Ultimate Aaliyah

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Ultimate Aaliyah
Aaliyah-ultimateaaliyah.jpg
Box set by
Aaliyah
ReleasedApril 4, 2005
Recorded1993–March 9, 2001
Studio
Genre
Length185:39
LabelBlackground
Producer
Aaliyah chronology
I Care 4 U
(2002) 		Ultimate Aaliyah
(2005)
Singles from Ultimate Aaliyah
  1. "Are You Feelin' Me?"
    Released: 2005

Ultimate Aaliyah is the posthumous box set by American singer Aaliyah. It was released on April 4, 2005 by Blackground Records.[1] The box set consists of three discs–the first disc is a greatest hits collection, the second, entitled Are You Feelin' Me?, contains material from soundtracks and Timbaland's studio albums, while the third is a DVD with the documentary The Aaliyah Story.

Ultimate Aaliyah received generally favorable reviews from critics. However, it was a commercial failure due to its limited release, peaking at number 32 on the UK Albums Chart and selling only 75,000 copies worldwide. The song "Are You Feelin' Me?", previously included on the Romeo Must Die soundtrack (2000), was released as a single in the United Kingdom to promote the album but failed to chart.

Release[]

Ultimate Aaliyah was released in France and the United Kingdom on April 4, 2005[2][3] and in Australia on May 2.[4] Unlike Aaliyah's previous releases, Ultimate Aaliyah was released independently by Blackground Records, without the involvement of a major label. The album consists of three discs–two CDs and a DVD featuring the 60-minute documentary The Aaliyah Story compiled of promo clips, interviews, and special features, including MTV special, MTV News Now: The Life of Aaliyah, a Tribute to Aaliyah, Aaliyah's VH1 Behind the Music installment, and her E! True Hollywood Story episode. In Japan, a CD+DVD compilation album titled Special Edition: Rare Tracks & Visuals was released on March 14 instead of Ultimate Aaliyah.[5]

In 2017, a company named Craze Productions leaked the album on streaming services for 18 hours, and within minutes, Ultimate Aaliyah skyrocketed to number four on the iTunes charts. Hours later, the album was taken down off sites by Aaliyah's uncle and manager Barry Hankerson, and a lawsuit to Craze Productions was filed.[6][7] The same company earlier issued her previous compilation album I Care 4 U (2002) digitally, for which it was sued by Reservoir Media Management, the last company managing Blackground Records' catalog.

In August 2021, it was reported that the album and Aaliyah's other recorded work for Blackground (since rebranded as Blackground Records 2.0) would be re-released on physical, digital and, for the first time ever, streaming services, in a deal between the label and Empire Distribution. Ultimate Aaliyah is scheduled for an October 8 release; it will also mark the first time the album is available globally, as the album had previously been released only in Australia, France and the United Kingdom. The re-release was met with disdain from Aaliyah's estate,[8][9][10] who issued a statement denouncing the "unscrupulous endeavor to release Aaliyah's music without any transparency or full accounting to the estate".[11][12][13]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Album of the Year90/100[14]
AllMusic4.5/5 stars[15]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music3/5 stars[16]

Ultimate Aaliyah received generally favorable reviews from critics. Andy Kellman of AllMusic gave the album four and a half stars out of five, stating: "From the delightful "Back and Forth" through the all-too-sobering "Miss You," Ultimate Aaliyah adequately represents the shortened career of a tremendous talent who benefited from some of the best songwriting and production work by Timbaland, Missy Elliott, and R. Kelly. Casual fans will get most of the hits; collectors will be pleased to plug some gaps and get the documentary as a bonus."[15] Due to this, the album has a 90/100 critic score on the website Album of the Year.[14] In the Encyclopedia of Popular Music's fifth Concise edition (2007), writer Colin Larkin gave the album three out of five stars.[16]

Commercial performance[]

Ultimate Aaliyah debuted at number 32 on the UK Albums Chart and number 13 on the UK R&B Chart, with 20,000 copies sold.[1] In October 2011, it was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), indicating sales in excess of 75,000 copies.[17]

Track listing[]

Ultimate Aaliyah – Disc one: Greatest Hits
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."One in a Million"
Timbaland4:30
2."If Your Girl Only Knew"
  • Elliott
  • Mosley
Timbaland4:50
3."Hot Like Fire"
  • Elliott
  • Mosley
Timbaland4:23
4."The One I Gave My Heart To"Diane WarrenDaryl Simmons4:30
5."Got to Give It Up" (featuring Slick Rick)
  • Herbert
  • Craig King
4:41
6."4 Page Letter"
  • Elliott
  • Mosley
Timbaland4:52
7."We Need a Resolution" (featuring Timbaland)
Timbaland4:02
8."Rock the Boat"Garrett
  • Eric Seats
  • Rapture Stewart
4:35
9."More Than a Woman"
  • Garrett
Timbaland3:49
10."I Care 4 U"
  • Elliott
Timbaland4:33
11."Try Again"
  • Garrett
  • Mosley
Timbaland4:44
12."Back & Forth"R. KellyKelly3:51
13."Are You That Somebody?"
  • Garrett
  • Mosley
Timbaland4:30
14."Don't Know What to Tell Ya"
  • Garrett
  • Mosley
Timbaland5:01
15."Miss You"
Bishop4:05
16."At Your Best (You Are Love)"
Kelly4:52
Total length:71:48
Ultimate Aaliyah – Disc two: Are You Feelin' Me?
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Are You Feelin' Me?"
  • Elliott
  • Mosley
Timbaland3:11
2."Messed Up"Garrett
  • Seats
  • Rapture
3:36
3."Come Back in One Piece" (featuring DMX)
  • Gotti
  • Lil Rob
4:20
4."I Don't Wanna"
  • Scantz
  • Hicks
4:17
5."Man Undercover" (featuring Timbaland)
  • Mosley
  • Melvin Barcliff
  • Elliott
Timbaland4:44
6."John Blaze" (with Missy Elliott)
  • Elliott
  • Mosley
Timbaland4:02
7."I Am Music" (with Timbaland & Static Major)
  • Garrett
  • Mosley
Timbaland4:02
8."More Than a Woman" (Bump & Flex club mix)Garrett
5:30
9."Hold On" (Timbaland & Magoo featuring Wyclef Jean)
  • Mosley
  • Barcliff
  • Timothy Clayton
  • Wyclef Jean
Timbaland5:05
Total length:38:47
Ultimate Aaliyah – Disc three: The Aaliyah Story (DVD)
No.TitleLength
1."The Aaliyah Story"60:00
2."Photo Gallery"15:04
Total length:75:04

Notes

  • ^a signifies a remixer

Sample credits

Personnel[]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Ultimate Aaliyah.[24]

  • Aaliyah – lead vocals
  • Carlton Batts – mastering
  • Teddy Bishop – producer
  • Hamish Brown – photography
  • Bud'da – producer
  • Jimmy Douglass – mixing, engineer
  • Missy Elliott – rap, backing vocals
  • Irv Gotti – producer
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering
  • Barry Hankerson – executive producer
  • Jomo Hankerson – executive producer
  • Michael Haughton – executive producer
  • Vincent Herbert – producer
  • Kevin Hicks – producer
  • Craig Kallman – executive producer
  • Craig King – producer
  • Lil Rob – producer
  • Grant Nelson – remixer
  • Rapture – producer
  • Eric Seats – producer
  • Donnie Scantz – producer
  • Senator Jimmy D – engineer
  • Daryl Simmons – producer
  • Timbaland – rap, backing vocals, producer, executive producer, mixing
  • Albert Watson – photography

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (2005–2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[25] 82
Scottish Albums (OCC)[26] 90
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 32
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[28] 13

Release history[]

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
France April 4, 2005 Double CD+DVD Blackground [2]
United Kingdom [3]
Australia May 2, 2005 [4]
Various October 8, 2021
[29]
June 3, 2022 Vinyl [30][31]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Aaliyah". AllMusic.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ultimate" (in French). France: Fnac. April 4, 2005. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ultimate Aaliyah". United Kingdom: Amazon Music. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ultimate Aaliyah". Discogs. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  5. ^ "Aaliyah Special Edition: Rare Tracks and Visuals". AllMusic. March 14, 2005. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  6. ^ Minsker, Evan. "Aaliyah's Hits Removed From Apple Music After Brief Appearance". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  7. ^ "HITS Daily Double : Rumor Mill - AALIYAH GOES UP, COMES DOWN AT ITUNES". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  8. ^ "Aaliyah albums streaming: 'Her influence is absolutely everywhere'". BBC. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  9. ^ Minsker, Evan (20 August 2021). "Aaliyah's One in a Million Arrives to Streaming Amid Dispute Between Label and Estate". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  10. ^ Legaspi, Althea (20 August 2021). "Stream Aaliyah's 'One in a Million' Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  11. ^ "IStandWithAaliyah". Twitter. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Aaliyah's Estate Slams Her Uncle's 'Unauthorized' Announcement of Releasing Her Music To Streaming Platforms". thatgrapejuice.net. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  13. ^ DeVito, Lee (5 August 2021). "Aaliyah estate denounces upcoming 'unauthorized projects' as 'Blackground 2.0' emerges". Metro Times. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ultimate Aaliyah". Album of the Year. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ultimate Aaliyah". AllMusic. May 10, 2005. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b Larkin 2007, p. 31
  17. ^ "As Adele hits thirteen times platinum across Europe, over 60 artists pick up IMPALA Sales Awards, including Manel, Bon Iver, Miossec, dEUS, Agnes Obel and The Horrors". Independent Music Companies Association. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  18. ^ Vikander, Paul (January 19, 2021). "Timbaland Trends on Twitter After Fans Discovered Sampling Arabic Songs on Some of His Biggest Hits". Florida News Times. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  19. ^ Mahajan, Viraj (January 18, 2021). "Did Timbaland plagiarize songs? Here's the truth behind allegations about producer ripping off Arabic classics". meaww. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  20. ^ Nichols, Natalie (December 8, 2002). "Just Whitney and a whiff of desperation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  21. ^ Ghanny, Hassan (December 9, 2016). "Was Timbaland's Skillful Sampling a Cultural Crime?". Cuepoint. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  22. ^ Ayman, Menna (August 20, 2017). "These American songs sampled Arabic hits". Step Feed. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  23. ^ "Aaliyah Featuring DMX - Come Back In One Piece". Billboard. July 15, 2000. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  24. ^ Ultimate Aaliyah (liner notes). Aaliyah. 2005.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ "Pandora Archive" (PDF). Pandora.nla.gov.au. 2006-08-23. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
  26. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  28. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  29. ^ "Aaliyah's music finally lands on streaming services". Capital Xtra. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  30. ^ "Ultimate Compilation". Blackground Records. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  31. ^ "Vinyl pre-orders". bigwax.io. Retrieved August 25, 2021.

Bibliography[]

  • Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.

External links[]

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