# Samantha Cole (album)

Samantha Cole is the debut album by American singer Samantha Cole. Universal Records released it on September 9, 1997.

## Release and promotion
### United States and Canada

Universal issued Samantha Cole in the United States on September 9, 1997. The album was preceded by the release of lead single "Happy with You" in July 1997, which the label believed was suited for summer due to the composition's "upbeat" nature. The song was issued to American retail outlets as a cassette and CD single and promoted to pop, rhythmic, and adult contemporary radio stations for airplay. A moderate success, "Happy with You" peaked at number 78 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending August 30, 1997, and remained on the chart for five weeks. On the rhythmic airplay chart published by Radio & Records, the single reached number 38. It fared slightly better at pop radio stations, achieving peak positions of 32 and 35 on charts produced by Gavin Report and Radio & Records, respectively. In Canada, "Happy with You" rose as far as number 55 on the RPM 100 all-format airplay chart.
Cole promoted the album with performances at stadiums during the 1997 NFL season as part of the National Football League's New Artists tour. In addition to singing the American national anthem before games, she gave a lip-synched rendition of "Happy with You" during halftime shows. After contemplating "Surrender to Me" and "I'm By Your Side" as follow-ups, Universal issued "Without You" as the second single in November 1997. The song reached number 25 on the Radio & Records adult contemporary airplay chart.

### Asia

MCA Victor released Samantha Cole in Japan on December 17, 1997. The label issued "Sweet Sweet Surrender" as the lead single there on the same day. "Without You" followed as the second Japanese single on February 21, 1998, and experienced success across Asia. Cole participated in a promotional tour to Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines where she gave interviews, performed live, and attended fan meet and greets. The perfume company Estée Lauder organized several events wherein Cole promoted their fragrance "Happy" in conjunction with "Happy with You".

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| The Age | |
| AllMusic | |
| The Huntsville Times | 2/5 |
The album was viewed as having strong commercial viability. Cole had "her little spike heel firmly wedged in the door to success", according to Sandra Schulman of the Sun-Sentinel. For the South China Morning Post's Mansha Daswani, "Cole's pouting pretty girl looks – combined with soppy, I-can't-live-without-you lyrics – have definite chart appeal". Terry Reilly of The Age thought the album could sell many copies due to the combination of ballads, R&B songs, and covers. In the New Straits Times, Gerald Martinez suggested many tracks might perform well as singles due to the involvement of producers Foster and Rodgers.
Critics thought Samantha Cole lacked originality. AllMusic writer Alex Henderson said it "sounds like the result of a marketing meeting rather than true artistic inspiration" and Daswani dubbed it "pop soul without the soul". Writing in The Virginian-Pilot, Nia Ngina Meeks thought the album sounded duplicative of popular contemporary R&B albums. Cole's performance received negative comparisons to Mariah Carey, whom critics thought she emulated but lacked the same vocal range. Dean Smallwood of The Huntsville Times wrote: "Carey's incredible voice can carry this automatic FM drivel; by comparison, Cole sounds like she's singing on top of a backing tape at an amusement-park studio."

## Personnel

Musicians
* Russ DeSalvo – songwriting (1)
* Samantha Cole – songwriting (1–2, 4–5, 7–8, 11–12), background vocals (1–4, 7–9, 12)
* James Greco – songwriting (1)
* Herbie Tribino – programming, keyboards, guitars (1)
* Richard Hilton – programming, keyboards (1)
* Audrey Martells – background vocals (1)
* Nile Rodgers – producer (1, 11), guitars (1, 11), songwriting (11)
* Berny Cosgrove – songwriting (2, 12)
* Kevin Clark – songwriting (2, 12)
* Rhett Lawrence – producer (2, 12), arranger (2, 12), keyboards (2, 12), programming (2, 12), synthesizer (2)
* Jason Edmonds – background vocals (2)
* Michael White – background vocals (2)
* Valerie Davis – background vocals (2)
* Rick Nowels – songwriting (3)
* Billy Steinberg – songwriting (3)
* Deborah Cox – songwriting (3)
* Lascelles Stephens – songwriting (3)
* David Foster – producer (3, 5, 10), arranger (3, 5, 10), keyboards (3, 5, 10), strings arranger (10)
* Simon Franglen – Synclavier programming (3, 5)
* Michael Thompson – guitars (3, 5–6, 9–10)
* Sue Ann Carwell – background vocals (3, 5)
* Barrington Henderson – background vocals (3, 5)
* Jon-John – songwriting, producer, drum programming, music arranger (4)
* Latina Webb – background vocals (4)
* Marc Nelson – background vocals, background vocals arranger (4)
* Reggie Hamilton – bass (4)
* Reggie Griffin – guitar (4)
* Richard Marx – songwriting (5–6), producer (5–6), arranger (5–6), background vocals (5), keyboards (6)
* Nita Whitaker – background vocals (5)
* Ross Vanelli – songwriting (6)
* Phil Shenale – keyboard programming (6)
* Evan Rogers – songwriting, producer, arranger, background vocals (7)
* Carl Sturken – songwriting, producer, arranger, all instruments (7)
* Audrey Wheeler – background vocals (7)
* Jimmy Harry – songwriting, producer, keyboards, guitars, programming (8)
* Pat Vixama – background vocals (8)
* Diane Warren – songwriting, executive producer (9)
* Khris Kellow – producer, arranger, keyboards, percussion, background vocals (9)
* Joseph Brooks – songwriting (10)
* Claude Gaudette – producer, arranger, synth programming (10)
* Jerry Hey – strings arranger (10)
* John JR Robinson – drums (10)
* Tom Boyd – songwriting (11)
* Victor Taylor – songwriting, programming, keyboards (11)
* Richard Hilton – programming, keyboards (11)
* Deborah Cole – background vocals (11)
* Keith Jon – background vocals (12)
* Todd Chapman – synth programming (12)
Technical
* Gary Tole – engineering (1, 11), mixing (1, 11)
* Andy Grassi – engineering (1)
* Budd Tunick – production manager (1, 11)
* Joanie Morris – production coordinator (2, 12)
* Eric White – engineering (2, 12)
* Bill Carr – engineering (2, 12)
* Bryan Golder – engineering (2, 12)
* Rhett Lawrence – engineering (2, 12)
* Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado – engineering (2, 12)
* Felipe Elgueta – engineering (3, 5, 10)
* Ian Boxill – engineering (4)
* Bill Drescher – engineering (6), mixing (6)
* David Bryant – assistant engineering (6)
* Steve Kinsey – assistant mixing (6)
* Al Hemberger – engineering (7)
* Bob Rosa – engineering (7), mixing (7)
* Colleen Reynolds – production manager (7)
* Tony Black – assistant engineering (7)
* Greg Thompson – assistant engineering (7)
* Ted Wilson – assistant engineering (7)
* Tony Maserati – mixing (8)
* Glen Marchese – engineering (8)
* Mario Luccy – engineering (9)
* Khris Kellow – engineering (9)
* Al Schmidt – strings engineering (10)