Finally is the debut album by American singer CeCe Peniston, released on January 30, 1992, by A&M Records. Prior to the release of this album, Peniston released her debut single "Finally", which topped the US Billboard Hot Dance Music Club Play chart on October 26, 1991, peaking eventually at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number two in the UK Singles Chart.[1] The album yielded two additional singles which achieved dance number one status in the US; "We Got a Love Thang", co-written by Chantay Savage, and "Keep On Walkin'", written in collaboration with Kym Sims. Both songs entered the UK Singles Chart top 10 and the Billboard Hot 100 top 20 in the US.[2] Despite the success of the singles, the album itself climbed only to number seventy on the US Billboard 200. However, during its thirty-six weeks long presence in the chart it sold over 554,000 copies in the US.[3] The album peaked at number ten on the UK Albums Chart. The total worldwide sales of the album surpassed 3,000,000 units.[4] Two further tracks were released from the album which were more in the R&B field; "Inside That I Cried" charted at number ten in the US R&B chart and at number forty-two in the UK, while "Crazy Love" peaked at number thirty-one in the US and at number forty-four in the UK.[5] The album was part of the resurgence of dance music in the United States during the mid-1990s.[6]
Finally received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Craig Lytle from AllMusic lauded the album in his review as "outstanding", and it being a "solidly produced collection". Giving the set four out of five stars, he wrote that the album warranted an additional single release.[7] Amy Linden from Entertainment Weekly stated that Peniston has "a good enough voice" (which she stressed as a novelty among dance-music dollies), but apart from its title single, plus the funky ode "Virtue", she ranked the rest of album a B− for being "mainly standard issue and pretty dull".[10] Elena Oumano from Los Angeles Times wrote, "Like Patti LaBelle, CeCe Peniston scales a broad range of vocal peaks with electrifying ease, but where LaBelle stoops to played-out histrionics, Peniston’s operatic soul vibrates with freewheeling, youthful gusto on this debut album. While this exuberance works best when matched to a hammering house mix, Peniston’s heroic gymnastics ring genuine even in ballads. She just seems to feel more than ordinary folk. But that astonishing voice demands exceptional material; “Lifeline” and other pedestrian vehicles seem all the weaker for Peniston’s formidable gift."[11]
Initially, Finally entered the albums charts overseas. On February 2, 1992, the album debuted in the UK Albums Chart at number ten, its peak, spending nineteen weeks in total on the chart.[13] On February 15, the album appeared for the first time in the Canadian Albums Chart at number sixty, as well as on the US Billboard 200 at number ninety-nine. In both countries, the album reached its peak position in its fourth week on the chart; number twenty in Canada, where it spent twenty-two weeks in the chart,[14] and number seventy in the US, where it spent thirty-six weeks on the chart, of which eighteen were within the Top 100.[15] In the DutchMegaCharts, the album began its twelve-week run on February 22 at number ninety, reaching number thirty-one.[16] In Billboard's component chart, the album debuted on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart on March 7 at number eighty-eight, and climbed to number thirteen on August 8, spending fifty-two weeks in the chart.[17] In addition, the album charted for two weeks in Austria, peaking there at number thirty-eight, its debut, on March 8.[18]
Along with the release of Peniston's single "Keep On Walkin'", a four-track promo EP titled The Heart and Soul of CeCe Peniston (Four Selections from Finally) was issued in the United States in support of Finally.
Apart from her third US Dance number-one hit "Keep On Walkin'", the EP also featured "Crazy Love", which was also promoted with a single, as well as two other songs from Finally—"I See Love", and "You Win, I Win, We Lose" (with background vocals by Malaika).
The artwork of the EP included altered pictures on its front and back cover.
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Paolletta, Michael (2001-05-01). "Where Have All The Divas Gone?". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. billboard.biz. Retrieved 2011-03-19. In comparison, Peniston's 1991 album, Finally, has sold 554,000 copies.[permanent dead link]
