| I Am | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 18, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2006–2007 | |||
| Studio | Various
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 56:25 | |||
| Label | Def Jam | |||
| Producer |
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| Chrisette Michele chronology | ||||
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| Singles from I Am | ||||
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I Am is the debut album by American R&B recording artist Chrisette Michele, released in the United States on June 19, 2007 by Def Jam Recordings.
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.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The A.V. Club | B [2] |
| Billboard | favorable [3] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  [4] |
| 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 26,000 copies in its first week. [5] Despite lack of promotion, the album has thus far managed to sell 419,000 units in the United States as of late February 2009. [6]
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.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Like a Dream" |
| 3:59 |
| 2. | "Work It Out" |
| 4:21 |
| 3. | "If I Have My Way" |
| 4:02 |
| 4. | "Best of Me" | 3:53 | |
| 5. | "Your Joy" |
| 4:32 |
| 6. | "Good Girl" |
| 4:04 |
| 7. | "Be OK" (featuring will.i.am) |
| 3:43 |
| 8. | "Mr. Radio" |
| 3:54 |
| 9. | "Golden" |
| 4:23 |
| 10. | "Let's Rock" |
| 4:44 |
| 11. | "Love Is You" |
| 3:17 |
| 12. | "In This for You" |
| 3:41 |
| 13. | "Is This the Way Love Feels" |
| 6:46 |
| 14. | "I Am One" (hidden track) |
| 3:45 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Good Girl" (Def Jam First Look Live) | 4:14 |
| 16. | "If I Have My Way" (Def Jam First Look Live) | 4:05 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 17. | "Golden" (Def Jam First Look Live) | 4:28 |
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Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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| Country | Date | Format | Label | Catalog | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | June 18, 2007 | Island | 14466 | [12] | |
| United States | June 19, 2007 | Def Jam | B000877402 | [13] | |
| Canada | July 10, 2007 | ||||
| Germany | July 24, 2007 | Universal Music | – | [14] | |
| Japan | November 21, 2007 | Universal Japan | 91147 | [15] |
Reginald Noble, better known by his stage name Redman, is an American rapper, DJ, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame in the early 1990s as an artist on the Def Jam label.
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"I Need Love" is the second single from LL Cool J's second album, Bigger and Deffer. The single reached number 1 on the Hot Black Singles and number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 while becoming one of the first rap songs to enjoy mainstream popularity in the UK, rising to number 8 in the UK Singles Chart. The single won a Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap Single in 1988 Soul Train Music Awards. The song was listed as number 13 on About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs.
"I Can't Live Without My Radio" is the lead single from LL Cool J's debut album, Radio. It was released in 1985 for Def Jam Recordings and was both written and produced by LL Cool J and Rick Rubin. It is a love song to the boombox. The song reached No. 15 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. "I Can't Live Without My Radio" was released with the follow-up single "I Can Give You More". It is the first Def Jam single distributed through Columbia Records.
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