This Is M.E. is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, released on September 30, 2014 by Etheridge's own label ME Records, which is distributed by Primary Wave Records. It features eleven tracks on the standard release and four bonus tracks on the Target exclusive version.
Reception Chart history In its first week on the Billboard 200, This Is M.E. debuted at No. 21. It also debuted at No. 23 on the Digital Albums chart, and No. 5 on the Top Rock Albums chart, selling 14,000 copies in the first week. The album has sold 50,000 copies in the United States as of September 2016.
Critical reception Allmusic said of the album, "There's something appealing in hearing Etheridge try a number of new sounds: not everything fits but the restlessness is admirable", and awarded the album three stars. Rolling Stone also awarded the album three stars, and wrote "As always, her voice can walk a fine line between passionate and histrionic, but when she dials it back on the smoldering 'Like A Preacher', it's clear that this honeymoon might be the start of a whole new her."
Promotion Album cover On June 18, 2014, Etheridge posted a video to her YouTube page calling for fans to submit photos of themselves for her new album cover. Etheridge said of this "Because my fans are such a huge part of ME, and I wouldn't be ME without YOU, I took photos submitted by my fans and turned it into my album cover". The finished album cover is a mosaic of numerous small photos of fans, with colors slightly tinted to form the appearance of Etheridge.
Press tour and YouTube duet Etheridge embarked on an extensive promotional tour in support of the album, appearing on such shows as The Meredith Vieira Show, Entertainment Tonight, The View, Good Morning America, and Live with Kelly and Michael. On October 3, 2014, singer/songwriter Sam Tsui released a video on YouTube of his cover of "A Little Hard Hearted," in which featured Etheridge as well.
Track listing All songs written or co-written by Melissa Etheridge.
Personnel Performance Credits Melissa Etheridge – guitar, harmonica, piano, vocals Bernard Grobman – guitar, steel guitar Jon Levine – Hammond organ, bass guitar, piano, clavinet, glockenspiel, keyboards Randy Cooke – drums Angela Hunte – vocals Natalie Walker – vocals Jonathan Li – voices Farrah "Fendi" Fleurimond – vocals MBF – voices Jerrod Bettis – bass guitar Melissa Papp – voices Amritha Vaz – strings Neyla Pekarek – cello, vocals Jon Sosin – banjo, ukulele Bruce Crews – voices Jamale Hopkins – percussion, drums Roccstar – guitar Brie Biblow – voices Natalie Loren Walker – vocals Robert L. Morris jr – drums, percussion
Technical Credits Melissa Etheridge – Composer, Executive Producer Stephen Marcussen – Mastering Jon Levine – Composer, Producer Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis – Composer, Producer Josh Grabelle – Artwork J.J. Blair – Engineer Arden Altino – Composer Angela Hunte – Composer Sergio "Sergical" Tsai – Engineer Adam Kapit – Composer, Producer Nick Radovanovic – Associate Remixing Engineer Arden "Keyz" Altino – Producer Daniel Piscina – Engineer Christian Seibert – Composer Josh Gwilliam – Engineer Andrew Robertson – Engineer Jerrod Bettis – Composer, Producer Lance Powell – Engineer Todd Hurtt – Engineer Roccstar – Composer, Producer Ralph Rhim – Engineer Noah Diamond – Composer Kelsey Eckstein – Composer Ralph Phim – Engineer Marcel Pariseau – Public Relations
Charts Chart (2014–15) Peakposition
References