Channel Orange

Channel Orange (stylized as channel ORANGE) is the debut studio album of American singer-songwriter Frank Ocean, released July 10, 2012, on Def Jam Recordings. After releasing his 2011 debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra,he started writing songs with Malay, a producer and songwriter who assisted him with recording the album at EastWest Studios in Hollywood. The album received rave reviews from critics, debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, and won the Grammy Award for "Best Urban Contemporary Album".

Background
Ocean began writing the album with creative partner Malay, who then assisted him with its recording. Eschewing the mixtape's reliance on samples, Ocean wanted to approach sound and song structure differently on Channel Orange. He recorded most of the album at East West Studio in Hollywood and worked with other musicians, including Pharrell, Om'mas Keith, John Mayer, and André 3000. Ocean titled the album as a reference to the neurological phenomenon grapheme–color synesthesia and the color he perceived during the summer he first fell in love. To prevent the album from leaking onto the Internet, Ocean released Channel Orange digitally one week earlier than its publically announced date. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 131,000 copies in its first week, and charted in several other countries, including Norway, where it reached number one. The album was promoted with three singles, including Ocean's highest charting solo single "Thinkin Bout You".

Music and lyrics
An R&B and neo soul album, Channel Orange has an idiosyncratic musical style, unconventional stylistic elements, film-inspired segue tracks, and influences from electro-funk, pop-soul, jazz-funk, and psychedelic music. Its music is typified by unconventional melodies, spatial arrangements, mid-tempo beats, and instruments such as electronic keyboards, muted percussion, and shifting synthesizers. The album's songs explore themes such as unrequited love, spirituality, desire, and decadence, and Ocean's songwriting incorporates empathic lyrics, surrealistic imagery, references to Southern California, and descriptive narratives with dark characters. Ocean's baritone singing on the album is characterized by subtle vocals, free-form flow, and alternating falsetto and tenor registers.

Release and reception
To prevent the album from leaking onto the Internet, Ocean released Channel Orange digitally one week earlier than its publically announced date. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 131,000 copies in its first week, and charted in several other countries, including Norway, where it reached number one. The album was promoted with three singles, including Ocean's highest charting solo single "Thinkin Bout You". Upon its release, Channel Orange received rave reviews from music critics, who praised its idiosyncratic style, musical scope, and Ocean's songwriting. Ocean toured in promotion of the album in the United States and abroad during July to September 2012.

Track Listing

 * 1. Start
 * 2. Thinkin Bout You
 * 3. Fertilizer
 * 4. Sierra Leone
 * 5. Sweet Life
 * 6. Not Just Money
 * 7. Super Rich Kids (featuring Earl Sweatshirt)
 * 8. Pilot Jones
 * 9. Crack Rock
 * 10. Pyramids
 * 11. Lost
 * 12. White (featuring John Mayer)
 * 13. Monks
 * 14. Bad Religion
 * 15. Pink Matter (featuring Andre 3000)
 * 16. Forrest Gump
 * 17. End

CD version

 * 17. End/Golden Girl