I Am (Chrisette Michele album)

I Am
Studio album by Chrisette Michele
Released June 18, 2007
(see release history)
Recorded 2006–2007
Brandon's Way Recording, The Underlab
(Los Angeles, California)
Chung King Studios, The Cutting Room, Legacy Recording Studios, Sony Music Studios
(New York City, New York)
Housing the Hits
(Freeport, New York)
Instrument Zoo
(Miami, Florida)
Mixdown Recording Studios
(Yonkers, New York)
The Record Plant
(Hollywood, Los Angeles, California)
WoodaWorx Productions
(Huntsville, Alabama)
Genre R&B, soul, jazz
Label Def Jam
Producer Chrisette Michele, Babyface, John Legend, will.i.am, Kelvin Wooten, GI Joe, Mo Jaz, Kevin Randolph, David Lee Stewart, Salaam Remi
Chrisette Michele chronology

I Am
(2007)		 Epiphany
(2009)
Singles from I Am
  1. "If I Have My Way"
    Released: May 2007
  2. "Best of Me"
    Released: August 2007
  3. "Be OK"
    Released: December 2007
  4. "Love Is You"
    Released: April 2008

I Am is the debut album by American R&B-soul singer–songwriter Chrisette Michele, released in the United States on June 19, 2007 by Def Jam Recordings.

Production

Michele began working on the music that would make up I Am before she had a recording contract, and started promoting her work by visiting events for independent artists. During this time, she caught the attention of L.A. Reid, who later signed her to Island Def Jam, where she got support from producers such as Babyface, will.i.am, and John Legend.

The video for the album's lead single "If I Have My Way" premiered on VH1 Soul. The video for her second single "Best of Me" premiered on July 6, 2007 on Yahoo! Music, and was later added to VH1's video rotation. "Be OK", which features will.i.am, was released as the third single from the album, whose music video was on BET's 106 & Park on December 18, 2007. "Love Is You" was the fourth and final single and was released in 2008.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
About.com 2007
AllHipHop 2007
Allmusic 2007
The A.V. Club B 2007
Billboard favorable 2007
Robert Christgau 2007
Ebony favorable 2007
PopMatters 5/10 link
USA Today 2007
The Village Voice mixed 2007

I Am debuted at number twenty-nine on the US Billboard 200, selling about 26,000 copies in its first week.[1] Despite lack of promotion, the album has thus far managed to sell 419,000 units in the United States as of late February 2009.[2]

I Am received generally positive reviews. Internet publication AllHipHop gave the album a stellar rating, stating: "She is Chrisette Michele and with her debut, I Am (Def Jam), this constituent of the House of Hov delivers one of the quietest, yet most powerful albums out there." The album's third single, "Be OK", won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.

Track listing

  1. "Like a Dream" (Chrisette Payne, Christopher Grant, Dwayne "Whateva Lindsey ) – 3:59
  2. "Work It Out" (Payne, Grant, Lindsey ) – 4:21
  3. "If I Have My Way" (Payne, Kevin Randolph, David Lee Stewart) – 4:03
  4. "Best of Me" (Payne, Babyface) – 3:53
  5. "Your Joy" (Payne, Babyface, Rob Lewis) – 4:32
  6. "Good Girl" (Payne, Salaam Remi) – 4:04
  7. "Be OK" (featuring will.i.am) (Payne, William Adams, Jr., Bob Marley) – 3:43
  8. "Mr. Radio" (Payne, Grant, Lindsey ) – 3:54
  9. "Golden" (Payne, Joseph Smart) – 4:23
  10. "Let's Rock" (Payne, Adams, Darryl McDaniels, Joseph Simmons) – 4:44
    • Contains a sample of Run-D.M.C.'s "Here We Go" (Darryl McDaniels, Joseph Simmons)
  11. "Love Is You" (Payne, John Stephens) – 3:17
  12. "In This for You" (Payne, Remi) – 3:41
  13. "Is This the Way Love Feels" (Payne, Kelvin Wooten) – 6:46
  14. "I Am One" (Hidden track) (Payne, Wooten) – 3:45
iTunes edition
  1. "Good Girl" (Live) – 4:14
  2. "If I Have My Way" (Live) – 4:05
  3. "Golden" (Live) – 4:28
Japanese edition
  1. "Good Girl" (Def Jam First Look Live) – 4:14
  2. "If I Have My Way" (Def Jam First Look Live) – 4:05

Personnel

Musicians
  • Eileen Moon – cello
  • Sandra Park – violin
  • Bruce Purse – bass trumpet
  • Salaam Remi – bass, drums, guitar, piano
  • Robert Smith III – drums
  • Qiang Tu – cello
  • Jeremy Turner – cello
  • Omari Williams – drums
  • Steve Williamson – clarinet
  • Kelvin Wooten – bass, organ, piano
  • Sharon Yamada – violin

Production

  • Chrisette Michele – producer
  • Babyface – producer, keyboard programming
  • Stephen Barber – string arrangements
  • A.J. Benson – A&R
  • Shalik Berry – A&R
  • Paul Boutin – engineer
  • Thom Cadley – engineer
  • Lysa Cooper – stylist
  • Dwayne"Whateva" Lindsey - Producer
  • Andrew Dawson – engineer
  • Nichell Delvaille – art coordinator, photo coordination
  • Gleyder "Gee" Disla – assistant
  • Dylan Dresdow – mixing engineer
  • Doug "Biggs" Ellison – programming, executive producer, management, vocal editing
  • Anthony Gallo – vocal engineer
  • Jon Gass – mixing
  • GI Joe – producer
  • Don Goodrick – assistant engineer
  • Christopher "Jazz" Grant – engineer
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering
  • Courtney Harris – assistant engineer
  • Q. Nicole Jackson – A&R
  • Matt Jones – photography
  • Doug Joswick – package production
  • Hyomin Kang – assistant engineer
  • John Legend – producer
  • Rob Lewis – string arrangements
  • Riley Mackin – engineer
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing
  • Tony Maserati – mixing
  • Mo Jaz – producer
  • Amber Noble – marketing
  • Linette Payne – personal manager
  • Kevin Randolph – producer
  • L.A. Reid – executive producer
  • Kendal "KD" Revanales – programming, engineer, vocal editing
  • Rubin Rivera – engineer
  • Mark Roule – digital editing, mixing assistant
  • Joseph Smart – engineer
  • Jason Stasium – engineer
  • David Lee Stewart – producer
  • Matt Taylor – design
  • Nadia Vessel – hair stylist
  • will.i.am – producer
  • Kelvin Wooten – producer, string arrangements
  • Patricia Yankee – grooming

Charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
Japanese Albums Chart[3] 186
US Billboard 200[4] 29
US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[4] 5

Release history

Country Date Label
United Kingdom June 18, 2007 Def Jam
United States June 19, 2007
Canada July 10, 2007 Universal
Germany July 24, 2007
Japan November 21, 2007

References

  1. ↑ Hasty, Katie (June 27, 2007). "Bon Jovi Scores First No. 1 Album Since 1988". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  2. ↑ Concepcion, Mariel (February 24, 2009). "Chrisette Michele Has An 'Epiphany' On second album". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  3. ↑ "I Am – Oricon". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "I Am > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-03-22.