Affection is the debut solo album by British singer-songwriter and actress Lisa Stansfield, released by Arista Records on 20 November 1989.
On the strength of this hit, Arista Records signed Stansfield as a solo artist, with Ian Devaney and Andy Morris from their band Blue Zone as her composers, musicians and producers.
In 2003, Affection was remastered and re-released as limited edition digipak with four bonus songs: "People Hold On", "My Apple Heart", "Lay Me Down" and "Something's Happenin'".
In North America, "Lay Me Down" and "Something's Happenin'" were featured on the "You Can't Deny It" single and "My Apple Heart" became "This Is the Right Time" B-side.
It was expanded to feature rare tracks and 12" mixes plus videos, live footage and a specially recorded interview with Stansfield.
It became a hit reaching number one in the United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway and Spain, and peaking inside top ten elsewhere.
The third European single, "Live Together" was issued on 29 January 1990 and reached top ten in the United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands and Belgium.
A double A-side single "This Is the Right Time"/"You Can't Deny It" with the US remixes was issued in selected European countries in September 1990 as the final release from Affection.
[...] Though she didn't shy away from hip-hop and house-music elements, Affection leaves no doubt where the British singer's heart lies – sleek yet gritty '70s R&B.
are obvious, Stansfield's producers keep things very fresh sounding by embracing a decidedly high-tech and very late-'80s/early-'90s production style.
Not since Teena Marie has a white girl pulled off the pure joy and emotionality that Stansfield does, and without the downside of trying to sound authentically 'black.'
Affection's thirteen songs intermingle sweet Philly soul swing, the elegant string sections of the Seventies and Barry White's better moments of lushness; driving percussive keyboard patterns bring the mix firmly up to date.
More simply, the album is an ideal blend of clubland energy and the passion of soul music, a dance record you can listen to.
"[9] Greg Sandow of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Stansfield sounds both sultry and sincere: 'Sincerity,' in fact, is the subject (and title) of her most striking song, which she delivers with quiet but smoldering innocence.
"[4] The Village Voice's Robert Christgau stated, "like few of her predecessors (Martha Reeves, Teddy Pendergrass), Stansfield's style is virtually devoid of trademark, display, or drama.
The songs themselves are as attractive and unassuming as her voice, a fine instrument that provides more than the expected quota of aural pleasure without drowning you in its bounty.
"[11] In Spin, Marisa Fox praised Stansfield as a vocalist capable of expressing "a complex range of emotions" and ultimately conveying "something real and substantive" through her singing and her "dramatic stance".
At the 1991 Grammy Awards she was nominated as Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("All Around the World") but lost to Mariah Carey in both cases.