Black and White Heart is the debut studio album recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Andee, released May 26, 2015 through Universal Music Canada. Primarily an English-language album, the deluxe edition includes four tracks recorded in French to reflect Andee's heritage as a French Canadian. Musically, the album incorporates elements of pop, rock, and soul. Sébastien Lefebvre, best known as a member of Simple Plan, produced the album and also co-wrote nine of the thirteen songs; Andee is credited as a writer on eight tracks. The album received generally positive reviews upon release, with critics noting Andee's "powerhouse" vocals and unique sound. It entered the BillboardCanadian Albums Chart at number sixteen on the chart dated June 6, 2015. On iTunes Canada, the album reached as high as number four on the pop sales chart. The album has produced three singles, including the top-forty-peaking lead single "Never Gone".
Background
In 2012, Andrée-Anne Leclerc auditioned for the fifth edition of the Québecois reality singing competition Star Académie, where she eventually placed in the top eight. On the show, she was discovered by Paul Jessop, the vice-president of promotions at Universal Music Canada, who requested her to perform the French vocals for the "Version Française" of Universal-signed band Hedley's hit single "Kiss You Inside Out", released in June 2012. This version is included on the deluxe edition of Black and White Heart. Leclerc encountered Simple Plan guitarist Sébastien Lefebvre in the spring of 2013, who reportedly knew upon hearing her for the first time that Leclerc had the ability to "touch people deeply with her music," and the two decided to work together on her debut studio album. In January 2014, Leclerc adopted the stage name Andee and signed a record deal with Universal Music Canada and a management deal with Coalition Music. Recorded principally between the summers of 2013 and 2014, Black and White Heart is executive produced by Lefebvre and features mostly songs written by Lefebvre and/or Andee. The song "Sorries" was written for Andee by Pink, Kara Dioguardi and The New Royales, while "Beautiful Bullet" from the deluxe edition was initially intended to be recorded by its co-writer Anjulie. Described as pop rock with a blend of soul, the album's sound was developed by merging Lefebvre and Andee's musical influences. Black and White Heart became available for pre-order on May 12, 2015 and was released May 26, 2015.
Singles
"Never Gone" serves as the album's lead single and was released to digital retailers in both English and French versions on May 19, 2014. Its music video, directed by Alon Isocianu, premiered June 26, 2014. "Never Gone" entered the BillboardCanadian Hot 100 at number ninety-four for the week of June 28, 2014 and rose to its peak position of forty for the week of August 23, 2014. It saw the most commercial success at adult contemporary radio, where it reached a peak airplay position of six. The second single was "Sorries," released digitally on October 21, 2014. The song was co-written by Pink, Kara DioGuardi, and Canadian-American music group The New Royales as a "gift" welcoming Andee to the industry. It is the only track on the standard edition on which neither Andee nor Lefebvre collaborated. "Sorries" peaked at a moderate position of fifty-three on the Canadian Hot 100. The title track, "Black and White Heart," was released as the album's third single. It impacted Canadian adult contemporary radio on May 25, 2015 in conjunction with the album's release and has so far risen to a position of 30 on the AC airplay chart. "Tu Enflammes Mon Corps" was released in August 2015 as the album's second francophone single and the fourth single from the album overall.
Track listing
All songs produced by Sébastien Lefebvre, except for
* "Beautiful Bullet," produced by Lefebvre and Carl Ryden, and
