In 1999, while working on the record in New York City, Aaliyah called and asked Trent Reznor, one of her musical idols, to produce a song, but they could not coordinate their schedules. She recorded a few songs, including two with Timbaland, before working on Romeo Must Die. Recording and productionĪaliyah began recording the album in 1998. Her label Blackground Records used the film and its soundtrack to set up a distribution deal with Virgin Records America, which would distribute Blackground's subsequent releases globally, including her self-titled third album. The film heightened her profile significantly, while the soundtrack's single " Try Again" became her first number-one song on the pop charts. Ī third album was planned for February 1999, but Aaliyah postponed its recording to develop an acting career, which led to a starring role in the 2000 film Romeo Must Die. After it became the biggest hit of her career at that point, the singer wanted to keep a lower profile and avoid overexposure.
She gained achieved further success with hit songs from film soundtracks, including her 1998 single " Are You That Somebody?" Recording again with Timbaland for the song, Aaliyah experimented with more avant-garde sounds in her R&B and pop music, while singing in a low-register and minimalist style distinct from her vocally-virtuosic female contemporaries. After years of internal and legal conflicts between Blackground, the singer's estate, and the album's creators, Aaliyah was released to music streaming services for the first time in 2021.Īaliyah recorded her second album One in a Million with producer-songwriters Timbaland and Missy Elliott, releasing it in 1996 to commercial success, and graduated from high school the following year.
Released during a period of peak activity in R&B, the album has since been cited by critics as one of the genre's best and most influential records from this era. After her death, sales of the album greatly increased and led it to the top of the Billboard 200, eventually reaching more than 13 million copies sold worldwide. When Blackground and Virgin wanted a high-charting single to increase the album's sales, Aaliyah shot a music video for the song " Rock the Boat" in the Bahamas, but died in a plane crash during a return flight to the US on August 25. On release, Aaliyah received highly positive reviews and charted at number two on the US Billboard 200, but sold diminishingly afterwards. Aaliyah viewed the album as a reflection of herself as both a young adult and a matured vocalist. The resulting songs deal with the complexities of romantic love and different stages in a relationship, such as infatuation, eroticism, conflict, infidelity, and heartbreak. The album's producers incorporated synthesizer melodies, fragmented beats, distorted guitar, and eccentrically manipulated vocals and song structures, while much of the lyrics were written by singer-songwriter Static Major, who shared a close friendship and strong rapport with Aaliyah. Dub, Rapture, and Eric Seats, as well as longtime collaborator Timbaland.Īaliyah is described in critical commentaries as an album of R&B, neo soul, and dance-pop, while drawing on an array of other genres such as funk, hip hop, alternative rock, electronica, and Latin music. Through her recording contract with Blackground, the singer worked primarily with the record label's in-house crew of writers and producers, including Bud'da, J. Additional recording took place at Manhattan Center and Sony Music Studios in New York and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, among other locations. She resumed recording in 2000 at Sing Sing Studios in Australia, where she shot her role for the 2002 film Queen of the Damned during the day and recorded songs at night. Because of its packaging design, it is also known as "The Red Album".Īaliyah started to work on the album in 1998, but rescheduled its recording around her developing film career. It was released on July 7, 2001, by Blackground Records and Virgin Records. Aaliyah is the third and final studio album by American R&B singer Aaliyah.