Justified (album)

Justified is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake.[1] It was released on November 4, 2002, by Jive Records. The album was written and recorded in a six-week period, during the hiatus of the singer's band NSYNC. For the album, Timberlake began to adopt a more mature image as an R&B artist opposed to the previous pop music recorded by the group. Most of the album was produced by The Neptunes (credited as "Williams and Hugo" on the album), with additional collaborators including Brian McKnight, Scott Storch, Timbaland, The Underdogs, and Carvin & Ivan. The album features guest appearances by Janet Jackson and rap duo Clipse. Primarily an R&B album, Justified also contains influences of dance-pop, funk and soul music.[1]

Justified received generally positive reviews from music critics; most of them complimented the mature progression of the singer's material, while some criticized its lyrical content. The album earned Timberlake four Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year, and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Justified debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold 439,000 copies in its first week. It was certified three-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) denoting shipments of three million copies in the US. As of 2012, the album has sold over ten million copies worldwide.

Five singles were released from Justified. The album's lead single, "Like I Love You", peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100, while two follow-up singles "Cry Me a River", and "Rock Your Body" peaked within the top-five on the chart. "Like I Love You", "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body" peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and in the top ten in Australia, Ireland, Netherlands and Belgium. To further promote the album, Timberlake performed on several television shows and embarked on The Justified World Tour and the Justified and Stripped Tour; on the latter he was accompanied by American singer Christina Aguilera.

Contents 1 Background 2 Recording 3 Music and lyrics 4 Singles 5 Promotion 6 Critical reception 7 Accolades 8 Commercial performance 9 Track listing 10 Personnel 11 Charts 11.1 Weekly charts 11.2 Year-end charts 11.3 Decade-end charts 12 Certifications 13 Release history 14 See also 15 References 16 External links

Background
Following the release of boy band NSYNC's album Celebrity in 2001, lead singer Justin Timberlake started working on his debut studio album during the hiatus.[2] With the album, he wanted to portray a more mature image as an R&B performer, rather than a boy band pop artist.[2] He revealed minimal information regarding the producers and artists involved with Justified during its early recording stage,[3] with his management and record label also reluctant to share any information.[3] However, MTV News reported that production duo The Neptunes were working on multiple tracks, while rapper P. Diddy and singer Mario Winans contributed to one track.[3] Other known producers involved included Mike City, Raphael Saadiq and Rodney Jerkins, though between June and July, none of the aforementioned producers had attended any studio sessions.[3] Explaining his involvement with the project, Jerkins said at the 2002 BET Awards that he "just got a call about working on the project" and that whenever Timberlake wanted his assistance, it would "be done".[3]

Brian McKnight's manager stated that his client had already recorded tracks with the singer, while rapper Nelly explained to the reporters that both him and Timberlake had discussed a collaboration effort.[3] Early in 2002, Angie Stone revealed that Timberlake "loves the Mahogany Soul album" with him further saying to her "your CD's in my car right now, you have to work on my solo project".[3] These assertions were later partially denied by a Jive spokesperson who announced that the material produced from the collaboration would not appear on the finalized record.[4]

Recording
We picked him up right after he checked into his hotel. We drove around in the car listening to old Earth, Wind & Fire albums, and he was totally with it. The background of those songs is the feeling we wanted to incorporate into the music. He was like, 'Nobody's ever heard anything like that before ... a white boy singing this kind of music. He didn't care what people would say.

“

”

—Chad Hugo, MTV News[5]

Justified was written and recorded in a six-week period. According to Timberlake, the "creative spurt" was reminiscent of "that period of time back in the 1960s and '70s when musicians got together and just jammed and worked out of inspiration. There was no heavy calculation or belaboring songs and mixes. Everything flowed pretty easily and naturally."[6] Recording sessions took place at various studios in the United States, including the Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, Manhattan Center Studios in New York City and Master Sound Recording Studios and Windmark Recording in Virginia Beach.[7]

The Neptunes told MTV News that the duo and Timberlake drove in a car listening to Earth, Wind & Fire albums for inspiration, with the background of the band's music what the production duo wanted to implement into Justified's musical content.[5] The production duo commented that despite not being content with sampling music, for inspiration, they also listened to both Off the Wall (1979) and Thriller (1982), albums by Michael Jackson.[5] Their intentions were to create music that was similar to Jackson's work without "recycling them".[5] One of the two members of The Neptunes, Chad Hugo, commented that they just wanted to re-create "that sense of those timeless, classic songs, without any of the 'bling, bling, hit me on my two-way' style of the new R&B. It has elements of the old and the new."[5] The producer further went on to say that people wanted Timberlake to be conformed to being part of boy band NSYNC, with the former insisting that the singer is an immaculate vocalist.[5] Hugo acknowledged Timberlake's break-up with singer Britney Spears, saying that the some of the album's music could be directed towards it.[5]

Music and lyrics
"Cry Me a River"

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A 27-second sample of "Cry Me a River", which uses beatboxing,[8] synthesizers, Arabian-inspired riffs and Gregorian chants.[9]

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The opening track on Justified, "Señorita" is a Spanish oriented song that features R&B influences;[10][11] in it Timberlake sings about a girl with brown eyes.[12] "Like I Love You" is a funk influenced song consisted of live drums, tiny guitar strum accompanied with the singer's breathy tenor. According to Ben Ratliff of Rolling Stone, "it's minimalism influenced by Michael Jackson".[13] The third track on the album, "(On No) What You Got" was described by Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine as a bit racy for the audience who expected a more boy-band-oriented record.[8] Regarding the fourth song, Russell Bailie of New Zealand Herald wrote that although the album "manages to skirt teen-pop sugariness for the most part, though it does offer quality mush on numbers such as 'Take It From Here'."[14] "Cry Me a River" is a funk[15] and R&B song[16] with an instrumentation that features beatboxing,[8] synthesizers, Arabian-inspired riffs and Gregorian chants.[9] Lyrically, the song is about a brokenhearted man who moves on from his past.[17]

"Rock Your Body"

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"Rock Your Body", incorporates tinny, "keyboard-set-to-emulate-clavichord" synthesizers of The Neptunes' late 90s productions, overlaid with "keys and a propulsive drum vamp".[18]

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The sixth track, "Rock Your Body", incorporates tinny, "keyboard-set-to-emulate-clavichord" synthesizers of The Neptunes' late 90s productions, overlaid with "keys and a propulsive drum vamp".[18] The seventh track of the album is "Nothin' Else"; according to David Merryweather of Drowned in Sound is "slinky" and "smooth" song that is similar to the works of American musician Stevie Wonder.[19] Influenced by Jackson's musical style[19] and Van McCoy's 1975 single "The Hustle", "Last Night" is played with a xylophone.[8] "Still On My Brain", the ninth track on the album, is a slow jam,[8] similar to the songs performed by Timberlake's former band 'NSYNC.[19] "(And She Said) Take Me Now" which features singer Janet Jackson, is a disco, '80s funk and dub song[9] that contains racy lyrics.[8] Similar to the previous song, the eleventh track of the album has racy lyrics; on it Timberlake "cockily" sings the line, "I could think of a couple positions for you".[8] "Let's Take a Ride" is the twelfth song on the album, on which, according to Uncut magazine, Timberlake "offers to deliver you from your humdrum existence".[20] The record concludes with "Never Again", a ballad, on which Timberlake becomes "downright maudlin and snippy".[21]

Singles
"Like I Love You" featuring Clipse was released as the album's lead single. It was released as a CD single on October 14, 2002 in Germany and the US.[22][23] The song was written by Justin Timberlake and The Neptunes, who also produced the track. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised its production and use of instrumentals. "Like I Love You" charted at number eleven on the US Billboard Hot 100,[24] and in the top five in the UK,[25] Denmark,[26] Netherlands and Ireland.[27][28] The song was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 45th Grammy Awards.[29]

Justified's second single is "Cry Me a River", and was released through contemporary and rhythmic radio on November 24, 2002,[30][31] and as a 12" vinyl on December 23 in the US.[32] The song was written by Timberlake, Scott Storch and Timbaland and produced by the latter. "Cry Me a River" debuted at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated December 21, 2002,[33] and eventually peaked at number three.[24] In other countries, the song achieved similar success, reaching number two in Australia and the UK,[25][34] and the top five in several other territories. "Cry Me a River" has been certified gold in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipments of 70,000 units,[35] and certified silver in France.[36] It won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 ceremony, while the accompanying music video won two MTV Video Music Awards: Best Male Video and Best Pop Video. The song is listed on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[37]

"Rock Your Body" was released as the album's third single, and was released on May 6, 2003 as a CD single in the US.[38] It was written by Timberlake and The Neptunes, and produced by the latter. The song topped the charts in Australia for one week,[34] became Timberlake's third single to reach number two in the UK,[25] and reached the top five in Denmark,[26] Ireland,[28] New Zealand and the US.[24][39] "Rock Your Body" was certified platinum in Australia by the ARIA.[35] It received a gold certification in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of 500,000 units.[40]

"Señorita" is Justified's fourth single, released through rhythmic radio on July 8, 2003.[41] It was written by Timberlake and The Neptunes, while being produced by the latter. The song did not perform as well as Timberlake's previous three single did on charts, reaching number 27 on the Hot 100,[24] and achieving its highest peak in Australia and New Zealand, where it reached number six and four, respectively.[34][39]

Promotion
Timberlake performing during the The Justified World Tour at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, August 2003 Main articles: Justified and Stripped Tour and Justified World Tour

Timberlake performed "Cry Me a River" for the first time at the 13th annual Billboard Music Awards, held on December 9, 2002, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. He was accompanied by a string section and a 20-member choir.[42] He performed "Cry Me a River" on a promotional concert held at House of Blues in West Hollywood, California on June 17, 2003.[43] On February 1, 2004, the singer performed "Rock Your Body" at the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show with R&B singer Janet Jackson.[44] At the moment Timberlake sang the lyric "Bet I'll have you naked by the end of this song," he ripped off part of Jackson's costume, momentarily exposing her right breast on live television.[44] Timberlake distanced himself from the controversy while Jackson faced much criticism. He later commented that "America's harsher on women...[and] unfairly harsh on ethnic people."[45] He performed "Señorita" live on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live in October 2003, where he served as host and musical guest.[46]

Timberlake did a joint tour in North America with Christina Aguilera entitled the Justified and Stripped Tour, to support both Justified and Aguilera's 2002 album, Stripped.[47] Timberlake's and Aguilera's managers suggested to both singers to go on a conjoint tour. Timberlake agreed with the suggestion, saying that "It would be fun to be on tour with somebody who's that talented".[48] Timberlake's further reasoning for touring with Aguilera was due to both singers wanting to "break the mold of what people look at as teen pop and move into a different direction".[49] For the tour, Timberlake wanted to transform arenas into clubs, stating that he wants people "to feel like they're a part of the show and it's a party", remarking that anybody caught sitting down would get booted.[48] For the tour, Timberlake performed with eight dancers, a 14-piece band which included four backup singers, three horn players and a DJ.[49] The tour commenced on June 4, 2003 in Phoenix, Arizona and concluded on September 2, 2003 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The tour grossed approximately $45 million.[50]

On September 2003, McDonald's announced Timberlake as a new spokesmen for their "I'm Lovin' It" campaign. Timberlake recorded "I'm Lovin' It", to be featured in adverts for the franchise, later expanded and released as a single in December 2003. McDonald's later announced they will sponsor a tour for Timberlake, following his successful North American tour with Christina Aguilera, entitled the Justified World Tour.[51] Timberlake stated "I love what McDonald's is doing with the new 'i'm lovin' it' campaign and it's cool to be part of it [...] We share the same crowd -- people who like to have fun -- and that's what this new partnership and my European concert tour is all about." The tour began with Timberlake playing intimate gigs at clubs and theatres in the United States and Australia before expanding to arenas in Europe.[52] The tour commenced on May 7, 2003 in Sheffield, England and concluded on June 19, 2004 in Brisbane, Australia.

Critical reception
Professional ratings

Review scores

Source

Rating

AllMusic 3/5 stars[53] BBC Music favorable[17] Robert Christgau A−[54] Entertainment Weekly B[21] The Guardian 2/5 stars[55] NME 6/10[9] Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[13] Slant Magazine 3.5/5 stars[8] Stylus Magazine B+[56] The Village Voice favorable[57]

Justified received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 68, based on 14 reviews.[58] Ben Ratliff of Rolling Stone awarded the album four out of five stars, commending The Neptunes's production, and noted both "Like I Love You" and "Cry Me a River" as standout tracks.[13] Ratliff also commented that Justin Timberlake has successfully "vaulted over the canyon" to adulthood.[13] Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani gave Justified three-and-a-half stars out of five, writing that Timberlake meshes with The Neptunes "so well he virtually relinquishes his personality to the super-duo—he could very well be the third member of N.E.R.D."[8] Cinquemani noted the similarities between Justified's tracks to the work of musician Michael Jackson, saying that the album should have been Jackson's tenth and final studio album, Invincible (2001).[8] In a favorable review by BBC Music's Denise Boyd, similar to previous reviewers, Boyd praises "Like I Love You", while also commending "Cry Me a River" for its lyrical content and "Rock Your Body", which he notes contains Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder influences.[17] Entertainment Weekly writer David Browne awarded Justified with a B rating.[21] Similar to Sal Cinquemani, Browne wrote how the album should have been the outcome of Jackson's tenth studio album, as "the ultramodern R&B-pop hybrid".[21] Browne described Justified as "cohesive", favoring the album to NSYNC's previous two efforts: Celebrity (2001) and No Strings Attached (2000).[21]

The Village Voice's Christopher O'Connor commended The Neptunes' production, while praising "Like I Love You" and the Janet Jackson collaboration "(And She Said) Take Me Now", saying how the songs show that Timberlake "has the balls to pursue the A-plus list."[57] O'Connor showed ambivalence towards "Right for Me" and "Cry Me a River", noting the former as "awkward" and the latter as "a lousy Aaliyah impression."[57] Tyler Martin of Stylus Magazine gave the album a B+, commending the two opening tracks, "Señorita" and "Like I Love You", noting the two as standouts.[56] Despite this, Martin goes onto to praise "Take It from Here" and "Cry Me a River", closing the review with saying that the album doesn't maintain Timberlake's masculine persona, but still "paints a picture of a complicated young man, growing into adulthood".[56] NME's Alex Needham wrote that Timberlake's lyrics are "soppy platitudes that may or may not be about Britney".[9] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian gave Justified two stars out of five, saying that the only noticeable tracks are "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body", noting the latter as "predictable", while criticising the album's lyrics as being "suggestive mumbling".[55] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine commented that Timberlake "shamelessly borrows from Jacko, from the Thriller-era", going on to criticize his vocals as to lack substance, with his falsetto lacking character.[53]

Accolades
Justified earned Justin Timberlake three American Music Award nominations, including Favorite Pop/Rock Album, Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist and Fan Choice Award.[59] Timberlake won the award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album.[59] At the 45th Grammy Awards, Timberlake had one nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Like I Love You".[60] The following year, Justified earned Timberlake nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, while "Cry Me a River" was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.[61] Timberlake won the latter two awards.[62] At the 2003 BET Awards, he received two nominations for Best R&B Male Artist and Best New Artist.[63] Justified was listed at number 37 on The A.V. Club's Best music of the decade list.[64]

Commercial performance
Justified debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 439,000 copies in its opening week.[65] The album was expected to top the chart, replacing the 8 Mile soundtrack (2002).[66] Instead the soundtrack sold 507,000 copies, due to being propelled by Eminem's "Lose Yourself".[65] The following week, Justified sold 188,770 copies and fell two positions to number four.[67] In its third week, the album sold 110,000 copies and remained within the top ten on the chart.[68] The album appeared on the Billboard 200 chart for seventy-two weeks, and eventually went on to sell 3.5 million copies in the US.[69] It has been certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of four million copies.[40] Justified debuted and peaked at number two on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[70] The album charted on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 2003 year-end charts, reaching number eleven and twenty-six, respectively.[71][72]

Internationally, Justified received a similar response. In the United Kingdom, Justified debuted at number six, and eventually peaked at number one on the week of November 16, 2002, remaining atop for seven non-consecutive weeks.[73][74] The album has appeared on the chart for eighty-four weeks; it has been certified five times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 1.5 million copies.[74] As of March 2015, Justified is the 41st best-selling album of the millennium in the United Kingdom.[75] In Canada, the album peaked at number three and has been certified two times platinum by Music Canada.[76] Justified debuted and peaked at number four in Denmark and the Netherlands, remaining on the charts for forty and seventy-two weeks, respectively.[77] The album peaked at number five in New Zealand for one week, appearing on the chart for thirty-six weeks, and receiving a two times platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for shipping 15,000 units.[77] Justified peaked in the top ten in Belgium, Australia and Norway.[77] The album charted within the top thirty and forty in several other countries.[77] As of June 2012, the album has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.[78]

Track listing
Justified

No.

Title

Writer(s)

Producer(s)

Length

1. "Señorita" Justin Timberlake · Chad Hugo · Pharrell Williams Williams and Hugo 4:54 2. "Like I Love You" (featuring Clipse) Timberlake · Hugo · Williams Williams and Hugo 4:43 3. "(Oh No) What You Got" Timberlake · Timothy Mosley Timbaland 4:31 4. "Take It From Here" Timberlake · Hugo · Williams Williams and Hugo 6:14 5. "Cry Me a River" Timberlake · Mosley · Scott Storch Timbaland 4:48 6. "Rock Your Body" Timberlake · Hugo · Williams Williams and Hugo 4:27 7. "Nothin' Else" Timberlake · Hugo · Williams Williams and Hugo 4:58 8. "Last Night" Timberlake · Hugo · Williams Williams and Hugo 4:47 9. "Still on My Brain" Timberlake · Harvey Mason, Jr. · Damon Thomas The Underdogs 4:35 10. "(And She Said) Take Me Now" (featuring Janet Jackson) Timberlake · Mosley · Storch Timbaland · Storch[a] 5:31 11. "Right for Me" Timberlake · Mosley Timbaland 4:29 12. "Let's Take a Ride" Timberlake · Hugo · Williams Williams and Hugo 4:44 13. "Never Again" Timberlake · Brian McKnight McKnight 4:34

Total length: 63:15

[show]Justified – Australian and Japanese edition (bonus track)

Notes^[a] signifies a co-producer

Personnel
Credits for Justified adapted from Allmusic.[79]

Marsha Ambrosius – background vocals Damen Bennett – flute David Betancourt – assistant engineer Bubba Sparxxx – rap Clipse – rap Andrew Coleman – engineer Vidal Davis – percussion Eddie DeLena – engineer Jimmy Douglass – mixing Nathan East – bass Omar Edwards – keyboards Serban Ghenea – mixing Larry Gold – conductor, string arrangements, string conductor Dabling Harward – engineer Chad Hugo – producer, instrumentation Janet Jackson – vocals Paul James – hair stylist Bernard Kenny – guitar Steve Klein – photography David Lipman – creative director Vanessa Marquez – vocals Carlos "Storm" Martinez – assistant engineer Harvey Mason, Jr. – producer George "Spanky" McCurdy – drums Brian McKnight – producer, vocal arrangement, instrumentation Bill Meyers – conductor, string arrangements Steve Penny – engineer Dave Pensado – mixing Bill Pettaway – guitar Arianne Phillips – stylist Herb Powers – mastering Jimmy Randolph – digital editing, Pro-Tools Tim Roberts – assistant engineer Senator Jimmy D – engineer Mary Ann Souza – assistant engineer Steamy – assistant engineer Scott Storch – clavinet, producer, coordination Damon Thomas – producer Timothy Mosley – vocals, vocals (background), producer, mixing Justin Timberlake – vocals, vocals (background), vocal arrangement Thaddeus T. Tribbett – bass Tye Tribbett & G.A. – vocals (background) Charles Veal – strings Tommy Vicari – engineer, string engineer Marla Weinhoff – set design Pharrell Williams – vocals, producer, vocal arrangement, instrumentation Ethan Willoughby – assistant engineer Chris Wood – engineer Benjamin Wright – conductor, string arrangements

Charts
Weekly charts

Chart (2002–03)

Peak position

Australian Albums (ARIA)[80] 9

Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[81] 33

Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[82] 10

Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[83] 8

Canadian Albums (Billboard)[84] 3

Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[85] 4

Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[86] 7

French Albums (SNEP)[87] 30

German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[88] 11

Irish Albums (IRMA)[89] 1

Italian Albums (FIMI)[90] 22

New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[91] 5

Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[92] 9

Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[93] 21

Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[94] 22

UK Albums (OCC)[95] 1

US Billboard 200[96] 2

US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums (Billboard)[97] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (2002)

Position

US Billboard 200[98] 119

UK Albums Chart[99] 93

Chart (2003)

Position

Australian Albums Chart[100] 20

Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[101] 21

Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[102] 30

Dutch Albums Chart[103] 10

Irish Albums Chart[104] 3

Swiss Albums Chart[105] 31

UK Albums Chart[106] 2

US Billboard 200[71] 11

US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[72] 26

Decade-end charts

Chart (2000–09)

Position

UK Albums Chart 31

Certifications
Region

Certification

Sales/shipments

Australia (ARIA)[107] 2× Platinum 140,000

Austria (IFPI Austria)[108] Gold 15,000

Belgium (BEA)[109] Gold 25,000

Canada (Music Canada)[110] 2× Platinum 200,000

Germany (BVMI)[111] Platinum 300,000

New Zealand (RMNZ)[112] Platinum 15,000

Sweden (GLF)[113] Gold 30,000

Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[114] Platinum 40,000

United Kingdom (BPI)[115] 6× Platinum 1,939,153[116]

United States (RIAA)[117] 3× Platinum 3,800,000[118]

Summaries

Europe (IFPI)[119] 2× Platinum 2,000,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone
 * sales figures based on certification alone

Release history
Country

Date

Format

Label

Ref.

United Kingdom November 4, 2002 CD RCA [120]

Canada November 5, 2002 Sony [121]

United States Jive [122]

Japan November 7, 2002 Sony [123]

Australia November 11, 2002 [124]

United States November 19, 2002 LP Jive [125]

United Kingdom December 2, 2002 RCA [126]

Canada April 16, 2013 Sony [127]