By the time Cassie's first album was released in August 2006, her first single had been on the Billboard pop chart for nearly four months and reached nine million plays through her MySpace page. The page, set up in late 2005, was part of a strategy that sparked a lot of chatter and eventually landed the model-turned-vocalist on Diddy's Bad Boy label. With plenty of anticipation already in place, Diddy stepped aside, and allowed his new signing -- along with her musical partner, Ryan Leslie, a studio do-it-all with credits on songs by Britney Spears and Donell Jones -- to run her course. "Me&U," the decidedly unwholesome track that excited so many MySpace} users, became one of the spring/summer hits of 2006, following the likes of Ciara's "Goodies" and Teairra Marí's "Make Her Feel Good" as a sexy, assertive single with an intricate and space-filled arrangement that doesn't batter the ears into submission. The looming synthesizer patterns, along with Cassie's upfront vocal, combine with an ice-cream-truck melody to give it a slightly twisted and threatening edge contained by none of its like-sounding predecessors. The second single, the snapping and swirling "Long Way 2 Go," is just as irresistible in its flippant playfulness. Cassie scolds a hopeless suitor with such cutting nonchalance -- she's basically swatting a fly -- that you can see her delivering the lines by cellphone as she eyes a display of designer shoes. As a vocalist, Cassie has enough character and ability to sell her material without fail. And there will never not be a need for a vocalist who doesn't handle each stage of a relationship as if her life depends on it. ~ Andy KellmanMySpace} page. The page, set up in late 2005, was part of a strategy that sparked a lot of chatter and eventually landed the model-turned-vocalist on Diddy's Bad Boy label. With plenty of anticipation already in place, Diddy stepped aside, and allowed his new signing -- along with her musical partner, Ryan Leslie, a studio do-it-all with credits on songs by Britney Spears and Donell Jones -- to run her course. "Me&U," the decidedly unwholesome track that excited so many MySpace users, became one of the spring/summer hits of 2006, following the likes of Ciara's "Goodies" and Teairra Marí's "Make Her Feel Good" as a sexy, assertive single with an intricate and space-filled arrangement that doesn't batter the ears into submission. The looming synthesizer patterns, along with Cassie's upfront vocal, combine with an ice-cream-truck melody to give it a slightly twisted and threatening edge contained by none of its like-sounding predecessors. The second single, the snapping and swirling "Long Way 2 Go," is just as irresistible in its flippant playfulness. Cassie scolds a hopeless suitor with such cutting nonchalance -- she's basically swatting a fly -- that you can see her delivering the lines by cellphone as she eyes a display of designer shoes. As a vocalist, Cassie has enough character and ability to sell her material without fail. And there will never not be a need for a vocalist who doesn't handle each stage of a relationship as if her life depends on it. ~ Andy KellmanMySpace users, became one of the spring/summer hits of 2006, following the likes of Ciara's "Goodies" and Teairra Marí's "Make Her Feel Good" as a sexy, assertive single with an intricate and space-filled arrangement that doesn't batter the ears into submission. The looming synthesizer patterns, along with Cassie's upfront vocal, combine with an ice-cream-truck melody to give it a slightly twisted and threatening edge contained by none of its like-sounding predecessors. The second single, the snapping and swirling "Long Way 2 Go," is just as irresistible in its flippant playfulness. Cassie scolds a hopeless suitor with such cutting nonchalance -- she's basically swatting a fly -- that you can see her delivering the lines by cellphone as she eyes a display of designer shoes. As a vocalist, Cassie has enough character and ability to sell her material without fail. And there will never not be a need for a vocalist who doesn't handle each stage of a relationship as if her life depends on it. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
Ryan Leslie (Various), Ryan Leslie (Arranger), Ryan Leslie (Engineer), Ryan Leslie (Mixing), Charlie Langella (Photography), Ryan Leslie (Vocals), Gwendolyn Niles (Executive Producer), Gwendolyn Niles (A&R), Eric Archibald (Stylist), Gwendolyn Niles (Project Manager), Ed Woods (Executive Producer), Akisia Grigsby (Creative Director), Brandee Younger (Harp), Ryan Leslie (Instrumentation), Ryan Leslie (Programming), Kevin Krouse (Engineer), Kevin Krouse (Mixing), Ryan Leslie (Executive Producer), Harve Pierre (Executive Producer), Ryan Leslie (Audio Production), Galadriel Masterson (Engineer), Hopey Rock (Guitar), Ryan Leslie (Piano), Galadriel Masterson (Vocals), Cassie (Vocals (Background)), Ryan Leslie (Producer), Chris Gehringer (Mastering), Akisia Grigsby (Design), Hopey Rock (Vocals), Hopey Rock (Engineer)
Ryan Leslie produced most of the album, which is a mix of contemporary pop and R&B. Cassie said in an interview, "I rap, I sing, I do my R&B, I do my slow songs and stuff that the girls will love, I have a down South joint, I have a rock song that I did with my girls this band called Pretty Boys."[1] She paid tribute to her Filipino culture by incorporating OPM sounds into some of the ballads.
Charts
Cassie debuted at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 100,374 copies sold in its first week. It stayed in the top twenty for two weeks, in the top forty for three weeks and on the chart for twelve weeks. As of April 2008, the album has sold 321,000 copies.[2] The album's first single, "Me & U", peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit the top twenty in six other countries. The second single, "Long Way 2 Go", did not perform as well as "Me & U" in the U.S., only reaching number ninety-seven on the Hot 100. Its music video did, however, peak at number three on MTV's TRL, and the single did well in the United Kingdom and reached number twelve on the UK Singles Chart.
Singles
"Me & U" Released as the lead single from the album on May 16, 2006.
"Long Way 2 Go" Released as the second single from the album on September 2006.
The third single was rumored to be either "Ditto", "Call U Out", or "Kiss Me", but was canceled due to low album sales.[3]
