| Happy People/U Saved Me | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | R. Kelly |
| Cover: | U-saved-me.jpg |
| Released: | August 24, 2004 |
| Studio: | The Chocolate Factory, Chicago, Illinois |
| Length: | 100:12 |
| Label: | Jive |
| Producer: | R. Kelly |
| Prev Title: | The R. in R&B Collection, Vol. 1 |
| Prev Year: | 2003 |
| Next Title: | Unfinished Business |
| Next Year: | 2004 |
Happy People/U Saved Me is the sixth studio album and the second double album by American R&B singer R. Kelly, where he mixed feel-good danceable soul records (Happy People) with gospel anthems (U Saved Me). Released in 2004, it peaked at No. 2 on the pop albums chart and went on to be certified three times Platinum. The album contained the hit single "Happy People" (US No. 19, UK No. 6), and the minor hit "U Saved Me" (US No. 52, UK No. 6). On "Red Carpet (Pause, Flash)," Kelly sampled the song "Step in the Name of Love" on his previous album, which was released a year earlier.[1]
Happy People/U Saved Me received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 66 based on 16 reviews. Richard Cromelin from Los Angeles Times found that "the album’s sonic signature is a celebrative clap" and further remarked: "Charming, unpretentious and effortless, the singer presides over a party whose pace never flags and whose soul is fun-loving and wholesome." AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt that "since Happy People/U Saved Me delivers two distinct and cohesive albums, it could conceivably offer further ammunition for those defenders of Kelly who claim that he's made the best music of his career when under fire. There's some validity to that argument." He called the album a "definitive work of sorts since he's at the top of his game as both a craftsman and conman." Uncut described the album as "a cunning, crackling, can't-keep-still classic."
Gail Mitchell from Billboard found that "Kelly's winning musical streak" was continuing with Happy People/U Saved Me and noted that he had "an uncanny ability to mix retro sounds with tasty dollops of contemporary seasoning."[2] PopMatters remarked that while Happy People "finds Kelly honing his already well developed skills at creating effortless dance hooks, the second disc Kelly seems to be trapped in staid evangelical idioms and drowning in itchy church choir robes."[3] Similarly, Entertainment Weeklys David Browne noted the "problem separating sinner and salvation seeker into two albums becomes apparent as U Saved Me gets bogged down in one indistinct, syrup-doused ballad after another." On the contrary, Dan Leroy from Launch.com found that "the sacred material on U Saved Me, by contrast, is more exciting – and troubling."[4] In his review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau remarked that Kelly's "productivity isn't exuberance, it's greed; his PG rating isn't scruples, it's cowardice." Kefelah Sanneh, writing for The New York Times, felt that there was "something rather unambitious about this set."[5]
In his home country of the United States, Happy People/U Saved Me debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 264,000 copies in its first week, behind Tim McGraw's Live Like You Were Dying.[6] The album was the sixth consecutive Kelly solo album (seventh overall) to debut at number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. In its second week, the album remained in the top ten at Billboard 200, falling to number six, selling 127,000 copies.[7] On September 24, 2004, the double album has been certified 3× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipping more than 3 million units (in this case, 1.5 million double album sets, which are double-counted by the RIAA). As of December 6, 2011, Happy People/U Saved Me has sold 5.2 million copies worldwide.
Credits adapted from AllMusic.
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] | 62 |
| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[9] | 16 |
| Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[10] | 20 |
| Chart (2004) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[11] | 75 | |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[12] | 16 | |
| Worldwide Albums (IFPI)[13] | 48 |