Right Here Right Now (Jordin Sparks)

Right Here Right Now is Jordin Sparks' third studio album that was released on August 21, 2015 by Louder Than Life/Red Associated Labels (RAL), an imprint of Sony Music Entertainment.
It was Sparks' first album in over six years since her 2009 album, "Battlefield."
==Tracklisting==
#Work From Home (featuring B.o.B)	4:26
#1000	2:38
#Right Here Right Now	2:47
#Double Tap (featuring 2 Chainz)	3:25
#Boyz In The Hood	3:34
#Silhouette	3:40
#They Don't Give	3:49
#Left....Right?	3:43
#Casual Love (featuring Shaggy)	3:57
#Unhappy (featuring Elijah Blake)	4:04
#Tell Him That I Love Him	4:56
#11:11	3:56
#100 Years	3:57
#It Ain't You	3:22
==Album Background==
In October 2010, in an interview, Jordin Sparks revealed she had started working on her third studio album.
In November 2010, during an interview with Good Day New York, she confirmed she would be recording the album in New York and Arizona. In January 2011, it was reported that Sparks and John Legend were working together on songs in the studio
On May 5, 2011, it was revealed that Sparks would release a non-album single titled "I Am Woman."[4] To support her new single, Sparks served as an opening act for the NKOTBSB summer tour.
On May 12, 2011, Sparks performed "I Am Woman" on the American Idol Top 4 results show It debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at #82, with 33,000 downloads sold and also debuted on the US Billboard Digital Songs at #57.
Sparks performed "I Am Woman" on Regis and Kelly on June 14, 2012. On August 9, 2012, she stated during her interview with Billboard, she had about seven songs set so far for her third album.
Sparks stated, "It's going to be different from what my fans have heard before. With (2009's) 'Battlefield' it was pop/rock and a little bit of pop/R&B, but I'm going for more of the R&B side now, so it's like R&B/pop instead of pop/R&B."
In May 2013, she took to Twitter to announce that she and RCA Records had come to an agreement regarding the release of new material.
The first promotional single "Skipping a Beat" premiered on Sparks' Soundcloud page on August 1, 2013, and was made available for digital download on August 13, 2013. 
It was not released until early 2014 due to timing issues with acting projects as well as placement issues within her label, RCA.
On August 15, 2014, record producer Salaam Remi announced that Sparks was a part of the 'Louder than Life' roster. In an article with Music Connection, Remi announced he would be producing Sparks' upcoming album.
During a promotional tour for her movie, "Left Behind," Sparks said she was in the finishing stages of her new album. Sparks said that she was no longer with RCA Records and her single was due by the end of the year, with an album release in 2015. She said that she and her label were currently picking the first single, first look and album name.
On October 23, 2014, Remi hosted a music showcase featuring Sparks, showcasing three songs, two of which were performed live.
On November 26, 2014, she followed up with an official release of "How Bout Now", which debuted on the 'LALeakers' Soundcloud page and website. Her mixtape, #ByeFelicia, was released on the following day.
On the last track of the mixtape, '(11:11) Wish', Sparks stated that her upcoming album would be titled 'Right Here Right Now' and it would be released in 2015.
On October 7, 2011, RCA Music Group announced that was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records. With the shutdown, Sparks would release future material with RCA Records.
Due to RCA's not choosing a placement for her third album in their yearly budget, Sparks set out on other ventures of auditioning for film and television roles. She landed her first major film role in the 2012 musical drama "Sparkle." The film's soundtrack included new music from her based on the film and included the single "Celebrate" (a duet between Sparks and Whitney Houston).
Sparks was released from her contract from RCA records and subsequently signed to Louder than Life, where ReMi would executive-produce with Sparks.
As a result of the new deal, all of the material that Sparks had previously recorded for her third album under RCA had been subsequently scrapped, and she had since begun re-recording & writing new material since January 2014.
An official announcement of Sparks' signing to the new label had only been released a year later in August 2014.
===Recording & Composition===
"Right Here Right Now" was inspired by Sparks' life experiences over the last couple of years including issues with her previous label, her relationship and her personal growth continuing: "my mom just got married, my brother had a baby, he got married — just huge milestones have been happening so I've been really inspired by all of that."
She cites soul legends Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men and Babyface for their influence on her sound.
The album opens up with "Work From Home", an uptempo song that features rapper B.o.B. Salaam Remi produced the "bouncy" and radio friendly beat which speaks about putting in "overtime" in a relationship with someone and "when that particular person comes home, you wanna do whatever you can to make that person happy." She compares the song to "Cater 2 U" by Destiny's Child for its similarity in topic.
The next track "1000" features J-Doe, an electro- R&B and saxophone driven track written by Dwayne Abernathy, Alju Jackson & J-Doe, with production handled by Dem Jointz. 
The song features two prominent interpolations, the first heavily samples "Moanin", by American jazz double bassist Charles Mingus, from his 1960s album Blues & Roots as well as "Ain't Worried About Nuthin'", a 2013 single by American rapper French Montana. It lyrically speaks about "a relationship where there's no strings attached" coming from the perspective of a girl.
The album is named after track three, "Right Here Right Now", an uptempo R&B track written by James Fauntleroy and Dwayne Abernath which serves as the second song on the album to include production from Dem Jointz. 
Rap-Up described the song as a "sexy jam", whilst Idolator's Mike Wass described the song as a "club-banger." Upon hearing the song's production, Sparks labeled it as an "intricate" track with an "international feel."
The album continues with track four, "Double Tap" which features American rapper 2 Chainz.
With production from Jonas Jeberg, who also produced Sparks' 2008 single "One Step At A Time", the song is an ode to all of the Instagram stalkers that don’t show their love in the form of the likes. It’s also a call to action for those people. 
Sparks sings: "Baby, on the low / You stay on my page cause I guess I’m your favorite / But you won’t let it show, no way / If you like what you see then you gotta let me know / Bet you won’t double tap that hoe / Bet you won’t double tap that hoe."
The next song, "Boyz In The Hood" keeps the upbeat energy of the album going with its piano-led snapping production. 
The "infectious" jam sees Sparks take on her ideal version of the perfect bad boy, describing all different types of guys that peek her interest, "Snap backs, tattoos and a Vee neck / That's all he'll ever need to be fresh / And we rolling down the street / And them J's on his feet / And His chains all on me".
The production on the album then moves on to a senual midtempo ballad, "Silhouette." The song sees Sparks using her falsetto vocals by channeling Mariah Carey's earlier work adopting her "most agile coos".
Sparks takes it to the bedroom in speaks of the descriptive and intimate moments she is sharing with her lover " There's no space between us / Tonight we'll be seamless / Painting perfect pictures of what's going on in this bed / Insatiable shadows revealed by the candles / You and me and our silhouette."
This moves onto another track called "They Don't Give" a "sultry" Babyface produced ballad that is "reminiscent of any early ’90s track that had Babyface behind the pen".
Lyrically it talks about a being in a relationship and not caring what anyone from the outside has to say, even though no body else understands "They Don't Give an eff about us", They don't know anything about their love.
The eighth track on the album, is the adult contemporary-influenced, "Left.... Right?". Crada produced the vibey record, which centres on a conversation of a lover asking the other all these questions, expecting an answer but not getting the answer they want. "I'll find my way back to you / That's what you said before you left....right? / I was the one you'd run to / The only one that you had left....right?".
===Album Concept/Title===
With the release of Sparks' third album, it is seen as her first urban rhythmic contemporary album.
Sparks spoke on the album's musical growth and maturity, stating: "My last album came out when I was 19 & 19 - 25 is a big growth spurt for anyone to go through, in the time I was away I got to grow, learn & experience new things, that helped me be able to create a completed body of work that I am so proud of."
The album is heavily influenced by 90's R&B and sees Sparks make use of her lower vocal register that aloud her to give the slower records a more urban vibe to their delivery. Sparks cites Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey as major influences on the album.
On November 24, 2014, Sparks released her first official mixtape "#ByeFelicia" helmed by the LA Leakers, which served as an album sampler and featured nine songs with majority of the mixtape including small snippets of tracks that would eventually appear of the full length album.
Most of the tracks included a small interview with sparks where Sparks spoke on some of the tracks and announced that the official title for her third album would be called "Right Here Right Now" stating: "I'm coming into my own Right Here, Right Now, I'm feeling confident Right Here, Right Now & all we have is Right Here, Right Now. So I thought the title was very symbolic in a lot of ways..."
==Chart Performance==
"Right Here Right Now" debuted at #161 on the Billboard 200, #11 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Albums and #4 on Billboard R&B Albums chart.
==Critical Reception==
"Right Here Right Now" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 69/100 from Metacritic, making it Sparks' highest rating.
Many critics cited the album as Sparks' best work to date, applauding her for finally finding her sound.
NY Daily News writes: "At 25, Sparks finally sounds like a woman, one in control of both her voice and her character. … The most direct role model for the project seems to be Mariah Carey’s better urban records of the '90s and early 2000s. Carey fans may consider the best of "Right Here" the stuff they wished for years that Mariah would cut. ... That hybrid, and Sparks’ new maturity, allows her to find her voice, as well as a potential new role. While many fans have called Ariana Grande the new Mariah, "Right Now" makes Sparks sound like the true heir."
Entertainment Weekly wrote: "On her third album, the Idol alum enlists 2 Chainz and B.o.B to add edge to her sultry R&B sound. But it’s Shaggy’s support on an island-y ode to committed relationships that pops among a mix of passionate R&B jams and take-charge lady anthems."
Category:2010s albums
Category:R&B
Category:Pop
Category:Jordin Sparks albums