The ArchAndroid

The ArchAndroid
Image of an African American female shoulders up with headgear consisting of multiple buildings and sculptures whilst wearing large triangular earrings she looks into the camera with robotic style metallic shoulder-wear. The background of the image is blue with it darkening away from her head with the title placed across the top of the cover and her name and the words "Suites II and III" of the bottom left hand side whilst four circles three of which are shaded in are placed on the bottom right hand side.
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 18, 2010 (2010-05-18)
StudioWondaland, Atlanta, Georgia
Genre
Length68:35
Label
Producer
Janelle Monáe chronology
Metropolis: The Chase Suite
(2007)
The ArchAndroid
(2010)
The Electric Lady
(2013)
Singles from The ArchAndroid
  1. "Tightrope"
    Released: February 11, 2010
  2. "Cold War"
    Released: August 8, 2010

The ArchAndroid is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Janelle Monáe, released on May 18, 2010, by Wondaland Arts Society, Bad Boy Records, and Atlantic Records. Production for the album took place at Wondaland Studios in Atlanta and was primarily handled by Monáe, Nate "Rocket" Wonder, and Chuck Lightning, with only one song without production by Monáe. She also collaborated for certain songs with Saul Williams, Big Boi, of Montreal, and Deep Cotton.

The album is composed of the second and third parts to Monáe's Metropolis concept album series. Incorporating conceptual elements of Afrofuturism and science fiction, The ArchAndroid continues the series' fictional tale of a messianic android and features lyrical themes of love, identity, and self-realization. Critical commentaries have compared the album to the works of David Bowie, Outkast, Prince and Michael Jackson.

The ArchAndroid debuted at number 17 on the US Billboard 200, selling 21,000 copies in its first week, while charting modestly in several other countries. Monáe promoted the album with the release of two singles – "Tightrope" and "Cold War" – and concert tours in 2010 and 2011. A widespread critical success, The ArchAndroid received praise for its thematic concepts and Monáe's eclectic musical range. It later ranked among 2010's best albums in many critics' lists and earned the singer a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album.

  1. ^ Kot, Greg (April 27, 2018). "Janelle Monae comes back down to earth on 'Dirty Computer'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  2. ^ Abebe, Nitsuh (August 14, 2011). "R&B Records With an Indie Affect". New York. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  3. ^ Scholtes, Peter S. (September 15, 2011). "Janelle Monae". City Pages. Minneapolis. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  4. ^ Wood, Mikael (April 6, 2010). "Do the Tightrope". The Village Voice. New York. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2021.