Heartbreak on a Full Moon
Heartbreak on a Full Moon is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Chris Brown. The album is a double-disc, consisting of 45 tracks, and was released digitally on October 31, 2017, and onto CD three days later by RCA Records.[1] Brown worked with several producers, including Prince Chrishan, A1, Amadeus, Boi-1da, D. A. Doman, and Scott Storch. The album also features guest appearances by Jhené Aiko, R. Kelly, Dej Loaf, Lil Yachty, Usher, Gucci Mane, Yo Gotti, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Kodak Black, Future, Young Thug, Ty Dolla Sign, and Verse Simmonds, with the deluxe edition having additional features from Agnez Mo, Trippie Redd, Ella Mai, and Solo Lucci. Recording sessions for Heartbreak on a Full Moon took place between the end of 2015 and August 2017.[2]
Heartbreak on a Full Moon
October 31, 2017
2015–2017
- Paramount (Los Angeles)
- Record Plant (Los Angeles)
- Platinum Sound (New York City)
- Jungle City (New York City)
- Quad (New York City)
- CBE (Tarzana)
- Chalice (Hollywood)
158:33
- RCA
- CBE
- A1
- ADP
- Amadeus
- Ayo
- BHam
- Boi-1da
- Cam Wallace
- Cardiak
- Cratos
- D. A. Doman
- Danja
- Deko
- Don Jarvis
- Daecolm Holland
- Dre Moon
- EY
- Foreign Teck
- Hitmaka
- ISM
- J-Bo
- J-Louis
- Keyz
- Milk+Sizz
- Nikhil
- Nija
- OG Parker
- OZ
- P2J
- Pip Kembo
- Prince Chrishan
- Qkauztion
- Richie Souf
- Scott Storch
- Scribz
- Sean Momberger
- Sevn Thomas
- Smash David
- Soundz
- Syk Sense
- Tariq Beats
- The Martian Prince Chrishanz
- Txpski
- Vontae Thomas
- Xeryus G
Heartbreak on a Full Moon is an R&B and hip hop album that also borrows from genres such as alternative R&B, trap, pop and dancehall. Its lyrics are thought to have been inspired by Brown's breakup with Karrueche Tran. The album received polarizing reviews from music critics, that praised Brown's performances, but expressed divided opinions relating to the album's unorthodox length.[3]
One week after its release Heartbreak on a Full Moon was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 units in the United States, and became the first album by an R&B male artist since Usher's Confessions (2004) to be certified gold within a week.[4] It has since been certified double platinum by the RIAA. Six official singles were released from Heartbreak on a Full Moon: "Grass Ain't Greener", "Party", "Privacy", "Pills & Automobiles", "Questions", and "Tempo".
Heartbreak on a Full Moon is credited with pioneering lengthier albums in the music streaming era, paving the way for urban artists, such as Drake, Kanye West and SZA, to make albums with over 20 songs.[5]
Music and lyrics
Heartbreak on a Full Moon is an R&B album,[16] that also contains songs that borrow from genres such as hip hop, alternative R&B, trap, pop and dancehall.[17][18][19][20] Brown's performances on the album often switch from his R&B singing to his rapping.[19]
The songwriting of the album was noted for being "sentimental", "sultry", "personal" and "explicit",[16] showing every emotional aspect of what's been on the singer's mind after a heavy-hearted breakup.[19] Its themes include regret, love turning into hate, internal conflict and the impossibility of getting over someone, while depicting the singer's try to escape his sorrows through a reckless and promiscuous lifestyle, then realizing how that behaviour can't numb the pain of his heartbreak. According to Andy Kellman of AllMusic, the character portrayed by Brown on Heartbreak on a Full Moon "often mood swings from playboy-hedonistic to sweet-romantic to scorned-acidic to sorrowful-heartbroken".[20] Analyzing its lyrical content Prezzy of The Boombox said that "throughout the first disc the singer tries to exorcise the demons of love lost, while on the second one he mostly pours out the torments of his heartbreak".[16] Renowned for Sound stated that "The first disc is a hedonistic mix of moody and lascivious", while the second half of the album has a "somber feel", with the "break-up tracks" showing the singer's "emotional side".[21] Vulture's writer Craig Jenkins found the sexual content of various songs of the first half of Heartbreak on a Full Moon to be "loaded with raunchy invitations for sex" and filled with "X-rated" subjects like "sex in hallways, drunken hookups, and girls who mix cocaine and painkillers.[19] Jenkins wrote that the "breakup tracks' intensity" is elevated by "shattered, jilted reflection and profound yearning" transmitted through Brown's "pleading tenor voice".[19]
Artwork
The cover art for the album was announced on October 5, 2017.[23] It consists of a pink full moon in a starry night sky, with a graphic of a bleeding human heart on top of it.[23][24][25][26]
Ebbiana of The Source praised the cover for being "very creative".[27] Capital Xtra's Gayle Blewnsky said that the cover is "cartoon-esque".[28] ABC News's Randy Holmes commended its drawing style, saying that the "anatomically-correct heart looks as though it was just ripped out of someone's chest".[29]
Release and promotion
On January 10, 2016, Brown previewed 9 unreleased songs during a live on Periscope, and the song "Grass Ain't Greener" on Instagram.[30][31][32][33] From January through March 2016, he released videos on his Instagram profile previewing the unreleased songs "Lost and Found"[34] "Sip", "Notice" and "Dead Wrong".[35][36][37] In late February and March he performed some of the previewed songs live during his club performances in Barcelona and Madrid.[38] On April 27 through Twitter, he announced the European leg of his One Hell of a Nite Tour, the documentary Welcome to My Life, his collaborative mixtape with his OHB group, Before the Trap: Nights in Tarzana, and the release of a new single on May 5, the day of Brown's 27th birthday.[39][40][41] On May 3 he revealed that the single would be the already previewed "Grass Ain't Greener", announcing his eighth solo album Heartbreak on a Full Moon.[42][43]
Brown also released extra tracks on SoundCloud during this time. On July 7, 2016, he released two tracks, "My Friend" and "A Lot of Love", in the wake of the then-recent shooting in Dallas.[44][45] On August 31, 2016, less than 24 hours after being released from jail on charges of suspected assault with a deadly weapon, Brown released "What Would You Do?".[46]
From November 2016 through January 2017, he continued to preview unreleased material from the album sessions.[47] Finally, on December 16, 2016, he released the second official single from the album, "Party", which features guest vocals from Usher and Gucci Mane. In February he announced that "Privacy" would be the next single,[48] which was released on March 24, 2017.[49] Later in April he previewed the songs "Flex On You" and "I Love Her", playing them in some club appearances.[50]
The initial track listing of Heartbreak on a Full Moon was announced by Brown on his Instagram account on May 2, 2017, saying that it would be a double-disc album of 40 tracks, and that it would be released in June 2017.[51] On May 11, he released an additional SoundCloud track with rapper Nas called "Die Young".[52]
In the first days of June 2017, 46 unreleased songs by Chris Brown were leaked. The material consisted of discarded songs from his then-recent past works, few demos recorded by him for other artists, and some tracks recorded during the sessions for Heartbreak on a Full Moon, most of them were unfinished versions.[53][54] On June 7, 2017, during the red carpet interviews at the premiere of his own documentary, Welcome To My Life, Brown announced that the album's release date was postponed to mid-summer. That same month he continued previewing unreleased songs from the album sessions.[55]
In July 2017, he announced the pending release of upcoming singles from his album.[56] Later on August 4, 2017, he released the album's fourth single "Pills & Automobiles", which features guest vocals from Yo Gotti, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Kodak Black.[57] On August 14, 2017, he announced the release of the fifth official single, "Questions", and on August 16, he revealed the album's release date of October 31, 2017.[58] In the run up to the album's release, on October 5, 2017, Brown unveiled the official artwork on his Instagram profile, sharing a video with a visual of a blood-dripping human heart set against a pink full moon, with a snippet of the song "Heartbreak on a Full Moon" in the background.[23]
On October 13, 2017, Brown released the promotional single "High End", that features guest vocals from Future and Young Thug, and announced the final tracklist of the album.[59][60] On October 19, the singer released three songs from the album, "Confidence", "Tempo" and "Only 4 Me", as an anticipation for the close release.[61] On October 25, Brown organized with Tidal a free pop-up concert in New York City to perform the singles of the album.[62] The following day, he released three more songs to anticipate the album, "Everybody Knows", "Hope You Do" and "Pull Up". A couple days before Heartbreak on a Full Moon’s release, Brown partnered with Spotify's Rap Caviar for a segment where he painted the album cover, mostly from dancing around the canvas.[63]
Heartbreak on a Full Moon was released digitally on October 31, 2017, and onto CD three days later by RCA Records.[17] On December 13, 2017, he released a 12-track deluxe edition called Cuffing Season – 12 Days of Christmas, containing songs left off the original album.[64][65]
Tour
On March 27, 2018, Chris Brown announced an official headlining concert tour to further promote the album, titled Heartbreak on a Full Moon Tour. The tour began on June 19 in Seattle, at White River Amphitheatre. The opening acts for the tour were 6lack, H.E.R., Rich the Kid, and Jacquees.[66] The tour included 27 shows and ended on August 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the T-Mobile Arena.[67]