This Is M.E.

Album by Melissa Etheridge

This Is M.E.

Studio album by

Melissa Etheridge

Released

September 30, 2014

Genre

Rock

Length

41:11

Label

ME Records

Producer

Jerry Wonda, RoccStar, Jerrod Bettis, Jon Levine, Melissa Etheridge^[1]

Melissa Etheridge chronology

4th Street Feeling
(2012)

This Is M.E.
(2014)

A Little Bit of Me: Live In L.A.
(2015)

Singles from This Is M.E.

"Take My Number"
Released: July 1, 2014^[2]
"Monster"
Released: March 30, 2015^[3]

This Is M.E. is the thirteenth studio album by American rock/pop musician Melissa Etheridge, released on September 30, 2014 by Etheridge's own label ME Records, which is distributed by Primary Wave Records. It features eleven tracks on the standard release and four bonus tracks on the Target exclusive version.^[4]

Reception

Chart history

In its first week on the Billboard 200, This Is M.E. debuted at No. 21. It also debuted at No. 23 on the Digital Albums chart, and No. 5 on the Top Rock Albums chart,^[5] selling 14,000 copies in the first week. The album has sold 50,000 copies in the United States as of September 2016.^[6]

Critical reception

Allmusic said of the album, "There's something appealing in hearing Etheridge try a number of new sounds: not everything fits but the restlessness is admirable", and awarded the album three stars.^[7] Rolling Stone also awarded the album three stars, and wrote "As always, her voice can walk a fine line between passionate and histrionic, but when she dials it back on the smoldering 'Like A Preacher', it's clear that this honeymoon might be the start of a whole new her."^[8]

Promotion

Album cover

On June 18, 2014, Etheridge posted a video to her YouTube page calling for fans to submit photos of themselves for her new album cover.^[9] Etheridge said of this "Because my fans are such a huge part of ME, and I wouldn't be ME without YOU, I took photos submitted by my fans and turned it into my album cover".^[10] The finished album cover is a mosaic of numerous small photos of fans, with colors slightly tinted to form the appearance of Etheridge.

Press tour and YouTube duet

Etheridge embarked on an extensive promotional tour in support of the album, appearing on such shows as The Meredith Vieira Show, Entertainment Tonight, The View, Good Morning America, and Live with Kelly and Michael. On October 3, 2014, singer/songwriter Sam Tsui released a video on YouTube of his cover of "A Little Hard Hearted," in which featured Etheridge as well.^[11]

Track listing

All songs written or co-written by Melissa Etheridge.^[7]^[12]

Standard version
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Won't Be Alone Tonight"	Melissa Etheridge, Jon Levine	4:28
2.	"Take My Number"	Etheridge, Jerrod Bettis	3:55
3.	"A Little Hard Hearted"	Etheridge, Levine	3:49
4.	"Do It Again"	Etheridge, Arden Altino, Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, Angela Hunte	2:59
5.	"Monster"	Etheridge, Altino, Duplessis	3:29
6.	"Ain't That Bad"	Etheridge, Leon "RoccStar" Youngblood Jr., Adam Kapit	3:12
7.	"All the Way Home"	Etheridge, Levine	4:14
8.	"Like a Preacher"	Etheridge, Bettis, Noah Diamond, Kelsy Karter	4:05
9.	"Stranger Road"	Etheridge, Levine	3:25
10.	"A Little Bit of Me"	Etheridge, Bettis, Christian Seibert	3:26
11.	"Who Are You Waiting For"	Etheridge	4:09
Total length:			41:11

Target Exclusive bonus tracks / Australian release
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Favorite Song"	Etheridge, Levine	3:33
13.	"What I Do"	Etheridge, Altino, Duplessis, Hunte, Bernard Grobman	3:47
14.	"Soul Brothers"	Etheridge, Mark Batson	2:52
15.	"Saturday Dancing"	Etheridge, Mark Batson	3:18
Total length:			55:39^[13]

Personnel

Performance Credits

Melissa Etheridge – guitar, harmonica, piano, vocals
Bernard Grobman – guitar, steel guitar
Jon Levine – Hammond organ, bass guitar, piano, clavinet, glockenspiel, keyboards
Randy Cooke – drums
Angela Hunte – vocals
Natalie Walker – vocals
Jonathan Li – voices
Farrah "Fendi" Fleurimond – vocals
MBF – voices
Jerrod Bettis – bass guitar
Melissa Papp – voices
Amritha Vaz – strings
Neyla Pekarek – cello, vocals
Jon Sosin – banjo, ukulele
Bruce Crews – voices
Jamale Hopkins – percussion, drums
Roccstar – guitar
Brie Biblow – voices
Natalie Loren Walker – vocals
Robert L. Morris – drums, percussion

Technical Credits

Melissa Etheridge – Composer, Executive Producer
Stephen Marcussen – Mastering
Jon Levine – Composer, Producer
Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis – Composer, Producer
Josh Grabelle – Artwork
J.J. Blair – Engineer
Arden Altino – Composer
Angela Hunte – Composer
Sergio "Sergical" Tsai – Engineer
Adam Kapit – Composer, Producer
Nick Radovanovic – Associate Remixing Engineer
Arden "Keyz" Altino – Producer
Daniel Piscina – Engineer
Christian Seibert – Composer
Josh Gwilliam – Engineer
Andrew Robertson – Engineer
Jerrod Bettis – Composer, Producer
Lance Powell – Engineer
Todd Hurtt – Engineer
Roccstar – Composer, Producer
Ralph Rhim – Engineer
Noah Diamond – Composer
Kelsey Eckstein – Composer
Ralph Phim – Engineer
Marcel Pariseau – Public Relations

Charts

Chart (2014–15)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[14]	34
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[15]	61
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[16]	106
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[17]	34
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[18]	41
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[19]	96
US Billboard 200^[20]	21
US Independent Albums (Billboard)^[21]	2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[22]	5

References

^ "Melissa Etheridge Official Store – This is M.E. CD". Melissa Etheridge Official Store – This is M.E. CD. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
^ "iTunes – Music – Take My Number – Single by Melissa Etheridge". iTunes. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
^ "iTunes – Music – Monster- Single by Melissa Etheridge". iTunes. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
^ "Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E. (Deluxe Edition)". Target. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
^ "Melissa Etheridge". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on September 28, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "This Is M.E. – Melissa Etheridge". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
^ "Rolling Stone This Is M.E. 3-Star Review". Melissaetheridge.com. September 24, 2014. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
^ "Melissa Etheridge – This Is ME – Album Photo Submissions". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
^ "Melissa Etheridge – This is M.E. Mosaic". Melissaetheridge.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
^ "A Little Hard Hearted (Sam Tsui and Melissa Etheridge)". Archived from the original on 4 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
^ "ACE Repertory – Etheridge Melissa". ASCAP. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
^ "This Is M.E. by Melissa Etheridge". iTunes Australia. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
^ "Australiancharts.com – Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E.". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E." (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
^ "Ultratop.be – Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E." (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E." (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E." (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Melissa Etheridge – This Is M.E.". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
^ "Melissa Etheridge Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
^ "Melissa Etheridge Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
^ "Melissa Etheridge Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2016.