Killer Love by Nicole Scherzinger

Killer Love is the debut solo studio album by American singer Nicole Scherzinger. It was released on March 18, 2011 by Interscope Records, in association with its affiliated record labels. Scherzinger had been working on a solo album since 2005, under the title Her Name Is Nicole and was originally due for release in 2007. However, unsuccessful singles and poor timing led the project being pushed back numerous times. After releasing The Pussycat Dolls' second album Doll Domination (2008), Scherzinger shelved the project entirely citing bad timing and creative issues as the reasons for its cancellation. Many of its songs were reassigned to the Dolls or other artists. In 2010, Moroccan producer RedOne was brought on board for a second attempt at launching her solo album. Completed in 2011 and titled Killer Love, Scherzinger's debut album features a combination of up-tempo pop, dance-pop and R&B songs, as well as mid-tempo and down-tempo ballads. Songs contain influences of rock, soul and funk music, with the specific aim of selecting songs and productions which would lend themselves to being performed live. Amongst the fourteen-song track listing are two collaborations, one with Enrique Iglesias, and one with Sting, the latter of which was a leftover from the Her Name Is Nicole recording sessions. RedOne and his associates produced almost half of the album, while other contributions come from the likes of Jim Jonsin, Stargate, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart and Boi-1da. It would be her first and only solo studio album with Interscope, after she ended her ten-year partnership in 2014 and signed a record deal with RCA Records. Killer Love was preceded by the release of "Poison", which peaked at number three and numbers seven in the United Kingdom and Ireland, respectively. The album's second single, "Don't Hold Your Breath", would go on to top the UK Singles Chart and reach the top five in Ireland. In an attempt to launch the album worldwide, a new version of "Right There", featuring 50 Cent, was released, becoming one of Scherzinger's highest-charting solo singles. The song gave Scherzinger her first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist. Another single was released from the standard edition of the album, "Wet", which became her fourth consecutive top-ten hit in Ireland. A repackaged edition of the album spawned a brand new mid-tempo single titled "Try with Me". It gave Scherzinger her fifth consecutive top-twenty hit in the United Kingdom and helped the album to receive a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Upon its release, Killer Love received mixed to positive response from music critics. Some praised Scherzinger's strong vocals and conviction to convey emotion, while others criticized her choice of allowing RedOne to produce the majority of the album, stating that some of the songs sounded too similar to each other. At times it was felt that Scherzinger lacked coherence across the record, often taking the sound that individual producers had created for her instead of showing originality. Critics compared many of the songs to those her fellow pop and R&B contemporaries Beyoncé and Rihanna. Scherzinger recorded new songs with R. Kelly, Snoop Dogg and Ne-Yo for the North American release of Killer Love; however, she confirmed that recording for her second studio album, originally scheduled for late 2013 release, had begun, signalling the end of the promotion for Killer Love.