Calling All Hearts

Calling All Hearts is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer Keyshia Cole, released December 21, 2010 in the United States by Geffen Records.^[1] Appearances on the album include Nicki Minaj, Tank, Faith Evans, Timbaland and Yvonne Cole.

Release and promotion

The album was released on December 21, 2010. It was released in two separate editions; the standard edition and the deluxe edition. The deluxe edition has three additional tracks, which are mixed in with the standard edition tracklisting.^[2][3] The standard edition became available to preview on Myspace Music on December 16, 2010.^[4] To promote the album, Cole has been interviewed and performed on several shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Mo'Nique Show, and The Wendy Williams Show. On December 20, 2010, Cole made an appearance on 106 and Park for an album release celebration and did a special 30-minute performance.^[5]

Singles

"I Ain't Thru" is the lead single from Calling All Hearts. It was released in the United States for digital download and U.S. urban radio on December 7, 2010.^[6] It peaked on the US R&B/Hip-Hop songs at 54.^[7] The music video debuted on November 23, 2010 on 106 and Park.

"Long Way Down" was released as a promo single. The video was released alongside I Ain't Thru and went on to peak at #91 on the "Billboard" US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

"Take Me Away" is the third single. It went for adds at U.S. radio on February 1, 2011.^[8] Cole performed the song on Conan on January 19, 2011.^[9] It peaked on the US R&B/Hip-Hop songs at 27, and has also peaked at #75 on Canada's Hot 100, still gaining airplay.^[10] The music video premiered on April 18, 2011 on 106 and Park.^[11]

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 128,000 copies.^[12] It also entered at number five on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number fourteen on its Digital Albums chart.^[13][14] In its second week, the album dropped to number ten on the Billboard 200 and sold 36,600 copies.^[15] As of June 2011, the album had sold 300,000 copies in the United States.^[16]

Critical response

Calling All Hearts received mixed to positive reviews from most music critics.^[21] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on 4 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".^[21] Allmusic writer Andy Kellman gave it a gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars and commented that the album "drags in spots, due in part to an absence of a "Let It Go"-type track to break up all the introspection and pain", but it is the kind of album "for those who want to hear a moody, emotional outpouring".^[17] Jon Pareles of The New York Times viewed that the album had a standard mix of featured artists and producers, but "after an initial bit of competitive posturing... the songs slip into the background".^[18] Rolling Stone's Jonah Weiner gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote that "Cole is at her best when she's slugging".^[19] Steve Jones of USA Today gave the album three out of four stars and commented that "Her passionate vocals still pack a wallop, even though they are no longer fueled by angst".^[20]

Track listing

Sample credits

• "If I Fall in Love Again" contains samples from "Warning" by The Notorious B.I.G..^[24]
• "Where Would We" contains elements of "Amber Dreams" by Spyro Gyra.

Personnel

Credits for Calling All Hearts adapted from Allmusic.^[25]

Charts

References