Meet the Girl Next Door

Meet the Girl Next Door
Studio album by Lil' Mo
Released April 29, 2003
Recorded 2002–2003
Genre
Label
Producer
Lil' Mo chronology

Based on a True Story
(2001)		 Meet the Girl Next Door
(2003)		 Pain & Paper
(2007)
Singles from Meet the Girl Next Door
  1. "4Ever"
    Released: February 18, 2003
  2. "Ten Commandments"
    Released: October 25, 2002

Meet the Girl Next Door is the second album of American R&B recording artist Lil' Mo. Released by Elektra Records in April 2003, it was her last album produced under the company as well as the last to feature a collaboration with close friend, rapper and producer Missy Elliott. Recorded during Mo's eighth-month preagnancy, it features guest appearances by Fabolous, Lil' Kim, Missy Elliott, Chucky Thompson, Bryan-Michael Cox, Warryn Campbell, Precision and rapper Free.

Background

Less than a year after Mo's debut was certified Gold by the RIAA, Mo began recording a follow up to the album. She decided to work with "hot" producers that "didn't get the credit they deserved."[1]

Reception

Critical response

Reviews for the album were mostly positive. Unlike her debut, Meet the Girl Next Door was given 4/5 stars by Andy Kellman of AllMusic, who described Mo's voice more "rangy" and "versatile". He also stated that the album had terrific highlights, as well as more better lyrics than her debut. However, he described the album being, "four songs too long." He also stated that, "... it's apparent that Lil' Mo really ought to devote the bulk of her working time — if not all of it — to making music."

Commercial performance

Upon its release, Meet the Girl Next Door debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 17 and peaked at number 4 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. To date, it remained her highest-charting album on the latter chart. The album sold an estimate of 110,000 copies within its first week, and went on to sell 250,000 more towards the end of the year.

In February 2003, "4Ever", featuring Fabolous, was released as a lead single for the album, and received somewhat lukewarm reviews by most critics. The song peaked at number 37 on Billboard Hot 100 and at number 13 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. "Ten Commandments", featuring Lil' Kim, was slated to follow as the second single; however, due to limited promotion, and failed attempts for a video, the single was never properly released. "21 Answers" (a known response to 50 Cent's "21 Questions") was sent to radio in May 2003 as a promotional single. Because it did not finalize in time to meet the album's deadline, it never appeared on the original tracklisting. Because of lack of promotion for the album, as well as no new singles to be released, Mo left Elektra Records in 2004.

Track listing

No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "Intro"  Lil' Mo 1:18
2. "Why Do We Fall in Love"  Precision 3:43
3. "Doing Me Wrong"  
 4:16
4. "4Ever" (featuring Fabolous)
  • Bryan Michael Cox
  • Craig Love
 4:30
5. "Ten Commandments" (featuring Lil Kim)
 5:05
6. "Ain't No Reason"  
  • Precision
 3:32
7. "Heaven" (Interlude)
  • Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell
 1:54
8. "Brand Nu"  Antwan "Amedeus" Thompson 4:25
9. "1st Time"  
  • Bastiany
 4:24
10. "So Lost Without You"  Bastiany 4:00
11. "Shoulda Known"  Chucky Thompson 5:32
12. "Disturbing Phone Call" (Interlude)Lil' Mo 1:22
13. "Get Over It"  
  • Bastiany
 3:30
14. "It's Your World"  
  • Bastiany
 4:02
15. "Letter From My #1 Fan" (Interlude)
  • Lil' Mo
 0:32
16. "Letter to My #1 Fan"  
  • Chucky Thompson
4:27

References

  1. ↑ Lorez, Jeff. "From 'Superwoman' to 'Girl Next Door'." Billboard. April 5, 2003: 17. Print.
  2. ↑ "Meet The Girl Next Door: Lil' Mo". Amazon. Amazon.com. Retrieved May 23, 2013.

External links