Bittersweet (Blu Cantrell album)

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r621144|pure_url=yes}}|title=Bittersweet - Blu Cantrell|last=Sendra|first=Tim|website=AllMusic|access-date=July 10, 2011}}

| rev2= The Guardian

| rev2score={{rating|2|5}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/aug/08/popandrock5 |title=CD: Blu Cantrell: Bittersweet |last=Lindon |first=Beccy |work=The Guardian |date=August 8, 2003 |access-date=December 4, 2017}}

| rev3 = Rolling Stone

| rev3score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=2046670|title=Recordings: Blu Cantrell, Bittersweet, 2 stars|last=Walters|first=Barry|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=August 7, 2003|access-date=July 4, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030811084403/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=2046670|archive-date=August 11, 2003}}

| rev4 = Vibe

| rev4score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|title=Blu Cantrell - Bittersweet (Arista)|url=http://www.vibe.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=48|work=Vibe|first=Jason|last=King|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050428170245/http://www.vibe.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=48|archive-date=April 28, 2005|date=June 27, 2003|accessdate=July 6, 2023}}

| rev5 = The Village Voice

| rev5score = {{rating-Christgau|cut}}{{Cite magazine |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |date=October 28, 2003 |title=Rousing Constituencies |url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv1003-03.php |magazine=The Village Voice}}

}}

AllMusic editor Tim Sendra called Bittersweet "another fine slice of contemporary R&B propelled above the ordinary by her arresting voice and the sympathetic and interesting production." He found that "the record has a melancholy tinge and Cantrell sings with a depth of emotion that many of her contemporaries can't reach [...] Cantrell is a real talent and Bittersweet is the kind of record fans of modern soul music should champion. Tough, smart, sexy, and impassioned with a sound that shows imagination, it would be a shame if it slipped through the cracks." Billboard declared the project a "perfect showcase for Cantrell's honey-dipped vocals," and cited "Breathe", "Sleep in the Middle", "Make Me Wanna Scream" and Impatient" as highlights.{{Cite magazine |date=July 12, 2003 |title=Essentials|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Q0EAAAAMBAJ |magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 6, 2023}}

Vibe critic Jason King complimented Cantrell for her "formidable voice" and wrote: "Though her voice lacks distinctive personality, she bowls you over with jazzy vocal licks and a pyrotechnical intensity that's pure Holiness church." King found that the uptempo track on Bittersweet seemed "generic compared to her stunning ballads." Beccy Lindon from The Guardian found it problematic that the "laid-back jazz of Cantrell's debut has been replaced with myriad styles and a more calculated, dancefloor-friendly sound [...] You can't help but feel that this sugar-coated package is meant to attract a mainstream audience rather than develop Cantrell as an artist." Rolling Stone{{'}}s Barry Walters noted that Bittersweet "still flaunts a dexterity and worldliness that set her apart from her streetbound peers. But lackluster lyrics and mediocre melodies make the poorly sequenced album's overwhelming blandness neither bitter nor sweet."

Bittersweet debuted and peaked at number 37 on the US Billboard 200 in the week ending July 12, 2003, with first week sales of 29,000 units.{{cite magazine |last=Martens |first=Todd |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/70145/beyonce-branch-albums-storm-the-chart |title=Beyonce, Branch Albums Storm The Chart |magazine=Billboard |date=July 2, 2003 |access-date=March 21, 2013}} A considerable drop from her previous effort So Blu (2001) which had opened at number eight on the chart, it also reached number eight on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, becoming Cantrell's second top ten album. In the United Kingdom, Bittersweet peaked at number 20 in the week of August 31, 2003. It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on October 3, 2003, followed by a gold certification on July 22, 2013.

{{Track listing

| headline = Bittersweet track listing

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| total_length = 48:26

| title1 = I Love You

| writer1 = {{hlist|Kevin Briggs|Blu Cantrell}}

| extra1 = Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs

| length1 = 3:48

| title2 = Sleep in the Middle

| writer2 = Shep Crawford

| extra2 = Crawford

| length2 = 4:34

| title3 = Unhappy

| writer3 = {{hlist|Christopher "Tricky" Stewart|Tab|Ebony Burks}}

| extra3 = Trixter

| length3 = 4:08

| title4 = Impatient

| note4 = featuring Lil' Kim and Fat Joe

| writer4 = {{hlist|Larry Gates|Michelle Bell}}

| extra4 = Precision

| length4 = 5:00

| title5 = Breathe

| note5 = featuring Sean Paul

| writer5 = {{hlist|Andrea Martin|Ivan Matias|Richard Bembery|Melvin Bradford|Stefan Harris|Alvin Joiner|Marshall Mathers|Charles Aznavour}}

| extra5 = {{hlist|Mark Pitts|Matias|Martin}}

| length5 = 3:47

| title6 = Risk It All

| writer6 = {{hlist|Troy Oliver|Charmelle Cofield}}

| extra6 = Oliver

| length6 = 4:59

| title7 = Don't Wanna Say Goodbye

| writer7 = {{hlist|Carsten Schack|Kenneth Karlin|Mischke Butler|Stevie Wonder}}

| extra7 = Soulshock & Karlin

| length7 = 4:01

| title8 = Happily Ever After

| writer8 = {{hlist|Kevin Veney|Loren Hill|Rich Shelton|Eritza Laues}}

| extra8 = {{hlist|Hill|Veney|Shelton}}

| length8 = 3:49

| title9 = Holding On to Love

| writer9 = {{hlist|Stewart|Wirlie Morris|Tab|Cantrell}}

| extra9 = {{hlist|Trixter|Morris}}

| length9 = 3:47

| title10 = Let Her Go

| writer10 = {{hlist|Stewart|Tab|Cantrell}}

| extra10 = Trixter

| length10 = 3:25

| title11 = Make Me Wanna Scream

| note11 = featuring Ian Lewis of Inner Circle

| writer11 = {{hlist|Rodney Richard|Cantrell|Kandi Burruss}}

| extra11 = {{hlist|Don Vito|Trixter}}

| length11 = 3:28

| title12 = No Place Like Home

| writer12 = Mike City

| extra12 = Mike City

| length12 = 3:44

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = International edition

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = I Love You

| writer1 = {{hlist|Briggs|Cantrell}}

| extra1 = Briggs

| length1 = 3:48

| title2 = Sleep in the Middle

| writer2 = Crawford

| extra2 = Crawford

| length2 = 4:34

| title3 = Unhappy

| writer3 = {{hlist|Stewart|Tab|Burks}}

| extra3 = Trixter

| length3 = 4:08

| title4 = Impatient

| note4 = featuring Lil' Kim and Fat Joe

| writer4 = {{hlist|Gates|Bell}}

| extra4 = Precision

| length4 = 5:00

| title5 = Breathe

| note5 = featuring Sean Paul

| writer5 = {{hlist|Martin|Matias|Bembery|Bradford|Harris|Joiner|Mathers|Aznavour}}

| extra5 = {{hlist|Pitts|Martin|Matias}}

| length5 = 3:47

| title6 = Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)

| writer6 = Dallas Austin

| extra6 = Austin

| length6 = 4:12

| title7 = Risk It All

| writer7 = {{hlist|Oliver|Cofield}}

| extra7 = Oliver

| length7 = 4:59

| title8 = Don't Wanna Say Goodbye

| writer8 = {{hlist|Schack|Karlin|Butler|Wonder}}

| extra8 = Soulshock & Karlin

| length8 = 4:01

| title9 = All You Had to Say

| writer9 = {{hlist|DiAndre Davis|Tab|Cantrell|O.J. Harper}}

| extra9 = Stewart

| length9 = 4:24

| title10 = Happily Ever After

| writer10 = {{hlist|Veney|Hill|Shelton|Laues}}

| extra10 = {{hlist|Hill|Veney|Shelton}}

| length10 = 3:49

| title11 = Holding On to Love

| writer11 = {{hlist|Stewart|Morris|Tab|Cantrell}}

| extra11 = {{hlist|Trixter|Morris}}

| length11 = 3:47

| title12 = Swingin{{'-}}

| writer12 = {{hlist|James Harris III|Terry Lewis|Austin|James Wright}}

| extra12 = {{hlist|Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis|Dallas Awesome}}

| length12 = 3:59

| title13 = Let Her Go

| writer13 = {{hlist|Stewart|Tab|Cantrell}}

| extra13 = Trixter

| length13 = 3:25

| title14 = Round Up

| note14 = Lady May featuring Blu Cantrell

| writer14 = {{hlist|Ron Lawrence|Kym Holland|Rhonda Robinson|Jason Boyd|Arthur Smith}}

| extra14 = {{hlist|Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence|Kwamé "K-1 Mill" Holland}}

| length14 = 4:14

| title15 = Make Me Wanna Scream

| note15 = featuring Ian Lewis of Inner Circle

| writer15 = {{hlist|Richard|Cantrell|Burruss}}

| extra15 = {{hlist|Don Vito|Trixter}}

| length15 = 3:28

| title16 = No Place Like Home

| writer16 = City

| extra16 = City

| length16 = 3:44

}}

Sample credits

• "Breathe" contains excerpts and samples from "What's the Difference" by Dr. Dre featuring Eminem and Xzibit.
• "Don't Wanna Say Goodbye" contains excerpts and samples from "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" by Syreeta.
• "Round Up" contains replayed elements from "Dueling Banjos", written by Arthur Smith.

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for Bittersweet}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Blu Cantrell|title=Bittersweet|award=Gold|certyear=2013|certmonth=7|relyear=2003|access-date=December 29, 2022|id=919-3095-2|refname="BPI"}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Blu Cantrell}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2003 albums

Category:Albums produced by Mike City

Category:Albums produced by Soulshock and Karlin

Category:Albums produced by Tricky Stewart

Category:Arista Records albums

Category:Blu Cantrell albums