Secrets | ||||
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Studio album by Toni Braxton | ||||
Released | June 18, 1996 | |||
Recorded | January 1995 – April 1996 | |||
Studio |
Various
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Genre | ||||
Length | 54:56 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Toni Braxton chronology | ||||
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Singles from Secrets | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Robert Christgau | A− |
Entertainment Weekly | A− |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | Average |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Spin | 7/10 |
Secrets is the second studio album by American singer Toni Braxton, released on June 18, 1996 by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The album was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 1997 Grammy Awards. Secrets has been certified octuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Worldwide, the album has sold over 15 million copies. In support of the album, Braxton embarked on the Secrets Tour, playing dates in North America and Europe from August 1996 to October 1997.
The album's first song "Come On Over Here" is a "finger-poppingly upbeat", sultry groove track produced by Tony Rich. It was described as "a neo-Motown composition". The second track and lead single, the airily funky "You're Makin' Me High", was produced by Babyface and Bryce Wilson. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. The third track "There's No Me Without You" is a romantic song. The fourth track and second single "Un-Break My Heart" is a ballad written by Diane Warren. She played the finished song to Arista Records president Clive Davis. He thought it would be perfect for Toni Braxton. With background vocals by Shanice Wilson and produced by David Foster, the song spent 11 weeks at number one at pop and 14-week stay at number one on adult contemporary radio stations in late 1996. It also won a 1997 Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It is a song of blistering heartbreak, as Braxton sings to her former lover, begging him to return to her and undo all the pain he has cause. The fifth track "Talking in His Sleep" is about adultery.