LeToya
Studio album by
LeToya
ReleasedJuly 25, 2006 (2006-07-25)
Length52:18
LabelCapitol
Producer
LeToya chronology
LeToya
(2006)		 Lady Love
(2009)
Singles from LeToya
  1. "Torn"
    Released: March 21, 2006
  2. "She Don't"
    Released: June 29, 2006
  3. "No More"
    Released: July 18, 2006[1]
  4. "Obvious"
    Released: November 21, 2006
Alternative cover
Special edition cover

LeToya is the debut solo studio album by American R&B singer and former Destiny's Child member LeToya Luckett, released by Capitol Records on July 25, 2006 in the United States. The album spawned three singles: "Torn", "She Don't" and "Obvious". Besides the officially released singles, LeToya's debut album also includes the promo singles, "U Got What I Need" and "All Eyes On Me". LeToya co-wrote 10 out of the 14 tracks. The album was the first solo release from LeToya following her departure from her former group, Destiny's Child, of which she was a founding member.

The album garnered mostly positive reception from music critics, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200.[2] It was certified Platinum in December 2006.

Production

LeToya had "bottled up so many things, so many emotions, so many ideas" accumulated in many years away from the music world (as her claims on the Intro song "too much to tell ya"). Things like her dismissal from Destiny's Child, the deception with the shortly-formed Anjel and subsequent search for a new record deal has apparently made her a stronger person. Finally with a record deal, LeToya entered in studios recording songs for what would be her debut album. Finally about two years making, plans to the release the album came out- surprisingly becoming a number one album through the USA. Letoya worked with producers Dave Young, Scott Storch, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan Michael Cox, Just Blaze, Johnta Austin, Teddy Bishop, Flash Technology and JR Rotem. She also worked with artists such as Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Mike Jones and Rick Ross.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Guardian[4]
Now[5]
Prefix[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
The Skinny[8]
SPIN[9]
Stylus MagazineC−[10]
The Phoenix[11]

The album garnered mostly positive reception from music critics. Prefix's Norman Mayers called LeToya an "excellent debut from an artist who was destined to become a footnote. The album is a classy affair of quality soul as well as a statement of Letoya's own individuality."[6] Entertainment Weekly's Raymond Fiore found that "on her solo debut, the 25-year-old Houston native forgoes musical risk and lets hitmakers like Jermaine Dupri, Just Blaze, and Scott Storch ensure that almost every urban-radio formula – from a Southern club-rattler to a Mariah-like midtempo love jam – is represented on the self-titled Letoya. LeToya lacks Beyoncé-caliber pipes, but she’s got enough memorable tunes to make a surprisingly solid bid for solo stardom."[12] AllMusic editor Anthony Tognazzini felt that the album's "polished, hip-hop-inflected R&B sound recalls Destiny's Child. LeToya gives the singer's former bandmate Beyoncé a run for her money."[3] The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan noted that "there's almost nothing to dislike, such is its smartly coiffed cheeriness. This album has a voice of its own, nipping and tucking club tracks and slouchy love songs into a cohesive whole that reminds you Destiny's Child was a long time ago."[4]

Michael Freedberg from The Phoenix found that "LeToya’s debut CD [...] has it all. Great songs, funky sexy songs, romantic songs, intense songs, gangsta-girl songs, fun and exotic songs, sexy dance music, a soulful version of regggaetón, and songs reminiscent of 1970s Philly sou. LeToya can sing; her voice hasn’t the luminescent high notes of Beyoncé, but she can riff a melody almost as forcefully as Mary J. Blige."[11] On the contrary, Evan Serpick from Rolling Stone, wrote: "Unfortunately, on the disc her voice is lost in a sea of tepid R&B; arrangements and hip-hop hybrids. On about half the tracks, LeToya tries to position herself as a passionate emoter in the mold of Mary J. Blige [...] But LeToya's voice has neither the grit nor the exuberance to fill those shoes. On the album's other half, LeToya proves her hometown pride but loses the vibe by collaborating [...] on a series of underbaked, disjointed club tracks."[7] Now critic Jason Richards called LeToya a "really boring solo disc" as well as "a wellspring of clichés,"[5] while Wendy Martin from The Skinny summed the project as a "slickly produced album [with] good backing singers, and a selection of male rappers. The result? Twelve tracks that all sound the same."[8]

Commercial performance

LeToya debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart,[2] with first week sales of 165,000 copies.[13][14] On August 31, 2006, LeToya was certified Gold by the RIAA and Platinum on December 11, 2006.[15] As of November 21, 2008, the album has sold 529,000 in the US.[16][17]

The first promotional single from the album was "U Got What I Need", with non-commercial purpose, but "All Eyes on Me", the second promotional single, is claimed as her "original" first promo single, as this is the first track that showcased her as a solo artist. "Torn", the first official single from the album, was released in March 2006 and soon became a hit, having a high airplay and peaking at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[18] "Torn" became a hit on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at number two.[17] It also entered the top twenty on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Adult R&B charts. In the same year, the song was finally released worldwide, namely the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia and became a moderate worldwide success. "Torn" had one of its biggest successes on BET's 106 & Park. It reached number one in eleven days and stayed there for twenty-five days straight. It remained on the countdown for sixty-five days.

Track listing

LeToya track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"
  • Gavin Luckett
  • Brandon Pitre
Gavin Luckett0:56
2."U Got What I Need"
Just Blaze3:45
3."So Special"
  • Teddy Bishop
  • Luckett
  • Tamara Savage
  • Young
Teddy Bishop3:30
4."Torn"
  • Thomas Bell
  • Bishop
  • Linda Epstein
  • Luckett
  • Young
Teddy Bishop4:22
5."What Love Can Do"
The CornaBoyz3:47
6."She Don't"
Walter "Lil' Walt" Milsap III4:04
7."Tear da Club Up (H-Town Version)" (featuring Bun B & Jazze Pha)
  • Phalon Alexander
  • Bernard Freeman
  • Luckett
  • Kayla Shelton
  • Young
  • Jazze Pha
  • Dave Young
3:49
8."All Eyes on Me" (featuring Paul Wall)
  • Luckett
  • Jonathan Rotem
  • Stayve Thomas
  • Young
J. R. Rotem3:34
9."Hey Fella" (featuring Slim Thug)
  • H. Lang Jr.
  • Thomas
  • Young
Flash Technology3:53
10."Gangsta Grillz" (featuring Mike Jones & Killa Kyleon)
  • Terry Allen
  • Shannon Graham
  • Mike Jones
  • Luckett
  • Kyle Riley
  • Shelton
Terry "T. A." Allen3:50
11."Obvious"
  • Bryan Michael Cox
  • Dave Young
3:55
12."I'm Good"
Scott Storch3:24
13."This Song"
  • Jermaine Dupri
  • Bryan Michael Cox
3:16
14."Outro"
  • G. Curtis
  • G. Luckett
  • Luckett
  • Pitre
  • Gavin "Gavo" Luckett
  • Brandon "B-Don" Pitre
1:37
15."Torn (So So Def Remix)" (featuring Mike Jones & Rick Ross)
  • Bell
  • Bishop
  • Epstein
  • Luckett
  • Young
  • Jermaine Dupri
  • James "LRoc" Phillips
4:35
iTunes Store bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
16."No More"
  • Nelson
  • Millsap
  • Luckett
Millsap4:06
International enhanced content
No.TitleLength
16."A Day in the Life of LeToya" (enhanced video) 
17."Torn" (music video) 
Japanese enhanced content
No.TitleLength
16."Torn" (music video) 
17."She Don't" (music video) 
18."LeToya in Japan" (special footage)7:00

Sample credits

  • "U Got What I Need" contains a sample of Love Unlimited's "Walking In The Rain (With The One I Love)".
  • "Torn" contains a sample of The Stylistics's 1971 classic "You Are Everything".
  • "She Don't" contains a sample of The Spinners's "We Belong Together" and samples from The Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye".
  • "All Eyes on Me" contains a sample of Sweet Charity's "Hey, Big Spender".
  • "Obvious" contains interpolations from "Break Hard, Dude" by AC/DC and samples Romeo Miller "Maybe".
  • "This Song" contains interpolations from Curtis Mayfied's "Eddie, You Should Know Better".
  • "Outro" contains an interpolations from Just A Prayer by Yolanda Adams and sample of Michael Jackson's 1982 "P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)".

Personnel

  • Executive producers: LeToya Luckett; Carl "Mister C" Cole; Terry Ross
  • Mixing: Manny Marroquin (tracks 1, 6, 8–12, 14); Dave Russell (5); Kevin "KD" Davis (7); Jean-Marie Horvat (2, 3, 4); Jermaine Dupri (13, 15); Phil Tan (13, 15); Josh Houghkirk (assistant – 15)
  • Recording Engineers: Phil Tan (track 15); Jermaine Dupri (15); Danny Cheung (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 14, additional music – 2, 11, 12), Walter Millsap (additional music – 6), Dave Lopez (6); Terrence Cash (10), Dave Ashton (8); Ryan West (2), Tadd Mingo (assistant – 15); Pierre Medor of Tha Corna Boys (5); Sam Thomas (11); Leslie Brathwaite (7); John Horesco IV (13, 15); Conrad Golding (12)
  • Additional vocals from: Candice Nelson (additional background vocals- 6); Dave Young (additional vocals- 11)
  • Art directions: Eric Roinestad
  • Design: Eric Roinestad
  • Photography: Dusan Reljin

Charts

Release history

Release dates and formats for LeToya
Region Date Edition(s) Label Ref
Japan July 4, 2006 Standard
EMI Japan
United States July 25, 2006 Capitol
Canada August 15, 2006 EMI Music
Australia September 16, 2006
Europe October 2, 2006
Puerto Rico December 24, 2006
Japan February 7, 2007 Special EMI Japan

References

  1. ↑ "No More - Single by LeToya". iTunes Store (US). Apple Music inc. January 2006. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
  2. 1 2 "LeToya Powers Right To No. 1 On Billboard 200". billboard.com. Retrieved February 10, 2006.
  3. 1 2 Allmusic review
  4. 1 2 Sullivan, Caroline (October 6, 2006). "Review: LeToya, Le Toya". The Guardian. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Richards, Jason (August 10, 2006). "Discs: LETOYA (Capitol/EMI)". NOW. Archived from the original on March 5, 2007. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Mayers, Norman (August 21, 2006). "New CDs". Prefix. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Serpick, Evan (August 21, 2006). "LeToya, Le Toya". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Martin, Wendy (October 13, 2006). "LeToya − Le Toya". The Skinny. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  9. ↑ "New CDs". SPIN. August 1, 2006. Archived from the original on July 19, 2006. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  10. ↑ Shipley, Al (August 14, 2006). "LeToya, Le Toya". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  11. 1 2 Freedberg, Michael (August 21, 2006). "LeToya, Capitol". The Phoenix. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  12. ↑ Fiore, Raymond (July 21, 2006). "Music Review: LeToya". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  13. ↑ Harris, Chris (2 August 2006). "PHARRELL LOSES BILLBOARD BATTLE TO LETOYA AND NOW 22". mtv.com. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  14. ↑ Boucher, Geoff (3 August 2006). "Luckett no longer torn from chart success". LA Times. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  15. ↑ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  16. ↑ Grein, Paul (November 21, 2008). "Chart Watch Extra: What A Turkey! The 25 Worst-Selling #1 Albums". Yahoo. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  17. 1 2 Mitchell, Gail (18 April 2009). "LeToya ends waiting game with new album". Reuters. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  18. ↑ "Artist Chart History – LeToya". billboard.com. Retrieved February 10, 2006.
  19. ↑ "ラトーヤ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  21. ↑ "LeToya Luckett Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  22. ↑ "LeToya Luckett Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
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