Colby O
{{Infobox album
| name = Colby O
| type = studio
| artist = Colby O'Donis
| cover = Colby O album.jpg
| border = yes
| alt = The cover features a man sitting on a white chair wearing an unbuttoned grey shirt, white dress shirt, black tie and blue jeans. The artist's name is placed below him, "Colby O" colored in blue and "Donis" colored in white.
| released = {{Start date|2008|9|16}}
| recorded = 2007–08
| studio = {{flatlist|
- Konkast Studios (Atlanta)
- Future Icon Studios (West Hollywood)
- Record Plant (Los Angeles)
- Triangle Sound Studios (Atlanta)
- For O'Reel Studios (Beverly Hills)
}}
| genre =
| length = {{duration|m=54|s=56}}
| label =
| producer = {{hlist|Akon|Colby O'Donis|Kay-Ta Matsuno|Christopher "Tricky" Stewart|T-Pain|Giorgio Tuinfort|JB & Corron}}
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Colby O
| type = studio
| single1 = What You Got
| single1date = February 26, 2008
| single2 = Don't Turn Back
| single2date = June 24, 2008
| single3 = Let You Go
| single3date = February 17, 2009
}}
}}
Colby O is the debut studio album by American singer Colby O'Donis. It was released on September 16, 2008 through Akon's record label Kon Live and Geffen Records. The album was produced by Akon, O'Donis, Clinton Sparks, Giorgio Tuinfort, T-Pain, The-Dream and Tricky Stewart; as well the record features guest appearances from Akon, Lil Romeo, Paul Wall and T-Pain. The album spawned three singles: "What You Got", "Don't Turn Back" and "Let You Go".
The album garnered mixed reviews from critics. Colby O debuted at numbers 41 and 14 on both the US Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts respectively.
Background
Akon served as executive producer and co-wrote 10 tracks with O'Donis (Colby wrote or co-wrote 14 of the 15), and produced eight tracks, including "What You Got." O'Donis produced another four and together they produced one. In an interview, O'Donis mentioned to have worked with many African producers including South African producer SpineCracker. O'Donis commented on the writing process as "writing my own songs is extremely important to me. I feel that I've gone through so much in my life and there's no better way of showing the real you than through music. It's a way for me and my fans to connect through the same struggles. There's so much more of me that I haven't revealed and music is my way of letting people know who I am."{{cite web|last=Nolasco|first=Stephanie|title=Q&A Sessions: Colby O' Donis|url=http://www.nochelatina.com/Articles/2813/QandA-Sessions-Colby-O-Donis|website=NocheLatina|date=March 10, 2009|access-date=June 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714222406/http://www.nochelatina.com/Articles/2813/QandA-Sessions-Colby-O-Donis|archive-date=July 14, 2014|url-status=dead}} According to O'Donis, he and Akon had recorded around forty songs for the album and "it was hard to get it down to a manageable number."{{cite web|title=Colby O'Donis Biography|url=http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/bio/colby-odonis/1126382|website=Artist Direct|accessdate=20 June 2014}} O'Donis got inspirations from "girls" and "life in general, past experiences and feelings I've gone through."{{cite magazine|last=Osegueda|first=Elisa|title=Colby O'Donis Interview - Grammy Nominee Makes Strides|url=https://www.lasplash.com/publish/Celebrity_Talk_102/Colby_O_Donis_Interview.php|magazine=Splash|access-date=June 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714205238/https://www.lasplash.com/publish/Celebrity_Talk_102/Colby_O_Donis_Interview.php|archive-date=July 14, 2014|url-status=live}}
Colby O includes the Top 40 song "What You Got" featuring Akon and other singles "Don't Turn Back"{{cite web|title=Colby O'Donis - Don't Turn Back|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqxhKW_sprU|website=Youtube}} and "Let You Go".{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd61h9Xi6cA |title=Colby O'Donis "Let You Go" Music Video Directed By Kel Mitchell |publisher=YouTube |date=2009-04-16 |accessdate=2013-09-29}} Other guest appearances include T-Pain, Lil Romeo, and Paul Wall. In addition, the O'Donis plays guitar on the album, as well as bass, drums, percussion, synthesizer and keyboards.{{cite web|url=http://www.universalmusic.com/artist-news/colby-odonis-set-to-issue-debut-album-colby-o-collaboration-with-akon|title=Colby O'Donis Set to Issue Debut Album Colby O|publisher=Universal Music Group|date=August 27, 2008|access-date=September 10, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215171027/http://www.universalmusic.com/artist-news/colby-odonis-set-to-issue-debut-album-colby-o-collaboration-with-akon|archive-date=February 15, 2010|url-status=dead}} According to Colby, his album took three years to make because he wanted every song to be a single.{{cite web|url=http://www.popeater.com/music/article/about-to-pop-colby-odonis/174661|title=About to Pop: Colby O'Donis|last=Cheung|first=Nadine|website=PopEater|date=September 16, 2008|access-date=September 16, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221001512/http://www.popeater.com/music/article/about-to-pop-colby-odonis/174661|archive-date=February 21, 2009|url-status=dead}} As of December 2008, Colby O has sold 142,751 copies.
Critical reception
{{Album ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}{{cite web|first=David|last=Jeffries|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/colby-o-mw0000786990|title=Colby O - Colby O'Donis|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=July 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426195835/https://www.allmusic.com/album/colby-o-mw0000786990|archive-date=April 26, 2022|url-status=live}}
|rev2 = DJBooth
}}
AllMusic's David Jeffries felt that Akon and O'Donis "overstretched" on the "slick R&B" production, critiqued that the latter's vocal delivery over said "well executed but rarely memorable" beats didn't challenge him, and the track listing should've been cut to ten, highlighting "She Wanna Go" and "Under My Nose" as examples. He concluded by gauging the tween audience's reaction to the record: "[T]hey'll find Colby's swagger, his slang dropping, and his smooth voice all very exciting and his hair gel perfectly applied. It's hard to ask for more from such fluff so expect the usual, up to and including the T-Pain guest shot." DJBooth's Nathan Slavik felt that O'Donis' soft vocals worked better on tracks with more "muted production" like "Let You Go", "Under My Nose" and "Follow You" than on "Take You Away" and "The Difference" where they barely register emotion, concluding that "even after listening to Colby O we don't really know who Colby O'Donis is, other than the man filling out the pop/r&b position in Akon's roster. Here's hoping that O'Donis spends until the next album finding his own voice, because if he does we might have a special on our hands."
Track listing
{{tracklist
| extra_column = Producer(s)
| title1 = What You Got
| note1 = featuring Akon
| writer1 = Aliaune Thiam, Giorgio Tuinfort
| extra1 = {{hlist|Akon|Tuinfort}}
| length1 = 4:03
| title2 = Sophisticated Bad Girl
| writer2 = Colby Colon, Kamau Georges, Clinton Sparks, Thiam
| extra2 = {{hlist|Akon|Sparks (co.)|Georges (co.)}}
| length2 = 4:03
| title3 = She Wanna Go
| note3 = featuring Paul Wall
| writer3 = Colon, Paul Slayton, Thiam
| extra3 = {{hlist|Akon|O'Donis}}
| length3 = 3:38
| title4 = Let You Go
| writer4 = Colon, Thiam, Tuinfort
| extra4 = {{hlist|Akon|Tuinfort (co.)}}
| length4 = 3:35
| title5 = Don't Turn Back
| writer5 = Colon, Georges, Sparks, Thiam
| extra5 = {{hlist|Akon|Sparks (co.)|Georges (co.)}}
| length5 = 4:07
| title6 = Under My Nose
| writer6 = Colon, Thiam, Tuinfort
| extra6 = {{hlist|Akon|Tuinfort (co.)}}
| length6 = 3:43
| title7 = Take You Away
| note7 = featuring Lil' Romeo
| writer7 = Colon, Percy Miller, Jr.
| extra7 = O'Donis
| length7 = 3:34
| title8 = Natural High
| note8 = featuring T-Pain
| writer8 = Colon, David Balfour, Frank Romano, Thiam, Faheem Najm
| extra8 = {{hlist|Akon|T-Pain}}
| length8 = 3:19
| title9 = Saved You Money
| writer9 = Colon
| extra9 = O'Donis
| length9 = 3:03
| title10 = Thinking About Ya
| writer10 = Colon, Derrund Moore, Sparks, Thiam
| extra10 = {{hlist|Akon|Sparks {{small|(co.)}}|Tombstone {{small|(co.)}}
}}
| length10 = 3:49
| title11 = Tell Me This
| writer11 = Colon, Teamer
| extra11 = {{hlist|O'Donis|Alex Teamer {{small|(co.)}}
}}
| length11 = 3:53
| title12 = Game for You
| writer12 = Colon, Kay-Ta Matsuno
| extra12 = {{hlist|O'Donis|Matsuno}}
| length12 = 3:24
| title13 = Follow You
| writer13 = Colon, Moore, Sparks, Thiam
| extra13 = {{hlist|Akon|Sparks {{small|(co.)}}|Tombstone {{small|(co.)}}
}}
| length13 = 3:33
| title14 = The Difference
| writer14 = Colon, Christopher Stewart, Terius Nash, James Bunton, Corron Ty Cole
| extra14 = {{hlist|JB & Corron|Tricky Stewart|The-Dream {{small|(co.)}}
}}
| length14 = 4:06
| title15 = Hustle Man
| writer15 = Colon, Sigfredo Colon, Thiam
| extra15 = Akon
| length15 = 3:06
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = Bonus tracks
| title16 = What You Got (Spanish Version)
| writer16 = C. Colon, A. Thiam, G. Tuinfort
| note16 = featuring Akon
| length16 = 4:07
| title17 = What You Got (Acoustic)
| note17 = featuring Akon
| writer17 = A. Thiam, G. Tuinfort
| length17 = 4:32
}}
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.{{cite AV media notes|title=Colby O|others=Colby O'Donis|publisher=Kon Live, Geffen|year=2008|type=booklet|id=B001129002}}
Technical
- Akon – producer {{small|(1–6, 8, 10, 13, 15)}}
- Colby O'Donis – producer {{small|(3, 7, 9, 11, 12)}}, mixing {{small|(9, 12)}}
- Tricky Stewart – producer {{small|(14)}}
- Dave Pensado – mixing {{small|(2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13–15)}}
- Fabian Marsciullo – mixing {{small|(8)}}
- Jaycen Joshua – mixing {{small|(2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13–15)}}
- Mark "Exit" Goodchild – mixing {{small|(1, 3, 4)}}
- Andrew Weupper – assistant mix engineering {{small|(2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13–15)}}
- Randy Urbanski – assistant mix engineering {{small|(2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15)}}
- Kory Aaron – assistant mix engineering {{small|(6)}}
- Justin Pintar – assistant mix engineering {{small|(4)}}
- Glen Pittman – assistant mix engineering {{small|(1)}}
- Chris Bellman – mastering
Musicians
- Colby O'Donis – background vocals {{small|(9, 11, 12)}}, guitar {{small|(4, 11, 12)}}, bass {{small|(11, 12)}}, percussion {{small|(11, 12)}}, drums {{small|(12)}}, keyboards {{small|(12)}}, synths {{small|(12)}}, programming {{small|(12)}}, additional programming {{small|(4, 5, 10)}}
- Alex Teamer – bass {{small|(11)}}, keyboards {{small|(11)}}, synths {{small|(12)}}
- David Balfour – keyboard {{small|(8)}}
- Frank Romano – guitar {{small|(8)}}
- Kay-Ta Matsuno – guitar, bass {{small|(12)}}
- Hakim Abdulsamud – additional programming {{small|(15)}}
Imagery
- Slang Inc. – art direction/design
- Christian Lantry – photography
- Meeno, Trevor O'Shana – additional photography
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"|Chart (2008)
!scope="col"|Peak |
|---|
| {{album chart|Billboard200|41|artist=Colby O'Donis|rowheader=true|access-date=February 19, 2024}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|14|artist=Colby O'Donis|rowheader=true|access-date=February 19, 2024}} |