Voyage to India

Voyage to India
Studio album by India Arie
Released	September 24, 2002 (2002-09-24)
Recorded	2001–2002
Genre	R&B
Label	Motown
Producer	India Arie Blue Miller Paul Morton Jr. Andrew Ramsey Shannon Sanders
India Arie chronology
Acoustic Soul (2001) Voyage to India (2002) Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (2006)
Singles from Voyage to India
"Little Things" Released: September 10, 2002 "Can I Walk with You" Released: 2003 "The Truth" Released: 2003 "Get It Together" Released: 2003

Voyage to India is the second studio album by American singer India Arie, released on September 24, 2002, by Motown. The album is titled after a track by Arie's idol Stevie Wonder from his 1979 album Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" . ^[1]

The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, selling 109,000 copies in its first week. ^[2] It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 4, 2006. ^[3] At the 2003 Grammy Awards, it won Best R&B Album, and the single "Little Things" won Best Urban/Alternative Performance. ^[4] The song "Get It Together" was featured on many film soundtracks, including Brown Sugar (2002) and Shark Tale (2004). ^{[5] [6]}

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	65/100 [7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Billboard	Positive [9]
Blender	[7]
E! Online	B+ [7]
Entertainment Weekly	B [10]
Mojo	[7]
Q	[7]
Rolling Stone	[11]
Spin	6/10 [7]
Uncut	[7]

Voyage to India received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 65, based on 15 reviews. ^[7] John Bush of AllMusic said that Arie had "much to prove" after her successful debut, especially due to the notable trend of other neo soul artists, such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Macy Gray, faltering with their second albums. Bush, however, found Voyage to India a "beautiful surprise" as it "easily equals her debut, boasting better vocal performances but also better songwriting and accompanying production." ^[8]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Growth"	India Simpson	India Arie	1:00
2.	"Little Things"	David James Wolinski, Andre Fischer, Simpson, Shannon Sanders, Anthony Roberson	Arie, Sanders	3:29
3.	"Talk to Her"	Simpson, Sanders, Roberson, Andrew Ramsey, Algebra Blessett	Sanders, Ramsey	5:10
4.	"Slow Down"	Simpson, Sanders, Roberson, Ricky Quinones	Arie, Sanders, Ramsey	3:52
5.	"The Truth"	Simpson, Sanders, Roberson, Ramsey	Arie, Sanders, Ramsey	3:29
6.	"Beautiful Surprise"	Simpson	Arie	2:28
7.	"Healing"	Simpson	Arie	0:55
8.	"Get It Together"	Simpson, Sanders, Roberson, Ramsey	Arie, Sanders, Ramsey	4:54
9.	"Headed in the Right Direction"	Simpson, Blue Miller	Arie, Miller	3:29
10.	"Can I Walk with You"	Simpson, Miller	Arie, Miller	3:50
11.	"The One"	Simpson, Sanders, Roberson, Quinones	Arie, Sanders	3:21
12.	"Complicated Melody"	Simpson	Arie	3:13
13.	"Gratitude"	Simpson	Arie	1:05
14.	"Good Man"	Simpson, Sanders, Ramsey, Will Baker	Sanders, Ramsey	3:32
15.	"God Is Real"	Simpson, Sanders, Roberson, Ramsey	Arie, Sanders, Ramsey	4:36

Bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
16.	"Interested" (Included on all pressings with the exception of the standard Australian and European releases. Appears as the first track on the bonus disc of the special edition)	Simpson, Paul Morton Jr.	Morton	4:05

UK limited edition bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Brown Skin" (live)	I. Arie, Shannon Sanders, Mark Batson	Batson	4:30

Target limited edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Butterfly"	Simpson	Arie, Batson	4:11
18.	"Christmas Song (Chestnuts on an Open Fire)" (featuring Stevie Wonder)	Mel Tormé, Bob Wells	Wonder, Terry Lewis	2:45

Special edition bonus disc

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
2.	"Little Things" (Bedroom Rockers Remix)	Wolinski, Fischer, Simpson, Sanders, Roberson	Arie, Sanders, Bedroom Rockers	3:32
3.	"Little Things" (Corporate's Pop Remix)	Wolinski, Fischer, Simpson, Sanders, Roberson	Arie, Sanders, Brian Ressler	3:43
4.	"Butterfly" (remix)	Simpson	Arie, Batson	4:10
5.	"When Love Came In" (Lathun Grady featuring India Arie)	Grady, Batson	Batson	3:59
6.	"Eyes of the Heart (Radio's Song)" (radio edit)	James Horner, Simpson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, "Big Jim" Wright, Obataiye Samuel	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, "Big Jim" Wright	4:45
7.	"Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" (featuring Stevie Wonder)	Tormé, Wells	Wonder, Lewis	2:45

Sample credits

• "Little Things" contains an interpolation of "Hollywood" by Rufus.

Personnel

• India Arie — vocals, guitar
• Brent Barrett — electric guitar
• Algebra Blesset — backing vocals
• John Catchings — cello
• David Davidson — violin
• Steve Grossman — percussion
• Tony Harrell — keyboards
• Tony Tony HarrellHarrington — backing vocals
• Kerisha Hicks — backing vocals
• Avery Johnson — bass
• Doug Kahan — bass
• Paige Martin — backing vocals
• Terry McMillan — percussion
• Blue Miller — backing vocals, acoustic guitar
• Musiq — backing vocals
• Ricky Quinones — guitar
• Andrew Ramsey — guitar
• Dave Ramsey — guitar
• Forrest Robinson — drums
• Bryant Russell — bass
• Shannon Sanders — keyboards, percussion
• Khari Simmons — bass
• Joyce Simpson — vocals
• Laurneá Wilkerson — backing vocals
• John Willis — electric guitar
• Obataiye Samuel — songwriter

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Voyage to India Chart (2002) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [12] 67 Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) [13] 12 Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) [14] 4 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [15] 47 French Albums (SNEP) [16] 123 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [17] 90 Italian Albums (FIMI) [18] 47 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [19] 37 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [20] 53 UK Albums (OCC) [21] 82 UK R&B Albums (OCC) [22] 13 US Billboard 200 [23] 6 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [24] 1

Year-end charts 2002 year-end chart performance for Voyage to India Chart (2002) Position Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) [25] 45 US Billboard 200 [26] 190 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [27] 83 2003 year-end chart performance for Voyage to India Chart (2003) Position US Billboard 200 [28] 189 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [29] 66

Certifications

Certifications for Voyage to India

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [30]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA) [3]	Platinum	974,000 [31]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Waldron, Clarence (October 7, 2002). "Hit Singer India.Arie". Jet . Vol. 102, no. 16. p. 62. ISSN   0021-5996 – via Google Books.
2. Ellis, Michael; Martens, Todd (October 3, 2002). "The King Reigns Again On Billboard Charts". Billboard . Retrieved April 3, 2019.
3. "American album certifications – India.Arie – Voyage to India". Recording Industry Association of America. August 4, 2006.
4. "India Arie – Voyage To India CD". CDUniverse.com.
5. "Soundtracks for Brown Sugar (2002)". IMDb.com.
6. "Soundtracks for Shark Tale (2004)". IMDb.com.
7. "Critic Reviews for Voyage To India". Metacritic .
8. Bush, John. Voyage to India at AllMusic
9. "Billboard review". Billboard . Archived from the original on October 1, 2002. Retrieved 2013-07-28.
10. Entertainment Weekly review
11. "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on November 17, 2002. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
12. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 18.
13. "Albums : Top 100". Jam! . October 3, 2002. Archived from the original on July 29, 2004. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
14. "R&B : Top 50". Jam! . October 17, 2002. Archived from the original on October 21, 2002. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – India.Arie – Voyage to India" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
16. "Lescharts.com – India.Arie – Voyage to India". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
17. "Offiziellecharts.de – India.Arie – Voyage to India" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
18. "Italiancharts.com – India.Arie – Voyage to India". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
19. "Swedishcharts.com – India.Arie – Voyage to India". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
20. "Swisscharts.com – India.Arie – Voyage to India". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
21. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
22. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
23. "India.Arie Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
24. "India.Arie Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
25. "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2002". Jam!. January 14, 2003. Archived from the original on October 12, 2003. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
26. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2002". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
27. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2002". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
28. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
29. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
30. "Canadian album certifications – India Arie – Voyage to India". Music Canada. October 15, 2002. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
31. "Ten Years of People on the Verge". Vibe . Vol. 11, no. 9. September 1, 2003. p. 168. ISSN   1070-4701 – via Google Books.