Chapter V (Trey Songz album)

Chapter V
Studio album by Trey Songz
Released	August 21, 2012
Recorded	2010–12
Genre	R&B[1]
Length	65:31
Label	Songbook Atlantic
Producer	Trey Songz (exec.) Rico Love Troy Taylor (also exec.) J-Kits Benny Blanco Eric Hudson John "SK" McGee E. Miles A-Wall Darhyl Camper Josh Garrison C4 Ty$
Trey Songz chronology
Inevitable (2011) Chapter V (2012) Trigga (2014)
Singles from Chapter V
"Heart Attack" Released: March 26, 2012 "2 Reasons" Released: June 12, 2012 "Simply Amazing" Released: August 12, 2012 "Never Again" Released: November 23, 2012

Chapter V is the fifth studio album by American R&B recording artist Trey Songz, released on August 21, 2012, by Atlantic Records. It was produced by several record producers, including Troy Taylor, Eric Hudson, Rico Love, and Benny Blanco, among others. Recording sessions for the album took place at several recording studios in Miami—Circle House Studios and Songbook Miami Studios—and New York City—Downtown Music Studios, Engine Room Audio, Icon Studio, Lotzah Matzah Studios, and Premier Digital—as well as Stanley House Studios in London.^[2]

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 135,000 copies in its first week. It was promoted with four singles, including the Grammy nominated hit "Heart Attack" UK hit "Simply Amazing" and US hit 2 Reasons. Upon its release, Chapter V received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its sound and Songz' singing, although some were ambivalent towards its songwriting and themes.

Release and promotion

Chapter V was released on August 21, 2012, by Atlantic Records, and on August 17 as a digital download.^[3] Trey Songz toured in promotion of the album on his Anticipation 2our, a tour spanning from February 9 to March 11, 2012, in North America.^[4] Rapper Big Sean was the tour's supporting act.^[4] Music videos for "Hail Mary" and "Dive In", directed by Justin Francis, were released, on August 20 and October 7, respectively.^[5][6][7]

The album's lead single, "Heart Attack", was released as a digital download on March 26, 2012.^[8] It charted at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[9] and number 28 on the UK Singles Chart.^[10] Its music video was released on May 4 and featured Kelly Rowland playing Songz' love interest.^[11] The second single "2 Reasons" was released on June 12.^[12] Its video was premiered on June 12 by BET's 106 & Park.^[13] "Simply Amazing" was released in the United Kingdom on August 12.^[14] It charted at number eight in the UK.^[10] Its music video, directed by Justin Francis, was released on July 23.^[15] "Never Again" was released as a single in the UK in November.^[16] Its music video was released on November 21.^[17]

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first week sales of 135,000 copies.^[18] It was Songz' first album to top the chart.^[18] Chapter V was also Songz' first album to chart in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart.^[10] As of October 3, 2012, the album has sold 238,400 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[19] In August 2016, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and streaming equivalent units of over 500,000 units.^[20]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[21]
The Guardian	[1]
Los Angeles Times	[22]
Newsday	B–[23]
Rolling Stone	[24]

Chapter V received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on eight reviews.^[25] Allmusic's Andy Kellman commended Songz for "singing about what [he] can do for — rather than to" his female subjects and stated, "Those who tire of the coarse metaphors, disrobing scenes, and 'panty wetter' talk can get lost in the sleek, layered work of Troy Taylor and his associates. The snaking rhythms are just as remarkable as the hypnotic synthesizer textures."^[21] Sarah Godfrey of The Washington Post complimented Songz' "signature blend of soft-core imagery and sweet nothings" and wrote that the album "highlights Songz’s unique role in R&B: He bridges the gap between sexless boy bands and unromantic raunchy singers, between young guys who sing shallow songs about strip clubs and old guys who sing heavy songs about their divorces."^[26] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times dubbed it "one of his most consistently strong albums" in spite of the potential "conundrum" of drawing on R. Kelly and Usher as influences.^[27]

In a mixed review, Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times was ambivalent towards its boudior-themed songs and felt that Songz "might be R&B's most single-minded star".^[22] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone found it to be "full of big ballads and bigger club beats that take dead aim at the pop mainstream", but added that "Songz is at his best playing to his R&B base".^[24] BBC Music's Natalie Shaw viewed that Songz does not "reveal a deeper side to his songwriting" until track nine.^[28] Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe felt that it "could use editing", but wrote that "throughout this he sings with urgency and expressiveness."^[29] Although he viewed that Songz lacks "natural charisma", Alex Macpherson of The Guardian commended Troy Taylor for making the album "admirably cohesive" and Songz for "mov[ing] into traditional R Kelly territory", writing that it "helps to reinforce Songz's status as the formidable understudy of R&B."^[1]

Track listing

Standard edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Chapter V (Intro)"	Ezekiel Lewis Najja McDowell Edrick Miles Tremaine Neverson Troy Taylor	Troy Taylor	1:54
2.	"Dive In"	Josh Garrison Troy Taylor McDowell Neverson	Taylor Josh Garrison	4:12
3.	"Panty Wetter"	Taylor Eric Hudson Neverson	Eric Hudson Troy Taylor	3:50
4.	"Heart Attack"	Benjamin Levin Richard Butler, Jr. Neverson	Benny Blanco Rico Love	3:53
5.	"Playin' Hard"	Ezekiel Lewis McDowell Neverson Jerren Spruill Taylor	J-Kits	3:54
6.	"2 Reasons" (featuring T.I.)	Clifford Harris, Jr. McDowell Neverson Kyle Stewart Taylor Menardini Timothee	Troy Taylor BRIDGETOWN	3:17
7.	"Hail Mary" (featuring Young Jeezy and Lil Wayne)	Dwayne Carter, Jr. Neverson Ezekiel Lewis Antoine Kearney Jay Jenkins Taylor	Lil' Lody Troy Taylor	3:55
8.	"Don't Be Scared" (featuring Rick Ross)	Alex Neverson Neverson William Roberts II Harvey Miller Taylor	Taylor A-Wall	3:46
9.	"Pretty Girl's Lie"	Darhyl Camper Ezekiel Lewis McDowell Neverson Spruill Taylor	J-Kits Daryl Camper Troy Taylor	3:47
10.	"Bad Decisions"	Richard Butler, Jr. Dwayne Nesmith Neverson	Rico Love Dwayne Nesmith	4:33
11.	"Forever Yours"	Ezekiel Lewis Mikkel Storleer Eriksen McDowell Neverson Tor Erik Hermansen Edrick Miles Taylor	Stargate Troy Taylor	4:14
12.	"Inside Interlude"	John McGee Neverson Taylor	John "SK" McGee J-Kits	1:41
13.	"Fumble"	Glenda Proby Chuck Gibson Tyrone Griffin Neverson Alagy Sanneh Taylor Nate Welch	Alagy 'Buddah' Sanneh Glenda "Lady G" Proby Troy Taylor Phonix Beats Ty$	3:57
14.	"Without a Woman"	Sean Fenton Eric Hudson Neverson Sevyn Streeter Ezekiel Lewis McDowell Taylor	Eric Hudson Troy Taylor	4:04
15.	"Interlude4U"	Neverson Spruill Taylor	J-Kits	1:37
16.	"Simply Amazing"	McDowell Neverson Taylor Christopher 'C4' Umana	Umana Troy Taylor	3:59
17.	"Never Again"	Teemu Brunila James 'JHart' Abrahart Curtis Mayfield Neverson Matt Prime	Matt Prime	3:49
18.	"Check Me Out" (featuring Meek Mill and Diddy)	Bei Maejor Neverson Spruill Taylor Robert Williams Sean Combs	J-Kits	4:59
19.	"Chapter V (Outro)"	Ezekiel Lewis Najja McDowell Edrick Miles Tremaine Neverson Troy Taylor	Troy Taylor	5:31

iTunes deluxe edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
19.	"Ladies Go Wild"	Neverson	Trey Songz	3:42
20.	"Almost Lose It"	Christopher Umana Neverson	Christopher 'C4' Umana	4:19
21.	"Heart Attack" (music video)		Benny Boom	4:14
22.	"2 Reasons" (featuring T.I.) (music video)		Benny Boom	3:22

Personnel

Credits for Chapter V adapted from Allmusic.^[30]

Diego Avendaño – assistant Darius Barnes – producer Edgar Bautista – assistant Nick Bilardello – art direction, design Benny Blanco – engineer, instrumentation, producer, programming Jo Jo Brim – management Teemu Brunila – composer Darhyl Camper – composer, producer Angelo Caputo – assistant engineer Joseph Caravalho – assistant Mike Caren – A&R Chris Celestine – general manager Cameron Chambers – guitar Mark B. Christensen – mastering Clifford Harris – composer Talia Coles – stylist Philip Cook – programming Anthony Daniel – engineer Diddy – featured artist Sean Fenton – composer Jimmy Fontaine – photography Lanre Gaba – A&R Josh Garrison – composer, producer Serban Ghenea – mixing Chuck Gibson – composer, guitar Brandon "Bei Maejor" Green – composer Tyrone Griffin – composer John Hanes – engineer Dionne Harper – marketing Trehy Harris – assistant Benoit Holliger – assistant Jean-Marie Horvat – mixing Matt Huber – assistant Eric Hudson – composer, producer Jaycen Joshua – mixing Jay Jenkins – composer Lady G. – composer Benjamin Levin – composer Ezekiel Lewis – composer Lil Wayne – composer, featured artist

Kevin Liles – management Rico Love – background vocals, composer, producer, vocals Andrew Luftman – assistant Robert Marks – mixing Curtis Mayfield – composer Thurston McCrea – engineer Najja McDowell – composer John McGee – composer, producer Pierre Medor – engineer Meek Mill – featured artist Edrick Miles – composer, producer Dwayne Nesmith – composer, keyboards, producer, programming Alex Neverson – composer, producer – composer Phillip Peterson – strings Matt Prime – composer, guitar, keyboards, producer, programming Tony Rey – vocal engineer William Roberts – composer Rick Ross – featured artist Alagy Sanneh – composer, producer Phil Seaford – assistant Sevyn – vocals Jerren Spruill – composer Jerren "J-Kits" Spruill – additional production, composer, producer Zach Steele – engineer Kyle Stewart – composer Skyy Stylez – producer T.I. – featured artist Troy Taylor – additional production, bass, composer, executive producer, keyboards, percussion, piano, producer Sean Thompson – assistant Menardini Timothee – composer Carolyn Tracey – package production Trey Songz – executive producer, primary artist, vocals Ty$ – additional production, guitar Christopher Umana – composer, producer Nate Welch – composer Robert Williams – composer Scott "Yarmov" Yarmovsky – production coordination Young Jeezy – featured artist

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart[31]	18
Australian Urban Albums Chart[32]	3
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[31]	156
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[31]	100
Canadian Albums Chart[33]	13
Dutch Albums Chart[31]	6
French Albums Chart[31]	64
New Zealand Albums Chart[31]	36
UK Albums Chart[34]	10
UK R&B Albums Chart[35]	1
US Billboard 200[18]	1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[36]	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[37]	Gold	500,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Regions	Dates	Format(s)	Label(s)
United States	August 17, 2012	Digital download[38]	Atlantic Records
	August 21, 2012	CD[39]

References

1. Macpherson, Alex (August 16, 2012). "Trey Songz: Chapter V – review". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. section G2, p. 16. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
2. "Trey Songz - Chapter V CD Album". CD Universe. Muze. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
3. "Chapter V - Trey Songz : Release Information, Reviews and Credits". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
4. "Trey Songz Announces "Anticipation 2our" with Big Sean". TrueExclusives.com. January 7, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
5. http://www.videostatic.com/vs/2012/07/in-production-trey-songz-justin-francis-dir.html
6. http://www.rap-up.com/2012/08/02/new-music-trey-songz-f-lil-wayne-young-jeezy-hail-mary-snippet/
7. http://www.treysongz.com/news/watch-world-premiere-dive-mtv-831051
8. http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Attack/dp/B007O3TMIW/
9. "Trey Songz Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
10. "Trey Songz". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
11. http://www.rap-up.com/2012/05/04/video-trey-songz-heart-attack/
12. "2 Reasons (feat. T.I.) [Explicit]: Trey Songz: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
13. "Trey Songz Sets 'Chapter V' Release Date". Rap-Up. June 8, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
14. http://www.capitalfm.com/music-news/future-releases/
15. http://www.rap-up.com/2012/07/23/video-trey-songz-simply-amazing/
16. "UK Forthcoming Singles". Radio1 Rodos Greece. Archived from the original on 2012-09-29. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
17. http://www.rap-up.com/2012/11/21/video-trey-songz-never-again/
18. Caulfield, Keith (2012-08-29). "Trey Songz Gets First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
19. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-06. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
20. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
21. Kellman, Andy. "Chapter V - Trey Songz". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
22. Wood, Mikael (August 20, 2012). "Trey Songz's 'Chapter V' aims for seduction: Review". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles: Tribune Company. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
23. Gamboa, Glenn (August 20, 2012). "Trey Songz, 'Chapter V' aims to please". Newsday. Melville. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
24. Rosen, Jody (September 10, 2012). "Chapter V". Rolling Stone. New York. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
25. "Chapter V Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
26. Godfrey, Sarah (August 20, 2012). "'Chapter V' by Trey Songz". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
27. Caramanica, Jon (August 21, 2012). "CD's by Trey Songz, Bloc Party and Six Organs of Admittance". The New York Times. New York: The New York Times Company. p. C1. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
28. Shaw, Natalie (August 20, 2012). "Review of Trey Songz - Chapter V". BBC Music. BBC. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
29. Capobianco, Ben (August 20, 2012). "Trey Songz, 'Chapter V'". The Boston Globe. Boston: The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
30. "Chapter V - Trey Songz : Release Credits". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
31. "Trey Songz – Chapter V". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
32. "ARIA Australian Top 40 Urban Albums Chart – 03/09/2012". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 2012-09-03.
33. "Canadian Albums: Week of September 8, 2012". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
34. "Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive – 01/09/2012". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
35. "Top 40 Official UK R&B Albums Archive – 01/09/2012". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
36. "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of September 8, 2012". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
37. "American album certifications – Trey Songz – Chapter V". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
38. "Chapter V [Explicit]: Trey Songz: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
39. "Trey Songz - Chapter V CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved November 9, 2012.