Avant is the fifth studio album by American singer Avant. It was released on December 9, 2008, on Capitol Records. Its first single, "When It Hurts" reached number 91 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 15 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Its second single was "Break Ya Back (In a Good Way)".
Critical reception
Andy Kellman from AllMusic rated the album three and a half stars out of five. He felt that "on Avant, he goes both harder and softer [...] In between two poles is a typical Avant album, no bad thing. The album, in fact, contains the best opening three-song sequence of his career." USA Todays Steve Jones described Avant as a collection of the smooth, sensual ballads and simmering midtempo grooves that had become the singer's trademark, praising its mood-setting romantic themes while noting that Avant remained more restrained than contemporaries such as R. Kelly. Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly gave Avant a B rating, praising its "sturdy, no-frills soul tunes" and noting that Avant's singing "complicates club-dude machismo with sensitive-guy melancholy." While he felt that "Break Ya Back" overindulged in "bedroom bravado," he concluded that Avant proves "it's possible to be both a lover and a fighter."
Commercial performance Avant debuted at number 26 on the US Billboard 200 and number six on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming his lowest-charting album on both charts since his debut album My Thoughts (2000). By 2010, it had sold 162,000 copies in the United States.
Track listing
Notes denotes co-producer
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2008) Peakposition
Year-end charts Chart (2009) PositionUS Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)43
References