page_title: Fear of Flying (album)
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Fear of Flying (album) / Background
caption_attribution_description: Wyclef Jean at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
context_page_description: Fear of Flying is the second studio album by American singer Mýa. It was released on April 25, 2000, by University Music Entertainment and Interscope Records. After the immediate rising success of her debut album Mýa, Interscope promptly allocated Mýa studio time and assembled recording sessions as early as September 1999 which concluded in March 2000. For this album, Mýa made the conscious decision to get involved more creatively as well as collaborate with a wider range of established producers and songwriters on the album. Looking to embrace a much more mature sound, Harrison consulted and collaborated with Rodney Jerkins, Swizz Beatz, Wyclef Jean, Knobody, Robin Thicke, Tricky Stewart, and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. A hip-hop soul album, Mýa described Fear of Flying as a metaphor for the ups and downs of life, a theme present throughout the album which includes handling things like an adult and knowing you must have faith to make anything happen. Lyrically, the album's material addressed the singer's romantic relationships which symbolized her relationship with family, friends and acquaintances.
context_section_description: In 1998, Mýa released her self-titled debut studio album. The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, and peaked at number 29 on the US Billboard 200 and number 13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, eventually being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), while selling over 1.4 million copies in the United States. A critical and commercial success, Mýa spawned three commercially successful singles and earned several accolades, including a NAACP Image Award nomination and two Soul Train Music Award nominations. Following the commercial success of her debut, Mýa quickly re-entered the recording studio to begin work on her second album. During her two years away, she toured with several artists, and made her film debut in the thriller In Too Deep (1999). Additionally, she was selected by Bongo jeans as their spokesperson and had a Tommy Hilfiger lipstick shade named after her. During the development stages of the album Mýa consulted several different producers for her follow-up album, including She'kspere, Knobody, Tricky Stewart, and Robin Thicke as well as Wyclef and Swizz Beatz of Ruff Ryders. A number of guest vocalists also contributing to the project, including TLC's Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Jordan Knight, and Beenie Man.
  Mýa, who did some writing on her debut album, was heavily involved in the production of Fear of Flying, commenting: "I wanted to get that hands-on experience. I was involved in every single process, from writing and recording to producing, mixing, and mastering." In response to the album's material, the singer commented that many of the album's songs are about female empowerment. "I'm learning that the decisions being made ultimately affect me, so I make most of them with the insight and help of other people", she explained. "I still have to focus on what feels good to me and what's going to work in the long run, instead of selling 20 million records or being controversial." The album's title, came from a song Mýa recorded by the same name—not from Erica Jong's 1973 novel of the same name. During an interview with Billboard, which discussed the title, Mýa noted that while she had not been aware of the book, she later "started reading it and noticed a lot of similarities: "Fear of Flying is a metaphor for the ups and downs of life. It's about handling things like an adult, knowing you must have faith to make anything happen." Interscope hired photographer and director David LaChapelle to shoot the images for the album's packaging. While she admired the work of Dave La Chapelle, Mýa revealed she cropped the original album's cover because it focused on her body, commenting, "I didn't like it. It wasn't capturing."
caption: Fugees member Wyclef Jean was consulted to contribute to Fear of Fyling.[6]
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