Sunshine Anderson - "Sunshine At Midnight" era

[Ezekiel 23:20–21]

Sunshine Anderson Returns With New Album
July 27, 2006, 3:25 PM ET
Clover Hope, N.Y.

R&B vocalist Sunshine Anderson will release her sophomore disc, "Sunshine at Midnight," in January via her label, Shining Star Incorporated, and Matthew Knowles' Music World company. Dr. Dre and Raphael Saadiq are among the album's producers.

A video for lead single "Something I Wanna Give You" will be shot next month in Los Angeles by director Gil Green and a second single is expected in November.

Anderson, who joined Knowles' label in August 2004, says the new offering is intentionally devoid of guest features. "It's been a long time so we just want everyone to focus on Sunshine again," the Charlotte, N.C., native tells Billboard.com. "My vocals are raw and honest and pure, with a lot of emotion. So vocally not much has changed, but I've grown as a businesswoman. I'm more involved in this project and I was a little more inspired this time."

Album cuts include "Force of Nature" and "My Problems," which was produced by Dr. Dre. "That song is just about everyday life -- a young lady who lost her job, her boyfriend's been locked up, she's got two kids but the rent is still due," says Anderson. "She's talking about how bad she feels and she wishes she could just smoke and drink her problems away."

Another track, the Saadiq-helmed "Wear the Crown," is more personal to Anderson. "It's about this girl who's kind of overwhelmed when this guy walks into the Waffle House one day," she laughs. "She's just like, 'You make me feel like that I can wear the crown, that I'm the new queen in town.'"

"Sunshine at Midnight" will be the follow-up to Anderson's 2001 Soulife/Atlantic debut "Your Woman," which bowed at No. 5 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 487,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It spawned the single "Heard It All Before," which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

SOURCE

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Listen to "Something I Wanna Give You":
wm.allaccess.com/allaccess/sunssome.wma

[Caviar]

whoa..the release isnt until january? :( i guess they are going to build up hype,

[vinyl]

It's about time!

[SHOOTER]

Her first sold pretty damn good considering her second single was ignored! I hope she can make a strong comeback!!

[strong4PMB!]

Hot album title! I like...a couple...songs off her debut!

[reception]

Reviewed by Steve Jones
USA Today
Sunshine Anderson, Sunshine at Midnight: (* * 1/2 out of four) R&B return

It has been six years since we last heard from Anderson, and she’s still a woman both scorned and scornful. She has heard it all before from trifling, philandering lovers, and she has no problem sending them packing with their ears stinging. Not that she is always down on love. Two of the best tracks — Force of Nature and Wear the Crown — show that her skies are not cloudy all day.

[SHOOTER]

I had no idea a topic had already been started on her album. I searched and everything!!

[GiveIt2Me!]

nydailynews

Shining through

SUNSHINE ANDERSON. "Sunshine at Midnight." (Music World)



If Mary J. Blige wants "no more drama" in her life, Sunshine Anderson is more than happy to pile on gobs of it.

For the R&B singer's likable second album, she spends three quarters of her time braying about men who conveniently forget to mention the children they've had with other women, guys who make a booty calls and then neglect to show up, lovers who cut you off from your friends, men who send you deep into debt, and those who, on top of all those qualities, aren't even that good in bed.

"I had to fake it more times than I can count my hands," Anderson sings on the CD's opening track.

Zingers of this sort are hardly rare in R&B, but Anderson sings them with an admirable sense of proportion. Unlike Blige, who rivets listeners with her take-no-prisoners wail, Anderson needs no such abandon to attract. She trusts her instrument enough to find soul while hitting the notes straight on.

It helps that Anderson has been given so many notes worth hitting. "Sunshine at Midnight" boasts lots of strong tunes and fine beats, especially in its angrier first half.

It also arrives with a dramatic back story.

Anderson, who hails from the same town as soul singers Anthony Hamilton and Fantasia (Charlotte, N.C.), struggled for years before finding a solid early backer in singer Macy Gray. That scratchy-voiced star managed Anderson around the time of her debut, 2001's "Your Woman." While the album sold well, her label folded soon after it came out and it took seemingly forever for Anderson to find her footing again. Six years passed between her debut and this new CD, during which time Anderson sank into a deep depression.

Luckily, the new album has the rallying cry of a comeback. It's released on a label run by Beyoncé's dad, Matthew Knowles. The music's defiant tone dovetails well with the persona Beyoncé long ago honed. While Anderson isn't as compelling in the happier, slow jams that take up nearly half the tracks, the album's finale strongly revives the feeling she communicates best: vengeance.

Originally published on January 21, 2007

[SHOOTER]

Go Sunshine!!

[Damage]

Sunshine Anderson Sunshine at Midnight (Music World) R&B

Six years after her breakthrough hit, "Heard It All Before," Macy Gray's ex-protégée has found a new mentor in Beyoncé's dad/manager, Mathew Knowles. Anderson lacks his daughter's polish, but her raspy voice has a street-smart edge that evokes early Mary J. Blige. The first half of her second album is packed with rump-shakin' fits of fury, while slow jams dominate the latter. Anderson's talent is fully grown, but her infatuation with thugsand their underwearis a juvenile distraction. B

>DOWNLOAD THIS: "Something I Wanna Give You"

[SHOOTER]

fucked up that they locked my thread. bastids.

[Ezekiel 23:20–21]

Billboard review:

Sunshine at Midnight
SUNSHINE ANDERSON
Label: Music World

While some singers thrive on idealism, Sunshine Anderson comes from the perspective of "What have you done for me lately?" With her 2001 anthem "Heard It All Before," from her debut "Your Woman," the no-nonsense songstress spoke for fed-up women everywhere. Those earnest tunes also permeate her sophomore effort, "Sunshine at Midnight." Whether blaming a longtime partner for consuming her time ("My Whole Life") or reveling in true love ("Unbelievable"), Anderson sounds determined to send a message. While her shrill soprano pipes won't bowl you over, her candor surely will—check phrases like "you were only so-so in bed" ("Something I Wanna Give You") and "excuse me, but I love his dirty drawers" ("Forces of Nature"). The stories are nothing new, but when Anderson pleads "holla if you feel my pain," you can't help but holla back. —Clover Hope

[George]

I hope she debuts ok this week.

[SHOOTER]

"My Whole Life" is slated to be released next.

[George]

She needs more backing from her label.

[tortuga]

nauticaiu04 said:

whoa..the release isnt until january? :( i guess they are going to build up hype,

and what hype that was!

[areyoureadytojump]

Debuts at #85:

85 Anderson, Sunshine - Sunshine At... 9,590 0 0 9,590 0 0 9,590

[SHOOTER]

Considering her single flopped, I'd say that's not too bad.


And her 2nd single has been changed from "My Whole Life" to "Force of Nature".

[George]

^ I like that song.

[SHOOTER]

I liked it too until she sang about loving his dirty draws. eeeeeew.

[areyoureadytojump]

3/17/07 chart:

4 MWM 197 158 ANDERSON*SUNSHINE SUNSHINE AT MIDNIGHT 5,011 +14% 4,410 32,318

[musicmania001]

Oh she's sold 32k that isnt as bad for a album with no promotion and no label backing. Blame horrible Papa Knowles. Just imagine what label support would have done for her!!! Had she been promoted right and had she had some live performances she would be doing muc much better I believe. She's cool though!!!

[SHOOTER]

I wonder what's contributing to this sales surge.

[George]

Me too. Maybe cause her album is still $9.72 @ Walmart, and $10.99 at Target...

[Rabbit]

SHE NEEDS PROMOTION

[busyboy]

04/14/2007:

ANDERSON*SUNSHINE SUNSHINE AT MIDNIGHT 2,098 43,333

[Rabbit]

whats her singles. papa knowles did her wrong!

[George]

ymf90 said:

whats her singles. papa knowles did her wrong!

She had "Something I Wanna Give You" as the lead. Her second (and current) single is "Force of Nature".

[Ezekiel 23:20–21]

Billboard review of "Force Of Nature."

Force of Nature
SUNSHINE ANDERSON
Producer(s): Alanzo Jackson
Genre: R&B
Label: Publishers: Tru Luv/ASCAP; Soul Finga/Nottinghill/ Intersect, BMI

Soulful songstress Sunshine Anderson had early success with 2001 gold debut "Your Woman," but has not matched sales with second effort "Sunshine at Midnight." New single "Force of Nature" exposes Anderson's masterful songwriting, as she muses over love for a man who doesn't match the standards of her overachieving parents. Listeners can relate to placing happiness and compatibility over parental consent. Following in the successful paths of Corrine Bailey Ray and Jennifer Hudson, Anderson should make an impact as a renewed "Force of Nature" for R&B soul. Already impacting adult R&B radio, her upcoming tour with Brian McKnight and Joe should return luminescence to this great talent.—Charles Perez

[busyboy]

04/21/2007:

ANDERSON*SUNSHINE SUNSHINE AT MIDNIGHT 1,754 45,087