Willennium is Will Smith's second solo studio album. It was released on the heels of Smith's unprecedented success, Big Willie Style. The blockbuster predecessor album, Big Willie Style, disappeared from the charts only two months before Willennium after enjoying an almost 2-year chart run and selling over 9 million units in the U.S. After such a huge hit, Willennium was received with big expectations from critics and the general public. The album was released on November 16, 1999. It was the only time Smith managed to reach the Top 5 of the Billboard 200 list as a solo artist, as Big Willie Style peaked at No. 9. During the following "millennium-themed" weeks, the album stayed in the Top 10, but on its sixth week it fell very quickly from the charts as the Y2K interest had gone and Columbia could not produce new hits (the third single, "Freakin' It" reached only No. 99 in the U.S. and No. 15 in the UK, making it the second Smith single to fail the UK Top 3 as a solo artist after Just Cruisin' failed to make the top 20 in 1997). The album disappeared from the Billboard 200 list on late June 2000 after 26 weeks of charting, reaching only a quarter of Big Willie Style's chart time. UK charting was similar; the album reached No. 10 and spent 30 weeks on the chart compared to the 108 of Big Willie Style. Willennium produced a new string of hit singles. The first, "Wild Wild West," was originally released earlier in the year as part of the soundtrack to the film Wild Wild West. Although the film was a critical failure, the song managed to be a huge hit throughout the world, reaching No. 1 in the U.S. on July 24, 1999. In the end, Willennium sold 2 million on the U.S. (certified 2xPlatinum by the RIAA on December 17, 1999) and no more than 4 million worldwide, less than a third than its predecessor. "Will 2K" ranked as No. 14 on VH1's list of the 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs of all-time.Willennium is Will Smith's second solo studio album. It was released on the heels of Smith's unprecedented success, Big Willie Style. The blockbuster predecessor album, Big Willie Style, disappeared from the charts only two months before Willennium after enjoying an almost 2-year chart run and selling over 9 million units in the U.S. After such a huge hit, Willennium was received with big expectations from critics and the general public. The album was released on November 16, 1999. It was the only time Smith managed to reach the Top 5 of the Billboard 200 list as a solo artist, as Big Willie Style peaked at No. 9. During the following "millennium-themed" weeks, the album stayed in the Top 10, but on its sixth week it fell very quickly from the charts as the Y2K interest had gone and Columbia could not produce new hits (the third single, "Freakin' It" reached only No. 99 in the U.S. and No. 15 in the UK, making it the second Smith single to fail the UK Top 3 as a solo artist after Just Cruisin' failed to make the top 20 in 1997). The album disappeared from the Billboard 200 list on late June 2000 after 26 weeks of charting, reaching only a quarter of Big Willie Style's chart time. UK charting was similar; the album reached No. 10 and spent 30 weeks on the chart compared to the 108 of Big Willie Style. Willennium produced a new string of hit singles. The first, "Wild Wild West," was originally released earlier in the year as part of the soundtrack to the film Wild Wild West. Although the film was a critical failure, the song managed to be a huge hit throughout the world, reaching No. 1 in the U.S. on July 24, 1999. In the end, Willennium sold 2 million on the U.S. (certified 2xPlatinum by the RIAA on December 17, 1999) and no more than 4 million worldwide, less than a third than its predecessor. "Will 2K" ranked as No. 14 on VH1's list of the 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs of all-time.false2024-03-14 14:12:46Willennium819991999-11-161999-11-1663East Coast Hip Hop;Hip Hop;Pop RapEast Coast Hip HopHip HopPop Rap114276213000554c917b3-5955-4b2a-b1b7-b129d126eeff5bae7081-64ef-4473-825a-38d310deb14c3a1707e0-81b8-3c50-8277-21fda763104b/media/data/media4/Music/Will Smith/Willennium/folder.jpgWill SmithAlbumArtist/config/metadata/People/W/Will Smith/folder.jpgWill SmithArtist/config/metadata/People/W/Will Smith/folder.jpgWill SmithWill SmithWillard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper and film producer. He has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and four Grammy Awards. As of 2024, his films have grossed over $9.3 billion globally, making him one of Hollywood's most bankable stars.
Smith began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996), for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1993 and 1994. He first gained recognition as part of a hip hop duo with DJ Jazzy Jeff, with whom he released five studio albums which contained five Billboard Hot 100-top 20 singles—"Parents Just Don't Understand", "A Nightmare on My Street", "Summertime", "Ring My Bell", and "Boom! Shake the Room"—from 1984 to 1994. He released the solo albums Big Willie Style (1997), Willennium (1999), Born to Reign (2002), and Lost and Found (2005), which spawned the US number-one singles "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" and "Wild Wild West" (featuring Dru Hill and Kool Moe Dee). He has won four Grammy Awards for his recording career.
Smith achieved wider fame as a leading man for the action film Bad Boys (1995), and the science fiction comedy Men in Black (1997); he later reprised both roles in several sequels. After starring in the thrillers Independence Day (1996) and Enemy of the State (1998), he received Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his portrayals of Muhammad Ali in Ali (2001), and Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). He starred in the commercially successful films I, Robot (2004), Shark Tale (2004), Hitch (2005), I Am Legend (2007), Hancock (2008), Seven Pounds (2008), Suicide Squad (2016), and Aladdin (2019).
For his portrayal of Richard Williams in the biographical sports drama King Richard (2021), Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor. At the 2022 ceremony, shortly before winning, Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock after Rock made an unscripted joke referencing Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The controversial event earned substantial media coverage and criticism, with Smith ultimately resigning from the Academy along with being banned from attending all their events for ten years.