Something Big is the sixth studio album by R&B

Contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...

/Gospel

Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

 duo Mary Mary

Mary Mary

Mary Mary is an American gospel music duo, consisting of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell and Tina Atkins-Campbell . The duo are often credited along with Kirk Franklin for broadening the fan base of urban contemporary gospel in the 2000s by introducing elements of soul music, hip hop, funk and jazz...

 and was released on March 29, 2011. The album was primarily written by Mary Mary and produced by Warryn Campbell, Jazz Nixon, Gerald Haddon and LaMar "Mars" Edwards for Myblock Records.

Critical reception

Something Big received generally positive reviews from critics. Andy Kellman of Allmusic praised the title and opening track "Something Big" for being "a raucous stomper" and its follow-up "Something Bigger" which he notes "increases the energy with super-charged marching-band percussion". Andrea Dawn Goforth of Christianity Today also reviewed the album's opening favourably, with its "exciting march-like drum beat and hooky Timbaland-esque male vocal". Goforth also highlighted the "infectious beats, sweet harmonies, and creative arrangements" on the album while Kellman lent praise to the group's "striking harmonies" on the rich folk-soul gospel that is "Homecoming Glory". Likewise, Josh Langhoff of Pop Matters praised the duo's voices, describing them as "wonderful", writing that they "sing clearly and richly, moving from solo lines to well-arranged harmonies" and that "every note seems perfectly calculated to deliver as much pleasure as possible". However, he noted that if there’s any fault in the music on this album, it’s that vocals and production seem overly-planned and non-outlandish throughout" going on to hail the album as "solid" but on the contrary "frustrating", writing that "it hints at an audacity that its lyrics and music never quite deliver". Similarly Kellman reviewed the "album's second half" less positively than the first, writing that its "relatively dry songs lack the edge of the album’s first half" and so it "sags with plaintively strummed acoustic guitars and churning electric guitars". Kevin Hoskins of Jesus Freak Hideout gave a much more favourable review however, rating the album four out of five stars and describing it as being "much better and more diverse than expected". Hoskins listed "Something Big", "Something Bigger", "Walking", "Homecoming Glory", "Catch Me" and "Sitting With Me" - which was described by Langhoff as "a lovely lilting number" - as particular standouts.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number ten on the US Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 chart, with first-week sales of 42,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing

1. "Something Big"
2. "Something Bigger"
3. "Blind"
4. "It Is Well"
5. "Never Wave My Flag"
6. "Walking"
7. "Slow Walk"
8. "Survive"
9. "Are You Ready"
10. "Catch Me"
11. "Sitting With Me"
12. "Homecoming Glory"

Singles

The lead single, "Walking", was released digitally on December 7, 2010. The song is currently active on the charts, garnering radio play mainly on Urban, Urban Adult Contemporary, Rhythmic, Gospel and Dance radio formats. In the US it had peaked at #3 on the Hot Gospel Songs, #94 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, #14 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

, #5 on the Hot Dance Club Play

Hot Dance Club Play

The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...

, and #57 on the Radio Songs

Radio Songs

Radio Songs is an album of duo Robin and Linda Williams on the Red House Records label, released in 2007.Radio Songs consists of recordings made when performing on Garrison Keillor's NPR radio program A Prairie Home Companion. Although Robin and Linda first appeared on the show regularly in 1976,...

.
The song's video was directed by Luga Podesta, best known for shooting recent pop videos for Travie McCoy

Travie McCoy

Travie Lazarus McCoy is an American singer and rapper. He is the lead vocalist of the alternative hip-hop band Gym Class Heroes. He released his debut solo album Lazarus on June 8, 2010....

, Emily Osment

Emily Osment

Emily Jordan Osment is an American teen actress, singer-songwriter and voice actress born in Los Angeles, California. After working in several television films in her childhood, she gained fame for co-starring as Gerti Giggles in Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over...

 and Hey Monday

Hey Monday

Hey Monday is an American rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida, formed in 2008. They released their debut album Hold on Tight in 2008 which produced notable singles "Homecoming" and "How You Love Me Now". The album was followed up with their 2010 EP Beneath It All, which achieved moderate...

 and premiered in late January. The second single, "Survive" has peaked at #51 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

Release history

Region	Date	Label
United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	March 29, 2011	Columbia
United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...