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As I Am

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For the song by progressive metal band Dream Theater, see Train of Thought

Untitled

As I Am is the third studio album (fourth overall) by American R&B/soul singer Alicia Keys, released on November 13, 2007 (see 2007 in music). The album sold 742,000 copies in its first week. This amount is the largest ever first week sales for any female R&B artist, and is also one of the largest first week sales for any female artist in the United States. The album also debuted at number one on the United World Chart with sales of 876,000. It features appearances by John Mayer, Marsha Ambrosius, Linda Perry, and others.[1]

Background

Production

Keys had been working on the album since late 2005, but focused on it to a greater extent in 2006. She first mentioned the album's name to the E! News reporter Giuliana Rancic on June 26, 2007 at the BET Awards red carpet pre-show. During the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards she confirmed that her album was finished. Earlier Keys said to MTV: "It's coming together incredibly. I am in love with this album. It's very fresh and new".[2]

Promotion and release

File:John Mayer and Alicia Keys MTV spot.jpg
John Mayer and Keys in the final MTV promotional ad for As I Am.

The album was heavily promoted, and special advertising was arranged in collaboration with MTV before and during the week of release. The entire album was streamed on MTV's website, beginning on November 6 2007, a week before the album's North American release date. Additionally, Keys was MTV Artist of the Week for the week beginning November 12, 2007.[3] MTV commissioned Evan Silver to direct series of nine, humorous ads of Keys being harassed by someone in a bunny costume.[4] In the final spot, the bunny is revealed to be John Mayer.[5]

Reception

Critical response to the album was mixed. The album scored a 66/100 on MetaCritic, given the green tag to signify 'Generally Positive Reviews.'[6] Giving the album three out of five stars, Rolling Stone found the album's prevailing mood "reflectively soulful and the prevailing tempo mid."[7] The New York Times said that "As I Am radiates not just confidence but also experience," and added, "On the whole it's her strongest effort yet."[8] People magazine said that while not "veering too much from the Keys playbook," Keys "continues to scale artistic heights on As I Am" and gave the album three and a half stars.[9] This album was #36 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.[10] The song "Teenage Love Affair" was #23 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[11] In People Magazine's Best (And Worst!) of 2007 issue, they noted the top ten albums of the year, and As I Am was ranked #1. The album was ranked the #11 biggest selling album of 2007 by UWC, with sales of 3,222,000, in spite of its release less than a month before year figures are compiled.[12] It was also ranked the #4 biggest selling album of 2007 in the United States with sales of 2,543,000 units.[13] As I Am has been certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA as of January 3, 2008.[14] The album received two Grammys for the song "No One" at the 2008 Grammy Awards.

Track listing

  1. "As I Am (Intro)" (Alicia Keys) – 1:52
  2. "Go Ahead" (Keys, Mark Batson, Kerry Brothers, Jr., Marsha Ambrosius) – 4:35
  3. "Superwoman" (Keys, Linda Perry, Steve Mostyn) – 4:34
  4. "No One" (Keys, Brothers, George D. Harry) – 4:13
  5. "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Keys, Brothers) – 5:15
  6. "Lesson Learned" (featuring John Mayer) (Alicia Keys, John Mayer) – 4:13
  7. "Wreckless Love" (Keys, Jack Splash, Matthew Kahane, Harold Lilly) – 3:52
  8. "The Thing About Love" (Keys, Perry) – 3:49
  9. "Teenage Love Affair" 1 (Keys, Splash, Kahane, Lilly, Josephine Bridges, Carl Hampton, Tom Nixon) – 3:10
  10. "I Need You" (Keys, Batson, Lilly, Paul L. Green) – 5:09
  11. "Where Do We Go from Here" 2 (Keys, Brothers, Mary Frierson, Johnnie Frierson) – 4:10
  12. "Prelude to a Kiss" (Keys) – 2:07
  13. "Tell You Something (Nana's Reprise)" (Keys, Novel Stevenson, Ron Haney, Brothers, Green, Mostyn) – 4:28
  14. "Sure Looks Good to Me" (Keys, Perry) – 4:31

1 Contains a portion of The Temprees' "(Girl) I Love You" written by Josephine Bridges, Carl Hampton, and Tom Nixon.
2 Contains a portion of Wendy Rene's "After Laughter (Comes Tears)" written by Mary Frierson and Johnnie Frierson.

iTunes edition

  2. "Waiting for Your Love" – 3:53
  3. "Hurt So Bad" (pre-order bonus) – 2:56

UK edition

  2. "Waiting for Your Love" – 3:53

Bonus DVD

  1. "Karma" (Live at the Hollywood Bowl)
  2. "Heartburn" (Live at the Hollywood Bowl)
  3. "Wake Up" (Live at the Hollywood Bowl)
  4. Behind-the-Scenes: As I Am Photo Shoot
  5. Behind-the-Scenes: "No One" Video Shoot

Limited pressing double LP

A limited number of vinyl records were pressed on double red vinyl at Nashville's historic United Record Pressing. They contain the 14 standard tracks divided into two vinyls with 7 tracks each.

Personnel

The following musicians and technicians worked on As I Am:[15]

Musicians

Production

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Region Date Label
Germany November 9 2007 J
Australia November 10 2007 J
France November 12 2007 J
United States November 13 2007 J
Canada November 13 2007 Sony BMG Music Canada
United Kingdom November 19 2007 RCA
Japan November 21 2007 BMG Japan

References

  1. ^ "Alicia Keys Links With Linda Perry & John Mayer For New CD, Eyes October Release". SOHH Soulful. July 11 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Alicia Keys Kills — Literally — In Film Debut, 'Smokin' Aces'". MTV Movie News. January 2 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ MTV The Leak MTV.com Retrieved 2007-11-15
  4. ^ Silver, Evan (October 10, 2007). "Alicia Keys video shoot in Harlem" Evan Silver's blog. Retrieved 2007-11-15
  5. ^ "The Big Reveal" MTV.com Retrieved 2007-11-15
  6. ^ Alicia Keys: As I Am (2007): Reviews
  7. ^ Christgau, Robert (2007-11-15), "As I Am". Rolling Stone. (1039):192. Retrieved November 14, 2007
  8. ^ Chinen, Nate (2007-11-12) "Vintage Sounds, Yet Little Nostalgia". New York Times. 157 (54126):B1-B7
  9. ^ Arnold, Chuck (2007-11-19), "As I Am". People. 68 (21):53
  10. ^ Robert Christgau, David Fricke, Christian Hoard, Rob Sheffield (December 17, 2007). Fox News' unrated review declared that "Keys still hasn't produced a classic -but, oh, she's so tantalizingly close. Once again,[Keys] comes up with some brilliant music. But what's more important is that even the songs that fail to live up to that standard are, for the most part, pretty memorable on their own, resulting in a near-great, cohesive record." [4] "The Top 50 Albums of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-20
  11. ^ No byline (December 11, 2007). "The 100 Best Songs of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-21
  12. ^ United World Chart - Top Albums 2007
  13. ^ Nielsen Soundscan Year In Music 2007
  14. ^ As of February 7, 2008, As I am has stayed in the top three of Billboard 200 for eleven consecutive weeks, and has been #1 for 4 non-consecutive weeks.[1]
  15. ^ As I Am CDUniverse.com Retrieved 2001-11-15
  16. ^ "Alicia Keys – As I Am – Music Charts". αCharts.us. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  17. ^ "As I Am > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  18. ^ "Ranking Venta Mayorista de Discos – Semanal". CAPIF (in Spanish). Retrieved 2007-11-23.
  19. ^ "Australian Top 40 Urban Albums Chart". ARIA. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
  20. ^ a b c "Alicia Keys – As I Am – swisscharts.com". SwissCharts.com. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  21. ^ "European Top 100 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  22. ^ "Classifica Artisti". FIMI (in Italian). Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  23. ^ "As I Am on Oricon". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2008-05-15.
  24. ^ a b "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży". OLIS. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  25. ^ "Billboard Comprehensive Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  26. ^ "Brazilian Top 30 CD Sales". Hot100Brasil. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  27. ^ "Nielsen SoundScan Charts – R&B : Top 50". CANOE. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  28. ^ "CD top100, nädal 4 – 2008". Pedrobeat (in Estonian). Retrieved 2008-03-15.
  29. ^ "Top 50 Ξένων Aλμπουμ". IFPI (in Greek). Retrieved 2008-03-11.
  30. ^ "RIAA – Searchable Database". RIAA. January 3 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ "Hip Hop Album Sales: Week Ending 3/10/08". HipHopDX.com. March 12 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ "Swiss Certifications – Awards 2007". SwissCharts.com. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  33. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums". ARIA. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
  34. ^ "UK Certified Awards". BPI. March 14 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – Q1 2008". IFPI. April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
  36. ^ "IRMA – 2007 Certification Awards – Gold". IRMA. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  37. ^ "New Zealand Top 40 Albums (see "Chart #1593 – Monday 3 December 2007")". RIANZ. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  38. ^ "Ultratop 50 Albums – 26/04/2008". Ultratop (in Dutch). Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  39. ^ "Les certifications Albums – Année 2007 – Or". SNEP (in French). December 20 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  40. ^ "Gold/Platin-Datenbank". Bundesverband Musikindustrie (in German). Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  41. ^ "Japanese sales". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2008-03-15.
Template:Succession box two to one
Preceded by Swiss Albums Chart number-one album
November 25 2007 – December 12 2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Noël by Josh Groban
 United World Chart number-one album (second run)
January 12 2008 		Succeeded by
In Rainbows by Radiohead
Preceded by U.S. Billboard 200 number-one album (second run)
January 26 2008 – February 2 2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Soushi Souai 2 by Bank Band
 United World Chart number-one album (third run)
February 9 2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Juno by various artists
 U.S. Billboard 200 number-one album (third run)
February 16 2008 		Succeeded by
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