Double Up (R. Kelly album)

Last updated

Double Up
Double Up (R. Kelly album) coverart.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 29, 2007 (2007-05-29)
Genre
Length76:19
Label
Producer
R. Kelly chronology
TP.3 Reloaded
(2005)
Double Up
(2007)
Untitled
(2009)
Singles from Double Up
  1. "I'm a Flirt (Remix)"
    Released: March 2, 2007
  2. "Same Girl"
    Released: May 29, 2007 (US), August 24, 2007 (Germany)
  3. "Rock Star"
    Released: October 2, 2007
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 63/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Entertainment Weekly C [4]
New York Post Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Pitchfork Media (6.7/10) [6]
PopMatters (7/10) [7]
Robert Christgau Scissors icon black.svg [8]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Slant Magazine Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Yahoo! Music UK (4/10) [11]

Double Up is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter R. Kelly. It was released by Jive Records on May 29, 2007 in the United States, with distribution handled by Zomba Label Group. The album features the contributions with guest appearances and also the productions, which was handled by R. Kelly, along with Swizz Beatz, The Runners, Snoop Dogg, Khao, Nelly, Chamillionaire and Polow da Don.

Contents

Its lead single, his remix to "I'm a Flirt", which features guest vocals from American rapper T.I. and American recording artist T-Pain; attaining the prominence of the success on the Billboard's Top 40 charts, while it peaked at number one on the US Top Hot Rap Tracks chart. Double Up is Kelly's final studio album to top the Billboard 200.

Background

On YouTube, R. Kelly has a video of him speaking out about his state on his success and his thoughts of collaborating with artists, such Young Jeezy and Ludacris, he thought, "why not put some of that magic on my album?" He stated that 70 percent of the record will be uptempo but he assured fans that "there will be some slow jams on there."

Promotion and release

Prior to the album's release, three songs were leaked onto the Internet: second single "Same Girl", which features Usher; "Rise Up", a song which only appeared on some releases, a tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007; also making an early appearance was a song titled "Blow It Up", at first supposed to be featured on the album but absent from the final track listing, mainly due to the inappropriate mood it would have created because of the presence of the Virginia Tech shooting tribute song "Rise Up". "Rock Star", which features Ludacris and Kid Rock, was released as the album's third single on September 4. A video for the song "Real Talk" was also made directly on YouTube. On May 25, 2007, four days before the album's release, the explicit version of the album became available for purchase on iTunes. The edited version became available on May 29, 2007, with a bonus track version available a day later.

Chart performance

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 386,000 copies, making this his sixth and final album in his career to debut at number-one. [12] To date, the album has sold 1,200,000 copies in the United States. [13] On June 3, 2007 it entered the UK Albums Chart at #10.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Champ" (featuring Swizz Beatz) Robert Kelly, Kasseem Dean Kelly, The Runners (co.)1:50
2."Double Up" (featuring Snoop Dogg)Kelly, Calvin Broadus, Jr., C. Bereal, K. Bereal, C. Brockman, C. Keyes, N. StewartKelly, Khao (co.)4:48
3."Tryin to Get a Number" (featuring Nelly)Kelly, C. Haynes Corey "Keyz" Martin3:47
4."Get Dirty" (featuring Chamillionaire)R. Kelly, H. Seriki R. Kelly, Mysto & Pizzi (co.)3:56
5."Leave Your Name"R. KellyR. Kelly3:27
6."Freaky in the Club"R. KellyR. Kelly4:35
7."The Zoo"R. KellyR. Kelly3:39
8."I'm a Flirt (Remix)" (featuring T.I. and T-Pain)R. Kelly, S. Moss, R. Jackson, C. Harris, F. Najm Lil' Ronnie5:32
9."Same Girl" (duet with Usher)R. KellyR. Kelly, Lil' Ronnie (co.)4:12
10."Real Talk"R. KellyR. Kelly3:00
11."Hook It Up" (featuring Huey)R. Kelly, L. Franks Jr. R. Kelly, Lil' Ronnie (co.)4:15
12."Rock Star" (featuring Ludacris and Kid Rock)R. Kelly, C. Bridges R. Kelly4:47
13."Best Friend" (featuring Keyshia Cole and Polow da Don) R. Kelly R. Kelly, Polow da Don (co.)4:41
14."Rollin'"R. KellyR. Kelly4:47
15."Sweet Tooth"R. KellyR. Kelly2:50
16."Havin a Baby"R. KellyR. Kelly3:34
17."Sex Planet"R. KellyR. Kelly5:35
18."Rise Up" (Virginia Tech Memorial tribute track; not included on releases outside of North America)R. KellyR. Kelly3:31
Bonus/hidden tracks [14]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
19."Ringtone" (iTunes bonus track / physical hidden track)R. Kelly, J. Jones, W. Hodge R. Kelly, Polow da Don 3:41
20."I Like Love" (Japan / United Kingdom bonus track)R. KellyR. Kelly3:20
21."Ooh Baby" (iTunes bonus track)R. KellyR. Kelly3:38
22."Good Sex" (featuring Twista) (iTunes bonus track)R. Kelly, A. Harr, J. Jackson, C. Mitchell R. Kelly, The Runners 3:40

Samples credits

Notes

Chart positions

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [28] Platinum1,200,000 [13]

See also

References

  1. Willman, Chris (May 25, 2007). "Double Up" . Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  2. "Double Up Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  3. Hoffman, K. Ross. "R. Kelly: Double Up > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  4. Willman, Chris (May 25, 2007). "Double Up" . Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  5. Aquilante, Dan (May 27, 2007). "Ladies-Man Music For Gents". New York Post . Archived from the original on December 31, 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  6. Dombal, Ryan (June 5, 2007). "R. Kelly: Double Up". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on November 28, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  7. Boeckel, Gentry (June 8, 2007). "R. Kelly: Double Up". PopMatters. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
  8. Christgau, Robert. "CG: R. Kelly". RobertChristgau.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  9. Christgau, Robert (May 29, 2007). "R. Kelly: Double Up". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  10. Henderson, Eric (May 31, 2007). "R. Kelly: Double Up". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  11. Gennoe, Dan (June 1, 2007). "R. Kelly – Double Up". Yahoo! Music UK. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007.
  12. "R. Kelly Flirts His Way To No. 1 Album Chart Debut". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  13. 1 2 "R. Kelly Still Steamy On New Song Leaks". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  14. 1 2 Double Up (Bonus Track Version) by R. Kelly, May 29, 2007, archived from the original on February 10, 2022, retrieved February 10, 2022
  15. "Ultratop.be – R. Kelly – Double Up" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  16. "R. Kelly Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  17. "Dutchcharts.nl – R. Kelly – Double Up" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  18. "Offiziellecharts.de – R. Kelly – Double Up" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  19. "Italiancharts.com – R. Kelly – Double Up". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  20. "Swedishcharts.com – R. Kelly – Double Up". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  21. "Swisscharts.com – R. Kelly – Double Up". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  22. "R Kelly | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  23. "R. Kelly Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  24. "R. Kelly Chart History (Digital Albums)".[ dead link ] Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  25. "R. Kelly Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  26. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  27. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 6, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  28. "American album certifications – R. Kelly – Double Up". Recording Industry Association of America.