Voyage to India

Voyage to India
Studio album by India.Arie
Released September 24, 2002 (U.S.)
September 30, 2002 (UK)
Recorded 2001–2002
Genre Soul, R&B
Label Motown
Producer India.Arie (also executive), Blue Miller, Paul Morton, Jr., Drew and Shannon
India.Arie chronology

Acoustic Soul
(2001)		 Voyage to India
(2002)		 Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship
(2006)
Alternative cover
International cover
Singles from Voyage to India
  1. "Little Things"
    Released: 2002
  2. "Can I Walk with You"
    Released: 2003
  3. "The Truth"
    Released: 2003
  4. "Get It Together"
    Released: 2003

Voyage to India is the second studio album by American soul/R&B singer India.Arie, released in 2002 (see 2002 in music).[1] The album's title comes from a track by Arie's idol Stevie Wonder from his 1979 album Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants.[2]

It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 109,000 copies.[3] And topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums,[3] going Platinum by the RIAA.[4] At the 2003 Grammy Awards, it won "Best R&B Album", and the single "Little Things" won "Best Urban/Alternative Performance".[5] The song "Get It Together" was featured on many film soundtracks including "Brown Sugar" (2002) and Shark Tale (2004).[6][7]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Growth"  India Simpson (India.Arie)India.Arie 1:04
2. "Little Things" (Contains an interpolation of "Hollywood" by Rufus (David James Wolinski, Andre Fischer))David James Wolinski, Andre Fischer, I. Simpson, Shannon Sanders, Anthony RobersonIndia.Arie, S. Sanders 3:28
3. "Talk To Her"  I. Simpson, S. Sanders, A. Roberson, Andrew Ramsey, Algebra BlessettS. Sanders, A. Ramsey 5:10
4. "Slow Down"  I. Simpson, S. Sanders, A. Roberson, Ricky QuinonesIndia.Arie, S. Sanders, A. Ramsey 3:57
5. "The Truth"  I. Simpson, S. Sanders, A. Roberson, A. RamseyIndia.Arie, S. Sanders, A. Ramsey 3:26
6. "Beautiful Surprise"  I. SimpsonIndia.Arie 2:28
7. "Healing"  I. SimpsonIndia.Arie 0:55
8. "Get It Together"  I. Simpson, S. Sanders, A. Roberson, A. RamseyIndia.Arie, S. Sanders, A. Ramsey 4:54
9. "Headed In The Right Direction"  I. Simpson, Blue MillerIndia.Arie, B. Miller 3:29
10. "Can I Walk With You"  I. Simpson, B. MillerIndia.Arie, B. Miller 3:50
11. "The One"  I. Simpson, S. Sanders, A. Roberson, R. QuinonesIndia.Arie, S. Sanders 3:21
12. "Complicated Melody"  I. SimpsonIndia.Arie 3:12
13. "Gratitude"  I. SimpsonIndia.Arie 1:05
14. "Good Man"  I. Simpson, S. Sanders, A. Ramsey, Will BakerS. Sanders, A. Ramsey 3:32
15. "God Is Real"  I. Simpson, S. Sanders, A. Roberson, A. RamseyIndia.Arie, S. Sanders, A. Ramsey 4:18

Source: [1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (65/100) [8]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [9]
Billboard (positive) [10]
Blender [8]
E! Online B+ [8]
Entertainment Weekly B [11]
Mojo [8]
PopMatters [8][12]
Q [8]
Rolling Stone [13]
Spin (6/10) [8]
Uncut [8]

Prior to Voyage To India's release many were dubious the album as a sophomore effort would reach the critical success of Arie's previous release Acoustic Soul on account of a notable trend of this occurring amongst other neo soul artists such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu and Macy Gray.[9] Despite this uncertainty Voyage To India gained a score of 65 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".[8] John Bush of Allmusic wrote that this "is exactly what makes Voyage to India such a beautiful surprise; it's a record that easily equals her debut, boasting better vocal performances but also better songwriting and accompanying production."[9] A favorable review from Bill Campbell of Ink 19 echoes John Bush's sentiment stating that "This disc is much more solid than Acoustic Soul."[14]

Charts

Chart (2002) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart 12
Dutch Albums Chart 47
French Albums Chart 123
German Albums Chart 90
Italian Albums Chart 47
Swedish Albums Chart 37
Swiss Albums Chart 53
UK Albums Chart 82
U.S. Billboard 200 6
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 1
U.S. Billboard Internet Albums 6

Sales and certifications

Territory Certifier Certification Sales
Canada CRIA Gold 50,000
United States RIAA Platinum 1,000,000

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "India.Arie - Voyage To India". Discogs.com.
  2. ↑ Waldron, Clarence (October 7, 2002). Hit Singer India Arie Talks About New Album "Voyage To India" (Magazine ed.). Johnson Publishing Company. p. 62. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Voyage to India - India.Arie". Billboard.com.
  4. ↑ "Little Things". SuperiorPics.com.
  5. ↑ "India Arie - Voyage To India CD". CDUniverse.com.
  6. ↑ "Soundtracks for Brown Sugar (2002)". IMDb.com.
  7. ↑ "Soundtracks for Shark Tale (2004)". IMDb.com.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 "Critic Reviews for Voyage To India". Metacritic.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Bush, John. Voyage to India at AllMusic
  10. ↑ Billboard review at the Wayback Machine (archived October 1, 2002)
  11. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
  12. ↑ PopMatters review
  13. ↑ Rolling Stone review at the Wayback Machine (archived November 17, 2002)
  14. ↑ Campbell, Bill (March 2003). "India.Arie: Voyage To India". Ink 19.