“We Are... Babyface” is the debut collaborative album by Zella Day and Melanie Martinez, originally set to be released on June 8th of the year 2020 but was later changed following a lawsuit and was released on October 1st under the group name, “Babyface”. The album is confirmed to include 13 tracks.
We Are... Babyface” received generally positive reviews from music critics and reached number one in 13 countries including the United Kingdom, and United States. In the US, the album sold 1.216 million copies in its first week of release, making it the country's best-selling album of 2020, while with global sales of 4.5 million copies, it was the second best-selling album of 2020 worldwide. Upon release, the album reached the top spot in the U.S. iTunes store in a record time of six minutes.
Background[]
Plans about a joint album by the couple were announced by Melanie during an interview with The New York Times in 2017 when she said that they used "art almost like a therapy session" to create new music. However, since they also worked and had credits on the albums Kicker and Crybaby, and Zella’s music progressed more rapidly since her debut EP, and Zella left her label ultimately due to creative differences and the project was temporarily postponed from it’s release in 2019. Rumors about the collaborative project began emerging in March 2018 when the couple announced their Kickstarter Tour. On December 2019, Babyface’s Melanie revealed that there will be several songs that didn’t make the final cut, of which 9 of those unreleased tracks will be released as the “B-side” after remastering them as they are “demo versions that don’t have any direction in a musical sense”, Melanie states in an Interview with The Gardian.
The majority of the album was revealed on a .zip file which leaked in late 2018 that it would be recorded at U Arena in Paris, except for 3 tracks which were recorded at Kingslanding Studios West in Los Angeles, with further recording for the other songs taking place at The Church Studios in London. Melanie and Zella co-produced all of the songs on the album themselves with further producers including Pharrell, Cool & Dre, Boi-1da, Jahaan Sweet, David Andrew Sitek, D'Mile, El Michels, Fred Ball, Illmind, MeLo-X, Mike Dean, Xandy Barry, Wally Gagel, The Blueprint, Wax Ltd. and Nav. The album was predominantly recorded by Stuart White and Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton.
The joint album was later confirmed by the couple on twitter of beginning of 2019 when both Melanie and Zella changed their status to “We Are... Babyface, coming in 2019” but the date was subsequently changed to 2020 after a label change.
Critical Reception[]
We Are... Babyfacd received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 71 based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The Guardian writer Alexis Petridis opined the album, "may be mired in bitterness and gossip, but the pop stars’ songwriting smarts and lyrical prowess are impossible to deny on their debut album", noting the songs see "Martinez cutting her last ties with her toy-oriented roots in favour of the blare and honk of EDM-influenced pop". Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield writes the album, "shows the darker, deeper side of the pop masterminds". Sheffield also remarked, "As one of the all-time great pop masterminds, she's trying something new, as she always does."
Roisin O'Connor of The Independent says "Dyin’ Without U" is "arguably, the best song Babyface has ever made", also praising the Wax Ltd. production, calling it "essential" to the album; " the love of Eighties synth-pop is the perfect counterbalance to Pharrell and Jahaan Sweet’s dance and electronic touch". Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph states, "this album is a big, brash, all-guns-blazing blast of weaponised pop that grapples with the vulnerability of the human heart as it is pummelled by 21st-century fame." McCormick continued, "This is an album with blockbuster event status, preceded by a satirical hit ”Where Are You Gonna Hide” in which she provocatively ditched her "girl-next-door" image for something more glamorously sophisticated." Troy Smith from The Plain Dealer said the album served as a reminder of Melanie’s songwriting talent, labeling "Kiss Goodbye", "Blu Jeans", "Ken’s Barbie" and "LeavingU" as standouts of the album.
In a negative review, Geoff Nelson of Consequence of Sound gave the album a D+ rating writing, "Babyface’s debut is a bloated, moving disaster." Nelson continued, "this shitstorm doesn't improve past its initial singles, even if the chorus of "Wanna Dance?" is one of the few vestiges of Hypnotic Zella on the album. Elsewhere, Babyface finds trouble: She raps, she adopts African-American Vernacular English“
Year-end lists[]
| Publication | List | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Billboard | 50 Best Albums Of 2020 | 1 |
| Complex | Best Albums Of 2020 | 20 |
| God Is In The TV | Top 50 Albums Of This Year | 5 |
| Melty | Best Pop Albums of the Year | 10 |
| musicOMH | Top New Debut Album Choice Of 2020 | 32 |
| Newsday | Best Albums Of 2020 | 1 |
| The New York Times (Jon Caramanica) |
Best Albums Of 2020 | 1 |
| NME | Timeless Albums Of 2020 (Top 100) | 1 |
| San Jose Mercury News | Top 5 Albums Of 2020 | 4 |
| Pazz & Jop | Top 200 Of 2020 | 182 |
| People | 10 Best Albums Of 2020 | 5 |
| Rolling Stone | 3 Best Albums Of 2020 | 2 |
| Slant Magazine | 25 Best Albums Of 2020 | 23 |
| Spin | 40 Best Albums Of 2020 | 40 |
| The Independent | 30 Best Albums Of The Century | 8 |
| Time | The Top 10 Albums Of 2020 | 7 |
| Us Weekly | 1000 Top Albums From New Artists | 1001 |
| Variety | The Best Albums From New Acts (2020) | 1 |
Accolades[]
| Year | Organization | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | A2IM Libera Awards | Independent Impact Award | Won |
| American Music Awards | Favorite Pop/Rock Album | Won | |
| Billboard Music Awards | Top Billboard 200 Album | Won | |
| Top Selling Album | Won | ||
| BreakTudo Awards | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| Japan Gold Disc Awards | Best 3 Albums (Western) | Won | |
| Juno Awards | International Album of the Year | Won |
Commercial Performance[]
Worldwide, the album sold two million copies in its first week. A week prior to the album's release, pre-orders for it were reported to be over 400,000 units in the United States. Billboard stated that this is over twice the amount of pre-sales than any previous album released 2010-present. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album sold roughly 700,000 copies during its first day in the country and 1.05 million within four days of release, becoming 2020’s biggest-selling album in the US. The album ultimately became both Melanie‘s and Zella’s most successful number-one album on the US Billboard 200 when it debuted atop the chart with 1.238 million album-equivalent units that consisted of 1.216 million traditional sales, becoming their first album to sell a million copies in the country in its first week. As a result, Babyface became the only act to have any album sell more than a million copies there within a week since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. We Are... Babyface also had the largest album opening in the United States since Adele's 25 in 2015 as well as the 10th largest overall sales week in the nation for an album since Nielsen SoundScan tracked its sales, and became the first album since 25 to sell a million copies there within a week. It additionally sold more that week than any other album on the chart combined. On iTunes, the album reached the top spot in the U.S. iTunes store in a record time of six minutes after its release.
With 256,000 more album-equivalent units earned and another 232,000 copies sold the next week, the album stayed at number one and became the first album to top the country's chart for two weeks since Jay-Z's 4:44 earlier that year, the first by a female duo/female artists to overall spend more than one week at the summit since Rihanna's Anti in 2016, and first by a female to hold the highest position for its first two weeks since 25. The album then became the fourth album to spend three or more weeks at the top spot during 2020 after Starboy by The Weeknd, More Life by Drake, and Damn by Kendrick Lamar as well as the first album since 25 by a female artist to do so overall, receiving 147,000 more album-equivalent units and selling an additional 131,000 copies during its third week. The album subsequently dropped to number 3 in its fourth week with 70,000 copies sold and 112,000 album-equivalent units earned before returning to the top spot three weeks later. It was then displaced the next week by The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. With 1,903,000 copies sold and 2,336,000 album-equivalent units earned by the end of 2020, We Are... Babyface was the year's best selling album in the country and had its third largest overall consumption behind Damn and Sheeran's ÷. It has been certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). According to IFPI, it was the second best selling album of 2020, with 4.5 million copies shipped globally. By March 2021 the album sold over two million pure copies in the US, becoming the first album to do so in two years.
Promotion[]
In August 2020, United Parcel Service (UPS) announced it would be the "Official Delivery Partner" for the album. UPS trucks in select cities featured the album cover, and fans were encouraged to take pictures of the trucks and post images to Twitter with a hashtag for an "improved opportunity" to buy concert tickets.
A month before the album's release, Martinez hosted exclusive secret sessions in London, Rhode Island, Los Angeles and Nashville, her first ever secret session. She said, "Everything about this album is a secret." Each party had a number of attendees, with a total of 500 fans chosen from around the world, for whom the album was played but none of them leaked any music. The behind the scenes footage for the sessions was released on October 1st on ABC's Good Morning America. Martinez partnered with AT&T to produce a multi-part behind-the-scenes series chronicling the making of the album, titled "The Making of a Song". The online series started on October 5th on AT&T's YouTube channel.
On October 9th, a performance of the song "Kiss Goodbye" was premiered during the broadcast of an episode of ABC's Scandal. It was filmed in one of the secret sessions, held at Martinez’s home in Rhode Island , with an audience of 100 fans. An extended version of Swift's performance was aired on October 10, during The DUFF's air on Freeform. On October 11, Martinez was the musical guest on the fifth episode of the 43rd season of Saturday Night Live, where she performed "Wanna Dance?" and "Dyin’ Without U" from the album. It was her first appearance on live television following the album's release, and her first appearance on the show since 2012.
Tour[]
In August 2017, Martinez & Day partnered with Ticketmaster for a bundling program, with people wishing to buy her concert tickets could gain priority by purchasing merchandise and pre-ordering the album. On November 10th, Zella announced she and Martinez would be embarking on the Tour Of Babyface’s Room in 2021 in support of the album, first announcing North American dates. The tour began on May 8, 2021, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and concluded on November 21, 2022 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, with a total of 53 dates in stadiums throughout North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia
Singles[]
“Want Sex“ was released as the lead single on January 2nd, 2019.
”Deepening“ was released as the second single on March 1st, 2019.
”Atlantis” was released as the third single on June 19th, 2019.
”Where Are You Gonna Hide” was released as the fourth and final single on November 25th, 2019.
Promotional Singles[]
“Just Desserts” was released as the first and only promotional single on December 25th, 2019.
Accidental Song Release[]
On December 9th, 2019, Babyface released a track titled “283810949” which first appeared on iTunes, it is unknown wether the sequence has any meaning. The track consists 20 seconds of a looped melismatic “yeah” sung in the note order of G4-B4-D4-D5-F5 with no instrumental accompanying Zella’s vocals. The song peaked at number 5 on the Canadian iTunes Chart, but soon after the track was taken off of iTunes.
Artwork[]
The cover art consists of Zella only, in a garden that supposedly represents the garden of Eden, and has “Babyface” in lowercase at the bottom.
Target released two 72-page magazines that contain different content, including the album in the US. Walmart distributed it in Canada.The magazines contain photos, handwritten lyrics, poetry and paintings by both Martinez and Day. The Soul That Is Babyface Vol. 1 magazine cover was shot by Mert and Marcus. Vol. 2 was shot by Benny Horne and features Martinez and Zella in a camouflage jacket.
Lawsuit[]
This lawsuit is a New York Supreme Court lawsuit in which music producers Peter Karlsson, Rudimental, Yogi, Jonny Coffer, Ben Billions, Jerome Williams, Jimmy Napes, Romans Caspar. Digital Farm Animals, and GA sued both Melanie Adele Martinez and Zella Day Kerr for mistreatment, and breach of agreement at Kingslanding Studios
December, 2019[]
Several producers came out and accused Babyface of mistreatment at Kingslanding Studios, stating that “Babyface refused to even talk to us, but for some reason I guess that ‘guest’ producers that are not part of their official team are just not as important” Karlsson stated in an interview with CNN, each producer is seeking $250,000 for damages and failure to pay in time within 10 days of production of a track, the producers refused to state which tracks they have “co/ghost” produced both Martinez and Day have come forward making an official statement in where they “have never heard of these people in our lives, we do not have any knowledge or memory of these producers being at the studio we were in while recording the final tracks of the album” as stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
On December 16th, Babyface’s request for a preliminary injunction was denied. Babyface appealed the decision the following day. On December 20th, New York Judge Shirley Kornreich dismissed all of Babyface’s counter-claims against the producers
January, 2020[]
The verdict sparked protests outside the courtroom by Kesha's supporters, and started the “#FreeBabyface" movement online. Responding to the online campaign, Both Martinez and Zella tweeted, "Never have I ever heard of these people, again, I never worked with these producers, my team has never contacted them, and I have never hired them to ‘produce’ my songs" Martinez further added that the lawsuit was "motivated by money."On January, Scott A. Edelman, an attorney representing Sony stated, "Sony is doing everything it can to support the artist in these circumstances, but is legally unable to terminate break contract to which it is not allowed to interfere with lawsuits not concerning us.".
Reports were made of an alleged offer made to Zella after the ruling. Zella made social media posts stating that she was offered freedom from the lawsuit by the producers’ company that states that both Zella and Martinez admit to lying and apologize publically. According to posts Zella made, she rejected the settlement and said the truth cannot be retracted. A spokesperson for GA denies that a settlement was ever offered.
Reactions[]
Numerous celebrities reacted to the ruling. George Takei wrote, "This ruling is an unfortunate and troubling example of favoring corporations over people.” Producer Brad Walsh tweeted "Forcing Babyface into this horseshit and making false claims is failure of justice" Lena Dunham wrote an article, expressing her solidarity with Babyface.
Several musicians also voiced their support for Babyface through Twitter. Miley Cyrus and Margaret Cho posted a picture of Fiona Apple holding a placard reading, "Zella and Melanie—I am so angry for you. They were wrong. I'm so sorry" on Instagram. Jack Antonoff and Zedd also offered to produce and work with Babyface, with the latter of the two eventually following through on his promise. While accepting a trophy at the Brit Awards, Adele stated, "I'd also like to take this moment to publicly support the duo that is Babyface." Singer-songwriter Katy Perry donated $2,000,000 to help them with any of their financial needs. Lady Gaga, Iggy Azalea, Demi Lovato, Lilly Singh, Alessia Cara, Ariana Grande, Lily Allen, Kelly Clarkson, Lorde, Haim, Marina and the Diamonds, and other artists supported Babyface through social media.
Conversely, TV host Wendy Williams sided against Babyface in the ruling, saying in an interview, "Unfortunately business is business, and it sounds like it's fair. If producers weren‘t paid within their stated due date by the artists in the contracts that the artists AGREED TO, then contracts would be broken every second." However, after the case was thrown out and Zella posted an Instagram photograph about her situation and the deception surrounding the case, she stated "Melanie, Zella, a) I want to apologize to the both of you, and b) both of you are a hell of a women".
Track List[]
1. Atlantis
2. Wanna Dance?
3. Kiss Goodbye
4. Ken’s Barbie
5. LeavingU
6. Want Sex
7. Soon Enough (With U)
8. Deepening
10. Dyin’ Without U
11. Just Desserts
12. Boys
13. Spot On!
iTunes Deluxe Edition[]
14. Want Sex (ft. Nicki Minaj)
Japanese Exlusive Tracklist[]
15. Where Are You Gonna Hide (the making of)
16. Where Are You Gonna Hide (track commentary)
17. Just Desserts (track commentary)
18. Deepening (voice memo)
19. Atlantis (demo version)
20. Want Sex (instrumental)