Masterpiece Theatre (En Vogue album)

Masterpiece Theatre
Studio album by En Vogue
Released	May 23, 2000 (2000-05-23)
Recorded	September 1999 – March 2000
Genre	R&B
Label	Elektra
Producer	Denzil Foster (also exec.) Thomas McElroy (also exec.) Mo Benjamin Mark Elliott Wayne Jackson Mark Lomax Michael J. Mani Marlon McClain Dave Meeze
En Vogue chronology
EV3 (1997) Masterpiece Theatre (2000) The Gift of Christmas (2002)
Singles from Masterpiece Theatre
"Riddle" Released: March 22, 2000

Masterpiece Theatre is the fourth studio album by American recording group En Vogue, released worldwide by Elektra Records on May 23, 2000.^[1] It marked the band's debut with Elektra, as well as their only release following their departure from longtime label Eastwest Records. Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones worked exclusively with regular collaborators Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy on the album who made heavy use of samples from classical music and traditional pop music to construct songs for Masterpiece Theatre, with its title alluding to the same-titled American drama anthology television series, best known for presenting adaptations of a mix of contemporary and classic novels and biographies.

Upon its release, Masterpiece Theatre received mixed reviews from critics, who acclaimed the group for their vocal performances on the songs but were divided by the overall sound of the album. A commercial disappointment, it reached number 33 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 67 on the Billboard 200, becoming En Vogue's first album not to enter the top ten on either chart in the United States. Masterpiece Theatre saw similar success in international territories, where it reached the top thirty in Germany and Switzerland only, resulting in the release of no further singles next to "Riddle" and their departure from Elektra Records.