Despite receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews for her just-released CD,"In Love & War", the set sold an appalling 12,000 copies in its debut week.

An interview she gave to the Washington Post on the eve of the album's debut gives us a hint of what to expect from her in the future:

Amerie Wants to be More Than A '1 Thing' Wonder
November 2009


It's lunchtime at Seraphina in Midtown Manhattan and Amerie is ransacking her purse, searching for a shaker of Himalayan salt.

"It has the same pH balance as our tears," the 29-year-old singer explains.

Half diva, half brainiac, this is a Georgetown University graduate who likes to read science magazines while she prepares for her latest photo shoot, a team of handlers fussing over her hair.

But most know Amerie as the voice behind 2005's chart-topping R&B single "1 Thing." With its bursts of percussion and ribbons of insistent melody, the song remains one of our decade's most revelatory pieces of pop music. "It's this one thing and I was so with it," she belts on the song's delirious refrain. "It's this one thing you did."

On Tuesday, Amerie will try to do it again with "In Love & War," her first U.S. release after a lengthy four-year absence. Weaving urgent melodies through sandpapery beats, it's an album tailor-made to stand out in an era where R&B singers are often treated as interchangeable parts in the great American pop machine.

"On the radio, you have a lot of artists sounding like each other," Amerie says between bites of bruschetta. "They don't really sound like themselves -- they just sound like the producer who did the record. To me that's super-whack."

Super-whack, indeed. In a world where uber-producers like The-Dream, Timbaland and Danja often play musical chairs with pop's A-list vocal cords, listening to the radio can have a particularly numbing effect -- one that makes Amerie's grittiness feel all the more resonant.

You can hear it in lead single "Why R U" -- a pining love song with a scrappy boom-bap track courtesy of the production team the Buchanans. Unlike the chorus of "1 Thing," here our hero finds herself suspended in a different type of romantic disbelief: "Why are you the only thing that I care about? . . . Baby, you're no good for me, no!" Her vocal trills morph into growls as the beat threatens to boil over. "I like to work with people who are willing to create something with me, versus just giving me just their off-the-rack track," Amerie says of her collaborators. "I didn't come here to get a such-and-such record, I came here to get an Amerie record that we're gonna create together."


That desire for complete control came to a head in 2007 when Amerie decided to shelve her then-forthcoming disc, "Because I Love It." The album would have been her third U.S. release for Columbia Records, but the singer had grown skeptical of her paymasters and put the project in cold storage as she plotted a move to hip-hop powerhouse Def Jam, where she's currently signed.

"There was just too much turmoil on the executive level," she says of the lack of promotion she felt at her old label. "If it's not gonna be put out right, I don't want to do it."

The transition to Def Jam comes after a life of endless transitions. Eldest daughter of a U.S. Army family, Amerie Rogers was born in Massachusetts, but quickly moved to her mother's native Korea. Then to Texas. Then to Germany, back to Texas, and eventually to Alaska, where she graduated from high school.

Along the way, she glommed on to a wide spectrum of pop, developing an affinity for Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Gaye, Madonna, the Beastie Boys, the "Grease" soundtrack and whatever else her parents were playing on the family stereo. "We always had soul music in the house," Amerie says. "And my mom listened to a lot of traditional Korean music" -- a drum-and-vocal-centric form that undoubtedly influenced her approach.

When her family relocated to Fort Lee, Va., in 1998, Amerie wanted to stay close. So she enrolled at Georgetown. She would major in English and minor in fine arts, but began pursuing her pop ambitions full steam. "Socializing was nonexistent," she says of her student days.

She eventually crossed paths with local producer Rich Harrison and formed a partnership that would launch their respective careers. "A lot of the [music] that I was encountering was soft and melodic R&B stuff and I'm not really into that," says Amerie. "I like a more aggressive sound. That was just so hard to find. That blend of aggression and prettiness."

But Harrison had it. He produced her entire debut album, 2002's "All I Have," as well as "1 Thing," and other standout tracks from her 2005 sophomore disc, "Touch." The duo haven't collaborated since, but Amerie wants to change that.

"Hopefully, we'll work together on the next project," she says. "I really want to. I'm always thinking about the next thing."

But today she has a new album to promote, and a car whisks her away from the restaurant to the studios of "106 & Park," the long-standing video countdown show on BET. The program's brightly colored soundstage is packed with teenagers coached to scream with all of their being, creating an ambience that sounds like pandemonium. If the network could find a way to harness the wind energy generated by these teenage lungs, it might be enough to power the blinding klieg lights overhead.

After the hosts' introduction, Amerie glides onto the stage to present her new video for "Heard 'Em All," a song with sharp, clashing synths that match the video's post-apocalyptic imagery. Three minutes later, the music fades and the audience cheers -- though the teens look a little dazed by the tune's aggression. This isn't the sweet, cookie-cutter R&B they're used to. Amerie knows when to add salt.
[Edited 12/22/09 9:11am]
[Edited 7/9/10 6:29am]

Amerie has always been and will always be a non-starter in the industry.

As to what's next:


[Edited 11/28/09 13:55pm]

Come to my house bay, I'll love you! F e'rebody else.

5 .... 4 .... 3 ..... 2 ..... 1 .....

VoicesCarry said:

That pic of her makes things twitch

As for the album, its boarderline real music, of course it won't sell!
[Edited 11/28/09 14:16pm]

I have yet to see a video (and yes they do play videos, but they are shortened and played between shows or credits)

and I didn't know her CD was out, and I was in the stores every week this month. I thought maybe North America had a different date again (eg. Mr Hudson will not be released here until December 1)

Until she starts getting the push she deserves...

VoicesCarry said:

or use that Georgetown degree

I know I live in Canada and everything, but it's not a good sign when you ask a young clerk at HMV about the new Amerie, and they think you said

Hot sex on a platter with me.

Could she do 'Dancing With The Stars' maybe?

She certainly knows how to dance but so did Mya. 'DWTS' may not be the greatest gig out there, but it will get you noticed by enough people in the industry perhaps.

Such a shame. Amerie is a far more interesting artist than the Beyonce's of this world, and way hotter too.

She refuses to water down and homogenize her sound and thus isn't fitting it with most of what gets played on the radio, and therefore isn't selling records.

yeah, well, not that long ago was played on the radio because she was singing the hottest producer's latest studio concoctions, so can we stop looking her as the last bastion of artistic credibility in r&b

New Album Flops, What's Next For Amerie?



The attempted removal of leather pants?

So whats the point? If you are good you sell? SO soulja boy is the best thing and lets break down the fucking door for him. It amazes me how full of shit people are on this forum that preach about the artists they like and blah blah blah. So the album didnt move, NEWS TO EVERYONE nothing moves now, her first album was GOLD her second GOLD the third NOT RELEASED HERE, she hasnt been in this country for 4 fucking years and she wasnt that popular to begin with DO THE FUCKING MATH, sales since her last album as an industry have dropped 46% since 2005 overall and thats Digital downloads included.

So the new Norah Jones sold 175,000 first week but the last sold 470,000 so she should fold up the tent? If thats what drives you to do music then you are a fool and the reason for the bullshit that is out there.

And just some other news the label forecasted this album to sell 100,000 overall, not week one, overall, that means at least a quarter in terms of tracking, which is how labels forecast things, that is also what they manufactured.

First off she's with Def Scam, that's what's wrong with this picture.

Timmy84 said:

Everyone knew that Rihanna had a new CD out, even people who hate her

Timmy84 said:

But here's my thing, put aside that its Amerie, whomever it would be. If they sold 12,000 on their own label they would be a "success" in our eyes because they own it all, i mean the whole philosphy of "hit" and "flop" is just stupid.
She is 32 years old, that age for an RB female gets you on "afterhours" it gets you on the "oldies station" and anyone who denies that is lieing to themselves, and i dont wanna hear "oh MC gets played and she is 41" OK there is also 10 million or more going into making sure she gets played, and guess what it failed to work, because the public doesnt want what she is putting out there. So does MC fold up the tent too? I mean this whole Flop talk on peoples records needs to be looked at for what it is, total bullshit. 12,000 in another country is fucking platnum, so the point?

Cinnie said:

Yeah but lets be real she is not 32, she hasnt been out of the picture for 4+ years now, she was jammed down everyones throats, she had her face on ever magazine cover, come on, that HYPE comes at a price and a label is not gonna put that price on Amerie, shes not a kid, nor a puppet. And also Amerie did a 60 second commercial overseas during the "Because i love it" promotion and it netted her a 7figure check, to me that is more important than the kids on 106th and park.
[Edited 11/28/09 16:39pm]

Without the PUSH of a major label, she is selling like an independent act.

Maybe that's what she should do after this.

lastdecember said:

I still think it has a lot to do with label/management than the singer.

Cinnie said:

To me she is an independant and has been since "Because I love it" because i saw no input from the label, nor do i see it her, but i dont care, to me, i just want the music, im tired of the politics of the industry that SAYS when it needs to come out.

Cinnie said:

Honestly i dont put it on them, i say whatever, because as a person Amerie likes music and doing music, and she has got peeps like Common and QuestLove that have championed her for knowing certain things that others didnt know. I would rather have that kind of respect than a chart position that really gets me nothing at the end of the day.

Its just funny that people think they know what they are talking about have no clue....U have a 32 year old artist that has had 2 gold albums, hasnt had a USA release in 4 years, her second album was gold, but only had one "hit" single, the label dove out of the picture when the second single came out, they totally pulled all the money out when she wanted the third single "talking About" to be put out, they balked, she refused to do anything. The third album got pulled back in the USA because columbia brass was up someones ass and we know who. But even overseas when she was set to release "Crush" as the 3rd single the label said wait, she said NO its time for the next single, they wait her wait, she quit and refused to sign and extension.

Now i know people might appreciate that kind of "attitude" when its a singer that they are all into, but they seem to be blind when its someone they have no clue on. You dont have to play the GAME to have people recognize, sorry, but i dont see others getting props for people that have respect.

The philosphy of sales now is just dumb, if you sold 500,000 albums 7 years ago, why would you even think you would sell a 10th of that now? since the industry has fallen off about 60+% in sales since that time? I mean really, your talking sales on an artist that never "sold" anymore dumbass points?
[Edited 11/28/09 17:02pm]

Cinnie said:

They knew alright to put her at #5 behind Gaga, Adam, Susan and someone else I'm forgetting lol That's why her disc sells for just a dollar on Amazon right now.
[Edited 11/28/09 17:18pm]

Cinnie said:

She got her own label anyways lol

Technically she IS an independent artist.

errant said:

I like Amerie but this statement is so true.

Amerie better step her game up.

errant said:

Yeah Trey Songz and Lil' Weezy were no good matches.

Timmy84 said:

Def Jam afterthought, Trey was also tacked onto the Toni Braxton album to get some play, but she is 40+ and that aint workin, so, this formula aint working, when will the labels turn the page and come up with a new scheme

I don't really care. I like Amerie, her voice, her sound, and her style. I haven't bought the new album yet, but I did go buy the import of the 3rd album. Her second album was fiyah! And my song will always be "Why Don't We Fall In Love". Many extremely talented artists get passed over while Britney Spears continues to get 2, 3, 4 chances to do what, lip synch? Evidently that's what America likes, half clad ass and fake talent. Hell even Christina Aguilera doesn't sell, or other true 4-5 octave voices like Teedra Moses, Debelah Morgan, etc. It's like this in all genres, shit sells and talent walks. About the only person with some talent staying on top is Beyonce and you see how skanky she has to get too.

I admire Amerie for staying true to her music!