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The Way It Is (Keyshia Cole album)

The Way It Is is the debut studio album by American R&B singer Keyshia Cole; it was released on June 21, 2005, by A&M Records. The album debuted at number 6 on the US Billboard 200 and it was supported by five singles, including "Never", "I Changed My Mind", "(I Just Want It) To Be Over", "I Should Have Cheated" and "Love". The album sold 89,000 units in its first week.[1]

The album was certified gold within 17 weeks, and then platinum, only eight weeks later. The album stayed on the charts for over a year, eventually selling over 1.6 million copies and it is Cole's second highest-selling album to date.

Reception

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [3]
Robert Christgau  2005
Entertainment Weekly(B)[4]
Los Angeles Times     2005
New York Times(favorable) 2005
Rhapsody(favorable) 2005
Rolling Stone      2005
Stylus(B) 2005
Vibe      2005
Village Voice(favorable) 2005

Upon its release, The Way It is garnered generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rated mean out of 100 from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 77.[2] Andy Kellman of Allmusic rated the album four out of five stars. He felt that "from the opener, the album seems to be set up like a linear narrative about a crumbling relationship, but it doesn't quite play out that way, with the scenes shuffled out of order. None of it's all that profound, but Cole sells it all extremely well. [Her] voice is sweet and ringing, like a wiser version of Lil' Mo who has had to weather a tremendous amount of drama. She could be around for a while."[3] Janet Tzou, writing for Entertainment Weekly found that "Cole certainly nails all the basics on The Way It Is: big-name guest talent and husky ballads lamenting those tricky matters of the heart. But Cole's native Oakland, California upbringing gives her vocals depth and her songs a genuine, lived-in feel."[4]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "(I Just Want It) To Be Over"  
 4:03
2. "I Changed My Mind"  
 3:19
3. "Love, I Thought You Had My Back"  
  • Cole
  • Randolph Murph
  • Ralph Eskridge
  • Clarence Johnson Jr
  • Frederick Taylor
  • Fair
  • Toxic
 4:10
4. "I Should Have Cheated"  
  • Jones
  • Fair
 5:31
5. "Guess What?" (featuring Jadakiss)
 3:45
6. "Love"  
  • Cole
  • Gregory G. Curtis
 4:15
7. "You've Changed"  
  • Cole
  • Fair
  • Leonard Huggins
  • Rich Shelton
  • Shelton
  • Kevin Veney
  • Loren Hill
  • Fair
 4:17
8. "We Could Be"  
  • Cole
  • Errol McCalla Jr.
  • E-Poppi
  • Fair
 3:11
9. "Situations" (featuring Chink Santana)
  • Santana
  • Fair[a]
 4:46
10. "Down and Dirty"  
  • Cole
  • Curtis
  • Elliott
Curtis 3:52
11. "Superstar" (featuring Metro City)
  • Cole
  • G. Cole
 3:48
12. "Never" (featuring Eve)
  • E-Poppi
  • Fair
 4:03
Notes
  • ^[a]  signifies a vocal producer
  • ^[b]  signifies an additional producer
Sampling credits

Personnel

  • Charlie Bisharat – violin
  • Jacqueline Brand – violin
  • Roberto Cani – violin
  • Nico Carmine Abondolo – bass
  • Mario de Leon – violin
  • Brian Dembow – viola
  • Joel Derouin – violin
  • Bruce Dukov – violin
  • Stephen Erdody – cello
  • Steve Erody – cello
  • Marlo Fisher – viola
  • Matt Funes – viola
  • Armen Garabedian – violin
  • Berj Garabedian – violin
  • Julie Gigante – violin
  • Endre Granat – violin
  • Alan Grunfield – violin
  • Clayton Haslop – violin
  • Dan Higgins – flute, horn
  • Josephina Vergara – violin
  • David F. Walther – viola
  • Jerry Hey – horn
  • Suzie Katayama – cello
  • Songa Lee – violin
  • Natalie Leggett – violin
  • Gayle Levant – harp
  • Phillipe Levy – violin
  • David Low – cello
  • Rene Mandel – violin
  • Darrin McCann – viola
  • Vicki Miskolczy – viola
  • Robin Olson – violin
  • Simon Oswell – viola
  • Sid Page – violin
  • Sara Parkins – violin
  • Joel Peskin – horn
  • Katia Popov – violin
  • Steve Rodriguez – bass guitar
  • Anatoly Rosinsky – violin
  • Sarah Thornblade – violin
  • Kenneth Yerks – violin
  • Raj Ertui – clarinet
  • Miri Ben-Ari – Israel violin

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2005) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[5] 6
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[6] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (2005) Position
US Billboard 200 61
US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums (Billboard) 10

Release history

Region Date
Japan June 21, 2005
United States June 26, 2005
Canada
United Kingdom July 3, 2005
Spain March 6, 2006

The Way It Is (Keyshia Cole Album) Media

  • Benny Boom (pictured) directed the music videos for the last three singles.

References

  1. ↑ Whitmir, Margo (2005-06-29). "Coldplay Logs A Third Week A No. 1". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media). http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/62433/coldplay-logs-a-third-week-a-no-1. Retrieved 2009-05-27. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Way It Is Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kellman, Andy. "The Way It Is". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Review. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tzou, Janet (2012-10-03). "Music Review — The Way It Is (2005)". Entertainment Weekly/ CNN. Archived from the original on 2012-10-06. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
  5. ↑ "Joe Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Joe Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2014.

Other websites

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