Miracle (Puff Johnson album)

Miracle is the only studio album by American singer Puff Johnson. It was released by The Work Group on May 28, 1996, in the United States. Johnson worked with a broadranging cast of producers and songwriters on her debut, including Narada Michael Walden, Tim & Bob, Jermaine Dupri, Walter Afanasieff, Dan Shea, and Keith Thomas, and co-wrote seven of the set's twelve tracks. Their collaborations led to eclectic material on Miracle, which borrowed from an assortment of genres, combining contemporary R&B with pop, jazz, fusion and G-funk.^[2]

The album earned mixed to positive reviews from music critics, many of whom praised Johnson's vocal performances but found the material uneven. Upon release, it peaked at number seven on the Norwegian Albums Chart and entered the top thirty in the Netherlands. In the US, it reached number 61 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums only. Miracle spawned three singles, including the top five hit "Forever More" and follow-up "All Over Your Face" as well as "Over and Over" which had first appeared on the soundtrack of the American comedy film The First Wives Club (1996).

Peter Miro from Cash Box called Miracle an "excellent debut [...] Johnson sparkles with freshness, innocence and clarity unheard of in an artist 22 years young. [She] mesmerizes with her narrative skill as she sings ballads that will charge hard up urban and crossover playlists [...] Johnson leaves a lot to be excited."^[5] In his review for The New York Beacon, Don Thomas described Miracle as "out-of-this-world beautiful."^[6] Writing for Los Angeles Times, Connie Johnson remarked that "Johnson doesn't write love songs for cynics. There's a sweeping romanticism to this 22-year-old's music, in which she compares loved ones to miracles and angels. In the hands of a Celine Dion or Mariah Carey, ballads such as "Forever More" would have been wrung free of every ounce of drama. Johnson's more subtle treatment gives her often lofty and ethereal ideas about the search for one's soul mate some down-to-earth realism and charm."^[3]

Billboard editor J.R. Reynolds wrote: "Youthful enthusiasm bubbles from the artist's spiritually laced vocals, splattering refreshing doses of optimism into the listener's consciousness."^[7] Deborah Gregory, writing for Vibe, found that "while Miracle doesn't quite live up to the loftiness of its title — due to the saccharine melodies and middle-of-the-road material — there's no doubt about [Johnson's] pipes. This 23-year-old angel can croon [...] The cuts that provide the freshest foil for Johnson's pitch-perfect voice are "All Over Your Face" and "True Meaning of Love." Both of these silky R&B grooves are better than the predictable pining of first single "Forever More."^[8] St. Petersburg Times editor Erika N. Duckworth noted that that while Johnson's voice was "engaging" and often ahead of the material, much of Miracle was "pretty likable." She suggested that her vocals deserved stronger material in future projects.^[9]

Upon release, Miracle peaked at number seven on the Norwegian Albums Chart and entered the top thirty in the Netherlands.^[10][11] In the United States, the album reached number 61 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums only.^[12] It also reached number 34 on the US Heatseekers Album chart.^[13]

Notes

• ^{^a} denotes associate producer
• ^{^b} denotes co-producer

Samples

• "Outside My Window" contains a sample from "What's Going On" as performed by Marvin Gaye.
• "All Because of You" contains a sample of "Hip Hop vs. Rap" as performed by KRS-One.