Thought 'Ya Knew

Thought 'Ya Knew
Studio album by CeCe Peniston
Released	January 10, 1994 (1994-01-10) February 10, 1994 (1994-02-10) (JP)[1] September 11, 1996 (1996-09-11) (JP, reissue)[2]
Recorded	1993
Genre	Dance music, R&B
Length	72:17
Label	A&M (#31454 0138)[3]
Producer	Steve "Silk" Hurley, Soulshock & Karlin, Sir Jinx, Marc Dubuclet & Tim Miner, Andres Levin & Camus Maré Celli, David Morales, Brian McKnight, Richard Wolf
CeCe Peniston chronology
Finally / We Got a Love Thang: Remix Collection (1992) Thought 'Ya Knew (1994) Remix Collection (1994)
Singles from Thought 'Ya Knew
"I'm in the Mood" Released: December 14, 1993 "I'm Not Over You" Released: April 5, 1994 "Hit by Love" Released: August 1994 "Keep Givin' Me Your Love" Released: February 1995 (UK, April '94)

Thought 'Ya Knew is the second solo studio album released by American singer CeCe Peniston, issued on January 10, 1994 by A&M Records. Peniston collaborated with her Chicago-based producer Steve Hurley, Carsten Schack and Kenneth Karlin (better recognized as duo Soulshock & Karlin) from Denmark, David Morales, Sir Jinx, and on one track ("Forever In My Heart") also with the multiple Grammy Award-nominee Brian McKnight. Decided not getting pigeonholed into the dance genre, the singer recorded for the set several ballads, trying to move into a R&B direction. Unlike its predecessor Finally, her second album was, therefore, a calculated mixture of pop ballads and R&B beats, though incorporating also other genres, such as jazz ("I'm in the Mood"), funk (I'm Not Over You"), reggae ("Through Those Doors") and gospel ("I Will Be Received").

The album received generally mixed reviews from music critics, and commercially, it proved to be a moderate success. Debuting on February 12, 1994 at number #102 on the Billboard 200, the album reached its peak a week later at number ninety-six, while spending in U.S. nineteen weeks in total. Overseas, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number thirty-one, but charted for only two weeks there. Other territories included Switzerland (at number thirty-two), Japan (at number sixty-six), Netherlands (at number sixty-nine), and Germany (at number ninety-two).

Four official singles were released from the set, three of which entered the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the UK Singles Chart. All of them became successful on the dance field, bringing Peniston two additional number one hits on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs. In Japan, the album was shortly followed by Remix Collection, which featured alternate versions of songs issued on singles. The album was not accompanied by a worldwide tour.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Chicago Reader	(mixed)[5]
Entertainment Weekly	(B-)[6]
People	(mixed)[7]

Thought 'Ya Knew received mainly mixed reviews. In terms of artistic achievement, dancefloor potential or chart performance, the album did not match the success of Peniston's debut album, Finally. Jose F. Promis from Allmusic, however, blamed the record label A&M for marketing the artist to an R&B audience, which he called the "big mistake". Giving the album three (ouf of five stars), he highlighted especially "Hit by Love" anthem as the song closer in spirit to the singer's early dance hits, but he admitted that by that time of the single's release its "steam had worn off".^[4] Both critics, Martin Johnson from Chicago Reader and Johnny Huston from Entertainment Weekly agreed that the album's low points occurred on its ballads and that Peniston faltered on slower numbers. (Johnson also added that even Toni Braxton, who redefined the urban contemporary ballad, "would have trouble breathing life into them").^[5] While Huston noticed Patti LaBelle-influenced vocal stylings (on "Through Those Doors"),^[6] Johnson recalled young Chaka Khan and stressed the pungent lower registers of the singer's voice (on "Searchin'").^[5] People magazine found the album's problem in Peniston's big-time pop success and her new need to be seen more serious than just a dance-music artist. Calling ballads "the ballads from hell", the magazine reproached that all the slow stuff did was focus on Peniston's vocal limitations.^[7]

Chart performance

	"Searchin'" "Give What I'm Givin'" "I Will Be Received"
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On February 5, 1994 the album entered at number thirty-one (its peak) in the UK Albums Chart, spending two weeks on the chart.^[8] Followed by the Oricon list on February 10, Peniston received her first and her only album chart appearance to date in Japan, at number sixty-six (two charting weeks in total)^[9] After two weeks since its release, the album entered the U.S. Billboard 200 at number one-hundred-two on February 12, 1994. Peaking its top the following week, at number ninety-six on February 19 (nineteen weeks in the chart).^[10] On the component, U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, the album climbed to number twenty (being present for thirty-four weeks in the chart.^[11] Later on, the album would be classified as the seventy-first best R&B selling set of 1994.)^[12] In Dutch MegaCharts, the record started its five weeks long run on February 19, topping its third week at number sixty-nine.^[13] In addition, the album cracked the Swiss Music Charts on February 20, peaking on March 6 at number thirty-two (three weeks in the chart).^[14] And on February 28 also the German Media Control Charts, reaching at number ninety-two (with three weeks in the chart).^[15]

Track listings and formats

Credits and personnel

Charts

Singles

Notes

• A ^ "I'm in the Mood" peaked at number eight in the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban component chart,^[22] while on the Nederlandse Top 40 it charted two weeks at number twenty-five.^[23]
• B ^ "Keep Givin' Me Your Love" was promoted in England as the second official single taken from Thought 'Ya Knew album. In the States, the song was released on single in addition.

References

External links

• CeCe Peniston at AllMusic