would That Make U Love Me"	Thicke	Thicke Pro J	3:36
4.	"Lost Without U"	Thicke Sean Hurley	Thicke Pro J	4:14
5.	"Ask Myself"	Thicke Bobby Keyes Robert Daniels	Thicke Pro J	3:47
6.	"All Night Long" (featuring Lil Wayne)	Thicke Gass Dwayne Carter, Jr. Daniels	Thicke Pro J	3:41
7.	"Everything I Can't Have"	Thicke Gass Moises Vivanco	Thicke Pro J	3:23
8.	"Teach U a Lesson"	Thicke Gass	Thicke Pro J	4:28
9.	"I Need Love"	Thicke	Thicke Pro J	4:55
10.	"Wanna Love U Girl" (featuring Pharrell)	Thicke Pharrell Williams	The Neptunes	4:23
11.	"Can U Believe"	Thicke Daniels	Thicke Pro J	4:51
12.	"Shooter" (featuring Lil Wayne)	Thicke Carter, Jr. Keyes Gass Daniels	Thicke Pro J	4:37
13.	"Cocaine"	Thicke Gass	Thicke Pro J	3:30
14.	"2 the Sky"	Thicke Larry Cox II Greg Malone Ronnie Breaux, Jr. Justin Derrico	Thicke Pro J	6:05
15.	"Lonely World"	Thicke	Thicke Pro J	4:21
16.	"Angels"	Thicke	Thicke Pro J	8:35

Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)
No.	Title	Length
17.	"Superman"	4:19
18.	"U Center Me"	4:15
19.	"Look at Me"	4:33

Chart positions

Chart (2006)	Peak position	Certification
US Billboard 200[17]	5	Platinum
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[17]	1
UK Albums Top 75	30
French Album Chart	184
Dutch Album Chart	60

References

1. "The Evolution of Robin Thicke". Randb.about.com. 2014-03-05. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
2. David Jeffries (2006-10-03). "The Evolution of Robin Thicke - Robin Thicke | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
4. Archived October 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
5. "The Evolution Of Robin Thicke". slantmagazine.com. 2006-10-06. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
6. "Yahoo Celebrity UK Showbiz news & gossip around the clock #WeNeverSleep". Uk.launch.yahoo.com. 2011-04-20. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
7. "The Evolution of Robin Thicke". Vibe Media Group. March 2006. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
8. "MTV News | Robin Thicke, Pharrell Smiling At Last As Evolution Scales". MTV.com. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
9. Mitchell, Gail (September 19, 2008). "Robin Thicke: White Like Me". Billboard.com. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
10. Bekoe, Wendi (October 13, 2007). "MOBO 18 Celebrates: The Best Moments Of The 2007 MOBO Awards". MOBO.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
11. "Video: Robin Thicke Performs on 'Idol'". Rap-Up.com. March 3, 2007. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
12. Mitchell, Gail (March 12, 2007). "Hudson, Beyoncé Star at Soul Train Awards". Billboard.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
13. What Song Was That?: Songs Used on General Hospital
14. "Artist Chart History - Lost Without U". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
15. "Thicke Penning New Songs As Current Set Sizzles". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
16. "Artist Chart History - Wanna Love You Girl". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
17. "Artist Chart History - Robin Thicke Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-02-27.

External links

• Interview: Robin Thicke - The Evolution of Robin Thicke
• Chart Data: Robin Thicke