Press Play (album)

Press Play
Press Play
Studio album by P. Diddy
Released	October 17, 2006
Recorded	2005-06
Length	78:58
Label	Bad Boy; Atlantic;
Producer	Sean "P. Diddy" Combs (also exec.); The Hitmen; Kanye West; Danja; Rob Lewis; Just Blaze; Timbaland; will.i.am; The Neptunes; Rich Harrison; Havoc; Jai;
P. Diddy chronology
Singles from Press Play
	"Come to Me"; Released: September 12, 2006; "Tell Me"; Released: November 7, 2006; "Last Night"; Released: February 27, 2007; "Through the Pain (She Told Me)"; Released: July 2007;

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	62/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Entertainment Weekly	B
The Guardian
Los Angeles Times
musicOMH
PopMatters	6/10
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine
Uncut
USA Today

Press Play is the fourth studio album by American hip hop recording artist P. Diddy. It was released on October 17, 2006, by Bad Boy Records. The album was supposed to be his first album released under the "Diddy" stage name, but he couldn’t legally release albums under Diddy after a lawsuit from DJ Richard “Diddy” Dearlove. Press Play was his first release distributed by Warner Music Group's Atlantic Records. Press Play features several guest contributions from Nicole Scherzinger, Christina Aguilera, Keyshia Cole, Brandy, Jamie Foxx, Ciara, Nas, Timbaland, Mary J. Blige, CeeLo Green, Keri Hilson, Big Boi, Mario Winans, Avant and Fergie, among others. Primarily dance-pop and hip hop-oriented in sound, it is a loose conceptual album that contains the lyrical themes discussing the concerns to the ups and downs of his relationship.

The album supports 4 hit singles "Come to Me", "Tell Me, "Last Night" and "Through the Pain (She Told Me)". It became available to the preview on MTV's The Leak on October 10, 2006, one week before the album was sold in stores. Press Play received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics.

Commercial performance

Press Play debuted at number-one on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 170,000 copies.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Testimonial (Intro)"	Sean Combs Leroy Watson Roland Orzabal Curt Smith	P. Diddy J-Dub	2:24
2.	"We Gon' Make It" (featuring Jack Knight)	Combs Jack Knight Watson Jayceon Taylor Johnny Pate Kevin Hansford	K-Def P. Diddy	3:33
3.	"I Am (Interlude)"	Combs Watson Deleno Matthews Levar Coppin Brenda Davis Berry Gordy Patrice Holloway Frank Wilson	Grind Music P. Diddy	1:46
4.	"The Future"	Combs Kejuan Muchita Troy Jamerson	Havoc	3:11
5.	"Hold Up" (featuring Angela Hunte)	Combs Glenn C. Johnson Muchita Jamerson Angela Hunte Jerry Peters	SC Havoc	3:29
6.	"Come to Me" (featuring Nicole Scherzinger)	Combs Mike Winans Jacoby White Shay Winans Nicole Scherzinger Shannon "Slam" Lawrence Roger Greene Jr. Richard Frierson Yakubu Izuagbe	Jai Younglord P. Diddy	4:36
7.	"Tell Me" (featuring Christina Aguilera)	Combs Knight Watson Shannon Jones Lawrence Ryan Montgomery Stephen Garrett Elizabeth Wyce Justin Smith	Just Blaze	4:06
8.	"Wanna Move" (featuring Ciara, Big Boi, and Scar)	Combs Nathaniel Hills Antwan Patton Terrence Smith Clifford Harris, Jr. White Ciara Princess Harris Kristal Oliver	Danja Big Boi	5:18
9.	"Diddy Rock" (featuring Shawnna, Twista, and Timbaland)	Combs Hill Timothy Mosley Carl Mitchell Pierre Jones Lloyd Mathis	Danja	5:12
10.	"Claim My Place (Interlude)" (featuring Avant and The Movement Orchestra)	Combs Mike Winans Lawrence Rob Lewis	Rob Lewis	3:25
11.	"Everything I Love" (featuring Nas and Cee-Lo Green)	Combs Watson Nasir Jones Kanye West Thomas DeCarlo Callaway	Kanye West P. Diddy	4:23
12.	"Special Feeling" (featuring Mika Lett)	Combs Will Adams	will.i.am P. Diddy Mario Winans	4:25
13.	"Crazy Thang (Interlude)" (featuring S. Rosete)	Combs Lewis	Rob Lewis	1:15
14.	"After Love" (featuring Keri Hilson)	Combs Mosley Hill Keri Lynn Hilson White James Washington	Timbaland Danja	4:47
15.	"Through the Pain (She Told Me)" (featuring Mario Winans)	Mario Winans Combs White	Mario Winans P. Diddy	5:28
16.	"Thought You Said" (featuring Brandy)	Mario Winans Combs Watson Michael "Lo Down" Jones Sean Garrett S. Jones	Mario Winans P. Diddy	5:49
17.	"Last Night" (featuring Keyshia Cole)	Combs Knight Mario Winans Lawrence	Mario Winans P. Diddy	6:26
18.	"Making It Hard" (featuring Mary J. Blige)	Combs Watson Rich Harrison Sean Garrett P. Jones Wyce Regional Garland	Rich Harrison	4:54
19.	"Partners for Life" (featuring Jamie Foxx)	Combs Robert Ross Watson Pharrell Williams	The Neptunes	4:31

Best Buy bonus track
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
20.	"All Night Long" (featuring Fergie)	will.i.am	6:25
21.	"Get Off"	Sean C & LV	4:28

Limited edition

The limited edition version of the album includes a story of photos on how P. Diddy met a woman in a club. The album is located in a pocket on the last page; as well as these exclusive versions that were released from Target and Best Buy, Target having a bonus DVD and Best Buy including a bonus track, called "Get Off".

Notes

^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer

Sample credits

List of samples used in Press Play:

Testimonial (Intro)

"Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears

We Gon' Make It

"Shaft in Africa" by Johnny Pate

I Am (Interlude)

Excerpts from "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Lou Rawls

Hold Up

Excerpts from "White Shutters" by Jerry Peters

Special Feeling

"Baby I'm a Star" by Prince

Making It Hard

Excerpts from "I Need Love" by Hunts Determination

Last Night

"Erotic City" by Prince

Personnel

Production

Writing credits:

The Game and Aasim - "We Gon' Make It"
Pharoahe Monch - "The Future", "Hold Up"
Jody Breeze (from Boyz n da Hood) - "Wanna Move", "Through the Pain (She Told Me)", "After Love"
T.I. - "Wanna Move"
Mista Raja - "Come to Me"
Royce Da 5'9" - "Tell Me"
Ness (formerly of Da Band) & Matthew Winans - "Diddy Rock"
Yummy Bingham and Aasim - "Tell Me"
Yummy Bingham and Cardan - "Tell Me"
Static Major - "Tell Me"
Black Rob and Aasim - "Partners for Life"
Mike Brown - "Last Night", "Diddy Rock"
Nas and Aasim - "Everything I Love"
Ryan Cardona - "Last Night"
Michael "Ace" McWhorter & Matthew Winans - "Wanna Move", "Last Night", "Through the Pain"

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2006–07)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	41
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	41
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	39
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	22
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)	24
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)	58
French Albums (SNEP)	31
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	32
Irish Albums (IRMA)	13
Italian Albums (FIMI)	84
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	46
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	9
UK Albums (OCC)	11
UK R&B Albums (OCC)	1
US Billboard 200	1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	1
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2006)	Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	69

Chart (2007)	Position
French Albums (SNEP)	105
UK Albums (OCC)	179
US Billboard 200	146
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	52

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Ireland (IRMA)	Gold	7,500^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)	Gold	100,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)	Gold	500,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.