R&B singer Bobby Valentino previewed tracks from his upcoming sophomore album, “Special Occasion” for Billboard yesterday (July 27). Due Sept. 19 via Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam imprint, the set features production by Bryan Michael Cox, Dre & Vidal, Tim & Bob and Rodney Jerkins, among others.
Valentino co-wrote several tracks, including current single “Wreck,” cowritten and produced by Sean Garrett. A video for the official first single, “Turn the Page,” produced by Jerkins, will be shot this month.
Other confirmed album cuts include “Checking for Me,” “Come Home,” “Tired of Being Alone” and a cover of Babyface’s “Soon As I Get Home.”
“I’m about that real R&B. Nobody’s doing that right now,” Valentino tells Billboard.com. “My approach was to make this album hotter than the first, which was like a classic R&B album to me. I really wanted to step outside the box and step outside things that I would normally write for myself and get ideas on how other producers saw me as an artist.”
Though one or two guest artists may be added to the disc, Valentino says he chooses not to overcrowd his albums with cameos. “I think a lot of artists get away from themselves by having too many guest features,” he says.
“Special Occasion” will be the follow-up to his 2005 self-titled debut, which bowed at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 675,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Early next year, the singer will launch a new line of women’s jeans called Bobby V jeans.
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