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Return of Dragon

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Return of Dragon
The cover features Sisqó wearing a black tank top, pants and sunglasses, pointing his fingers down to a vibration effect. Both the artist's name and album title appear on the left, colored in platinum and white respectively.
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 19, 2001
RecordedAugust 2000 – April 2001
GenreR&B, hip hop
Length42:19
Label
Producer
Sisqó chronology
Unleash the Dragon
(1999)
Return of Dragon
(2001)
Last Dragon
(2015)
Singles from Return of Dragon
  1. "Can I Live"
    Released: May 8, 2001
  2. "Dance For Me"
    Released: July 12, 2001

Return of Dragon is the second solo studio album by American R&B recording artist Sisqó of the group Dru Hill. It was released on June 19, 2001 on Def Soul Recordings. The album did very well on the charts but its singles, "Can I Live" and "Dance for Me", were commercial disappointments compared to his debut album, Unleash the Dragon (1999). Despite the fact that Sisqó announced a third single, "Dream", this never materialized due to the commercial failure of the album. The song "Without You" was originally planned to be featured on Dru Hill's third album, Dru World Order but tensions grew between the group while working on the album and it was put on hold. Return of Dragon was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for excess of one million copies. Return of Dragon would be Sisqó's last album until Last Dragon (2015). After he returned to his group, following the release of this album, Sisqo was dropped from Def Soul Recordings and his group two years later.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic61/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB[3]
NME[4]
Q[5]
Robert ChristgauC+[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
Vibe[8]

Return of Dragon garnered generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average rating of 61, based on 9 reviews.[1]

David Crowley of Vibe praised the more romantic songs off the album for showcasing Sisqó's vocal abilities, concluding that, "Return of the Dragon largely shows Sisqó's growth as a musician and a man. And you don't even need a thong to enjoy it."[8] AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier commended the record's songwriters and producers for crafting a lean track list that offers catchy singles, calling it "an energetic, slick, and stylish album with plenty of subtle sex and overt gloss — everything early-2000s pop listeners demand in their superstars." He concluded that "In short, Sisqó gives you exactly what you want — assuming you liked his debut album — offering a can't-miss collection of should-be hits and even more of his ceaseless crooning."[2] Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly praised the album's mixture of raunchy sex anthems and sensitive love ballads, calling it "a vast improvement over a debut that felt as artistically flimsy as the subject matter of 'Thong Song'."[3] Barry Walters, writing for Rolling Stone, said that despite the commendable efforts of the producers to experiment with R&B instrumentations, they fall under the weight of studio mixing and Sisqó's shortcomings as a lyricist, calling it "a messy album, one that's instrumentally inventive, melodically underdeveloped, vocally overcooked and lyrically just plain lazy."[7] Victoria Segal of NME was critical of the glossy production and so-called romantic lyrics throughout the record.[4] Britt Robson of The Washington Post also gave a review concluding that "Musically, "Return of Dragon" is much stronger than its predecessor. A phalanx of producers (most notably Al West on "Infatuated," Teddy Riley on "Can I Live" and Nathan "N8" Walton on "Last Night") provides catchy, digitized riffs that give the up-tempo tracks the panoramic sheen of a video game. Sisqo lives up to his end of the bargain with a double-threat blend of stirring R&B vocals and sharp rap cadences. The lyrical content of the tunes and the way they are juxtaposed for maximum stylistic contrast throughout the disc, however, are fickle to a fault and laden with superficial sincerity."; Ending with ""Return of Dragon" is practically destined to move millions of units. Sisqo, who in interviews frequently alludes to his blue-collar upbringing, has a right to be proud of that. Yet to all but his most delusional fans, it's a thoroughly impersonal triumph."[9]

Track listing

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Return of Dragon track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"
  • Nathan Mooring
  • Jarod Barnes
  • Jarod B
  • Boy Genius
0:52
2."Not Afraid"
  • West
  • J.P. Edmund
2:57
3."Infatuated"
  • West
  • Andrews
  • West
  • Edmund
  • Andrews
3:28
4."Can I Live" (featuring The Dragon Family)
Riley4:04
5."Without You" (performed by Dru Hill)James MossP.A.J.A.M.3:09
6."Homewrecker"Tricky Stewart3:58
7."Last Night"
  • Nathan Walton
  • Tavia Ivey
  • D'Gregory Craig
N83:44
8."Close Your Eyes" (Interlude)
  • Mooring
  • Barnes
  • Jarod B
  • Boy Genius
1:12
9."Close Your Eyes"
  • Andrews
  • Mooring
  • Barnes
  • Jarod B
  • Boy Genius
4:27
10."Dance for Me"
  • Marquis Collins
  • Andrews
  • Rich Shelton
  • Loren Hill
  • Kevin Veney
  • James Travis
One Up4:10
11."Off the Corner" (featuring The Associates)
  • Collins
  • Andrews
  • Shelton
  • Hill
  • Veney
  • Travis
  • D'Wayne Jones
  • Clifton Beaufort
One Up5:40
12."Dream" (featuring Chinky)
  • Campbell
  • Edmonds
4:46
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."You Don't Know Me" (featuring LovHer)
  • West
  • Andrews
West3:09

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Return of Dragon
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[30] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Reviews for Return Of Dragon by Sisqo". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Birchmeier, Jason. "Return of Dragon - Sisqó". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Sinclair, Tom (June 15, 2001). "Return of Dragon". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Segal, Victoria (July 21, 2001). "Sisqo : Return Of Dragon". NME. IPC Media. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  5. ^ "Sisqo - Return Of Dragon CD Album". Cduniverse.com. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Sisqo". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Walters, Barry (July 5, 2001). "Recordings: Sisqo, Return Of The Dragon, 2.5 Stars". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 18, 2001. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Crowley, David (July 2001). "Sisqo 'Return of the Dragon'". Vibe. 9 (7): 130. ISSN 1070-4701. Retrieved November 25, 2016. [permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Robson, Britt (June 20, 2001). "Sisqo, Barely Beyond the Thong Thang". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  10. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 255.
  11. ^ "ARIA Urban Chart – Week Commencing 6th August 2001" (PDF). The ARIA Report (597): 14. August 6, 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2008. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sisqó – Return of Dragon" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sisqó – Return of Dragon" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  14. ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. July 12, 2001. Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  15. ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. July 18, 2001. Archived from the original on July 23, 2001. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sisqó – Return of Dragon" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  17. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 28. July 7, 2001. p. 15. Retrieved April 10, 2023 – via World Radio History.
  18. ^ "Lescharts.com – Sisqó – Return of Dragon". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  19. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sisqó – Return of Dragon" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  20. ^ "リターン・オブ・ドラゴン" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  22. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sisqó – Return of Dragon". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  23. ^ "Sisqo | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  24. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  25. ^ "Sisqo Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  26. ^ "Sisqo Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  27. ^ "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2001". Jam!. January 8, 2002. Archived from the original on November 22, 2002. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  28. ^ "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  29. ^ "British album certifications – Sisqo – Return of the Dragon". British Phonographic Industry.
  30. ^ "American album certifications – Sisqo – Return of Dragon". Recording Industry Association of America.
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