As I Am
As I Am is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys, released on November 9, 2007, by J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording studios from 2005 until 2007. Production was handled primarily by Keys, Kerry Brothers Jr., Jack Splash, and Linda Perry, with a guest contribution from musician John Mayer.
For other uses, see As I Am (disambiguation).As I Am
November 9, 2007
Late 2005 – August 2007
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Despite some criticism towards Keys' lyrics, As I Am received generally positive reviews from critics. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 742,000 copies in its first week, and was eventually certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album became an international commercial success, selling over five million copies worldwide. It spawned four singles, including "No One", which became the most-listened song of 2007 in the US. As I Am earned Keys several accolades, including three Grammy Awards and two American Music Awards.
Background and development[edit]
Keys released her second studio album The Diary of Alicia Keys in December 2003. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling over 618,000 copies its first week of release and scoring the largest first-week sales for a female artist in 2003.[1] Certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[2] the album has sold 4.4 million copies in the United States and eight million worldwide.[3] While attending the Cannes Film Festival in May 2004, it was announced that Keys intended to make her film debut in a biopic about biracial piano prodigy Philippa Schuyler.[4] The film was to be co-produced by Halle Berry and Marc Platt;[5] however, it has never come to fruition. Later that year, Keys released her novel Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics, a collection of unreleased poems from her journals and lyrics. The title derived from one of her poems, "Love and Chains" from the line: "I don't mind drinking my tears for water."[6] She said the title is the foundation of her writing because "everything I have ever written has stemmed from my tears of joy, of pain, of sorrow, of depression, even of question".[7] The book earned over US$500,000 from sales, with Keys making it into The New York Times Best Seller list in 2005.[8] Keys performed and taped her installment of the MTV Unplugged series in July 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[9] During the session, Keys added new arrangements to her original songs and performed several covers.[10] The session was released on CD and DVD in October 2005, titled Unplugged, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart with 196,000 units sold in its first week,[11] registering the highest debut for an MTV Unplugged album since Nirvana's MTV Unplugged in New York (1994) and the first Unplugged by a female artist to debut at number one. The album has sold one million copies in the United States, where it was certified platinum by the RIAA, and two million copies worldwide.[12]
In October 2006, she played the voice of Mommy Martian in the "Mission to Mars" episode of the children's television series The Backyardigans, in which she sang the original song "Almost Everything Is Boinga Here".[13] That same year, Keys nearly suffered a mental breakdown, as her grandmother had died and her family was heavily dependent on her. She felt she needed to "escape" and went to Egypt for three weeks, explaining: "That trip was definitely the most crucial thing I've ever done for myself in my life to date. It was a very difficult time that I was dealing with, and it just came to the point where I really needed to—basically, I just needed to run away, honestly. And I needed to get as far away as possible."[14] Keys made her film debut in the crime film Smokin' Aces (2006), co-starring as an assassin named Georgia Sykes opposite Ben Affleck and Andy García. Keys received much praise from her co-stars in the film; Ryan Reynolds called her "so natural" and said she would "blow everybody away". Smokin' Aces was a moderate hit at the box office, earning $57,103,895 worldwide during its theatrical run.[15][16] In 2007, Keys earned further praise for her second film The Nanny Diaries, based on the 2002 novel of the same name, where she co-starred alongside Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans. The Nanny Diaries had a hit moderate performance at the box office, earning only $44,638,886 worldwide during its theatrical run.[17] She also guest starred as herself in the "One Man Is an Island" episode of the drama series Cane.[18]
Music and lyrics[edit]
As I Am is predominantly a soul and R&B album, exploring genres such as jazz, hip hop and soft rock.[27][28] It departs the urban contemporary sound of its predecessor The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003) in favor of 1970s–1980s-influenced traditional soul.[27] Its lyrical themes include situations and complexities in relationships, as well as dealing with loss and life transience. The album opens with the "As I Am" intro, a piano-driven instrumental track. The following track, hip hop beat-infused "Go Ahead", sees its protagonist confronting a deceitful lover.[28] On "Superwoman", the third track, Keys sings about being a "superwoman" regardless of her state or what she might be going through. Keys stated in an interview with MTV that "Superwoman" is her favorite track from As I Am, saying: "Every time I sing it, it makes me feel inspired to be however I am that day."[29] The fourth track "No One" is an R&B sentimental ballad about Keys' unstoppable love for her partner. Keys told MTV Canada that the song "is really talking about the way that in relationships, the way that so many things are around you all the time to try to distract you. And even though people may talk and say whatever they may want to say, but then no one can get in the way of this."[30] She also said that it was a song which "just wrote itself" and that it was one of the final songs written for the album.[31] "Like You'll Never See Me Again" is a soul-R&B ballad which, according to Keys, is "about living every moment as if it's your last. Because if it's our last time to say, 'I love you,' then let it be that we didn't forget that."[32] "Lesson Learned", a soul and soft rock track, features John Mayer on guitar and background vocals.
The seventh track "Wreckless Love" is a drum and horn-infused hip hop and jazz track speaking about its protagonist's desire for a "crazy love".[27] "The Thing About Love" features Keys singing about different sides of romantic relationships: "Everybody laughs / Everybody cries / Sure it could hurt you baby but / Give it a lil' try". "Teenage Love Affair" was constructed around a sample of The Temprees' 1972 song "(Girl) I Love You", written by Josephine Bridges, Carl Hampton, and Tom Nixon, and speaks about an adolescent relationship. The guitar-driven "I Need You" is the album's tenth track and is followed by "Where Do We Go from Here", which samples "After Laughter (Comes Tears)" by Wendy Rene. "Prelude to a Kiss" is a piano-driven interlude about needing God's guidance through life, and serves as a prelude to "Tell You Something (Nana's Reprise)", a ballad inspired by the death of Keys' grandmother. The album closes with "Sure Looks Good to Me", a soft rock and gospel track about life transience.[27] UK and Japanese editions of As I Am include the uptempo bonus track "Waiting for Your Love", while the Japanese limited edition's bonus disc includes a cover of "Hurt So Bad" by Little Anthony and the Imperials. The Super Edition of the album includes three bonus tracks: "Another Way to Die",–alternative rock duet with Jack White and theme song of the 2008 film Quantum of Solace[33][34]–"Doncha Know (Sky Is Blue)" and "Saviour".
Title and artwork[edit]
Keys first mentioned the album's title to E! News reporter Giuliana Rancic on June 26, 2007, at the BET Awards 2007 red carpet pre-show. In an interview for The New York Times during the album's production, Keys said the album was titled As I Am because she had grown far more straightforward in years preceding the album, stating: "I was becoming a very hidden person. I would just always try to keep everything even keeled and cool and just smooth everything over. That mask was getting very scary. And I didn't like it", adding: "I'm done with being a person that doesn't understand themselves because it's being detrimental to my health and my spirit and my mind. Everybody's in trouble now because I will tell it like it is."[22]
Photos for the album's cover artwork and booklet were photographed by Thierry Le Gouès.[21] The cover artwork features a black-and-white close-up shot of Keys looking straight into the camera; The Super Edition cover is the same but it's tinged purple.
Singles[edit]
"No One" was released as the album's lead single on September 10, 2007. It peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100,[52] becoming Keys' third number-one single on the chart, and peaked within the top ten in almost all international markets. Additionally, "No One" won two Grammy Awards in 2008–for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. On August 19, 2020, the song was certified septuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping seven million units.[53]
"Like You'll Never See Me Again" was released as the second single on January 22, 2008.[54] It peaked at 12 on the Billboard Hot 100[52] and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[55] In 2008, the song won two NAACP Image Awards–for Outstanding Music Video and Outstanding Song, as well as an ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Award for Top R&B/Hip-Hop Song the following year.[56] The song was certified platinum by the RIAA on August 11, 2020, for shipping one million units.[57]
"Teenage Love Affair" was released as the third single on March 31, 2008. It peaked at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[52][55]
"Superwoman" was released as the fourth and final single on July 29, 2008.[58] It peaked at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[52][55] It also won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 2009.[59] On August 19, 2020, the song was certified gold by the RIAA for shipping 500,000 units.[60]
Accolades[edit]
The album was number 36 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.[76] The song "Teenage Love Affair" was number 23 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[77] As I Am received two Grammy Awards for the song "No One" at the 2008 ceremony for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song. The following year, she won the award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Superwoman" and received two more nominations for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Lesson Learned" along with John Mayer and Best Short Form Music Video for "Another Way to Die" along with Jack White at the 2009 Grammy Awards.
The album won a 2008 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Album, while "Like You'll Never See Me Again" won for Outstanding Song and Outstanding Music Video. At the 2009 NAACP Image Awards, the "Superwoman" was nominated for Outstanding Song and Outstanding Music Video; it lost both categories to will.i.am's "Yes We Can". "Like You'll Never See Me Again" was nominated for the BET Award for Video of the Year in 2008. The album won two 2008 American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Album. As I Am received a nomination for Album of the Year at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008.
In 2008, Entertainment Weekly ranked it number 33 in its Best Albums of the Past 25 Years list.[78] The album ranked at number 30 on Rolling Stone's list of "Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2012.[79]
Commercial performance[edit]
As I Am debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 742,000 copies sold in its first week, then the largest amount for any female artist since Norah Jones' Feels Like Home sold one million copies in its opening week in 2004, while becoming Keys' fourth consecutive number-one album on the chart.[80] The following week, the album dropped to number two on the chart, selling an additional 349,000 copies.[81] In its third week, it fell to number three, with 257,400 copies sold.[82] It was ranked the best-selling album overall and the best-selling R&B album of 2008 in the United States by Billboard,[83][84] while its lead single, "No One", became the most listened-to song in the country that same year.[85] In late 2009, it was ranked the 76th best-selling album of the decade in the US.[86] On August 11, 2020, the album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over four million units in the United States.[87]
Internationally, As I Am reached number one in Switzerland, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Portugal, and the top ten in Austria, Croatia, Germany, and Poland.[88][89][90][91] By May 2008, the album had sold over five million copies worldwide.[92]