The Way It Is (Keyshia Cole album)

The Way It Is
Studio album by Keyshia Cole
Released	June 21, 2005
Recorded	2004–2005
Genre	R&B, hip hop soul, hip hop, soul
Length	48:51
Label	A&M, Universal
Producer	Eivan "Ricco" Bj (exec.), Keyshia Cole (exec.), Ron Fair (exec.), Kanye West, Polow da Don, Daron Jones, Chink Santana, Ron Fair,E-Poppi, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers
Professional reviews
The reviews parameter has been deprecated. Please move reviews into the “Reception” section of the article. See Moving reviews into article space. Allmusic 2005 Robert Christgau 2005 Entertainment Weekly (B) 2005 Los Angeles Times 2005 New York Times (favorable) 2005 Rhapsody (favorable) 2005 Rolling Stone 2005 Stylus (B) 2005 Vibe 2005 Village Voice (favorable) 2005
Keyshia Cole chronology
Team Invasion Presents: Keyshia Cole The Way It Is (2005) Just Like You (2007)
Singles from The Way It Is
"I Changed My Mind" Released: November 9, 2004 "(I Just Want It) To Be Over" Released: April 5, 2005 "I Should Have Cheated" Released: August 3, 2005 "Love" Released: January 6, 2006

The Way It Is is the debut album by American R&B singer Keyshia Cole, released on June 21, 2005. It peaked at #6 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and features five singles: "Never", "I Changed My Mind", "(I Just Want It) To Be Over", "I Should Have Cheated", and "Love". The album debuted at number six on the U.S. charts with first week sales of 89,000. It was finally certified gold within 17 weeks, and then platinum just eight weeks later. The album stayed on the charts for over a year, eventually selling over 1.5 million copies.

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"(I Just Want It) To Be Over"	Kerry "Krucial" Brothers	4:03
2.	"I Changed My Mind" (featuring Kanye West)	Kanye West	3:19
3.	"Love, I Thought You Had My Back"	Ron Fair, Toxic	4:10
4.	"I Should Have Cheated"	Daron Jones	5:31
5.	"Guess What?" (featuring Jadakiss)	Diesel, Sean Garrett	3:45
6.	"Love"	Ron Fair	4:15
7.	"You've Changed"	Kevin Veney, Loren Hill, Rich Shelton, Ron Fair	4:17
8.	"We Could Be"	E-Poppi, Ron Fair	3:11
9.	"Situations" (featuring Chink Santana)	Chink Santana	4:46
10.	"Down and Dirty"	Gregory G. Curtis	3:52
11.	"Superstar"	Polow da Don	3:48
12.	"Never" (featuring Eve)	E-Poppi	4:03

International Bonus Track
No.	Title	Length
13.	"I Changed My Mind (Remix)" (featuring Shyne)	3:38

UK Bonus Track
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Love" (AOL Live Version)		4:35

Personnel

• Charlie Bisharat - violin
• Jacqueline Brand - violin
• Roberto Cani - violin
• Nico Carmine Abondolo - bass
• Mario de Leon - violin
• Brian Dembow - viola
• Joel Derouin - violin
• Bruce Dukov - violin
• Stephen Erdody - cello
• Steve Erody - cello
• Marlo Fisher - viola
• Matt Funes - viola
• Armen Garabedian - violin
• Berj Garabedian - violin
• Julie Gigante - violin
• Endre Granat - violin
• Alan Grunfield - violin
• Clayton Haslop - violin
• Dan Higgins - flute, horn
• Josephina Vergara - violin
• David F. Walther - viola
• Jerry Hey - horn
• Suzie Katayama - cello
• Songa Lee - violin
• Natalie Leggett - violin
• Gayle Levant - harp
• Phillipe Levy - violin
• David Low - cello
• Rene Mandel - violin
• Darrin McCann - viola
• Vicki Miskolczy - viola
• Robin Olson - violin
• Simon Oswell - viola
• Sid Page - violin
• Sara Parkins - violin
• Joel Peskin - horn
• Katia Popov - violin
• Steve Rodriguez - bass guitar
• Anatoly Rosinsky - violin
• Sarah Thornblade - violin
• Kenneth Yerks - violin
• Raj Ertui - clarinet
• Miri Ben-Ari - Israel violin

Production

• Executive producers: Keyshia Cole, Ron Fair, Eivan "Ricco" Bj
• Producer: Tal Herzberg, Loren Hill, Sean Garrett, Diesel, Daron Jones, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, John Legend, Chink Santana, Rich Shelton, Kevin Veney, Kanye West
• Vocal producer: Keyshia Cole, Ron Fair, Sean Garrett, Alicia Keys
• Vocal assistance:
• Engineers: Shannon Braxton, Tal Herzberg, Jun Ishizeki, Anthony Kilhoffer, Ann Mincieli
• Assistant engineers: J.D. Andrew, Jun Ishizeki
• Mixing: Ron Fair, Dave Pensado
• Mixing assistance: Ariel Chobaz
• A&R: Justin Siegel destiny
• Design: Jason Clark, Michelle Thomas
• Photography: Chapman Baehler
• Co-Songwriter: Tim "Timbaland" Mosley

Charts

Album – Billboard (United States)

Year	Chart	Peak position
2005	The Billboard 200	6
2005	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	2

• "The Way It Is" made #10 on Billboard's 2006 Year End R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #61 on the Year End Billboard 200.

Singles

Information
"Never" Released: 2004 Chart positions:-
"I Changed My Mind" Released: 2004 Chart positions: #23 R&B / #71 U.S.
"I Just Want It to Be Over" Released: 2005 Chart positions: #30 R&B / #101 U.S.
"I Should Have Cheated" Released: 2005 Chart positions: #4 R&B / #30 U.S.
"Love" Released: 2006 Chart positions: #3 R&B / #19 U.S.

Release history

Region	Date
Japan	June 21, 2005
United States	June 26, 2005
Canada
United Kingdom	July 3, 2005
Spain	March 6, 2006

External links

• The Way It Is at Metacritic