Kelis Was Here Explained

Kelis Was Here
Type:studio
Cover:Kelis Was Here.png
Artist:Kelis
Recorded:October 2004 – June 2006
Genre:R&B
Length:72:42
Label:Jive
Prev Title:Tasty
Prev Year:2003
Next Title:The Hits
Next Year:2008

Kelis Was Here is the fourth studio album by American singer Kelis, released on August 22, 2006, by Jive Records. Originally titled The Puppeteer,[1] the album features production by Bangladesh, Raphael Saadiq, Max Martin, Sean Garrett, and Scott Storch, among others, and also features collaborations with will.i.am, Nas, Cee-Lo, Too Short, and Spragga Benz. It is Kelis's first album not to feature longtime collaborators the Neptunes. Kelis Was Here received a nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards.

Release and promotion

The album's lead single, "Bossy", features rapper Too Short. The song peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 11, 2006.[2] [3] The second single from the album, "Blindfold Me", featuring Nas, was released solely in the United States. It failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100,[2] while peaking at number 91 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[4] "Lil Star", which features Cee-Lo of the duo Gnarls Barkley, was released internationally as the album's third and final single. The track reached number three on the UK Singles Chart, earning Kelis her fifth UK top-five single as a lead artist.[5]

Due to the use of "I Don't Think So" in a promotional advertising for Big Brother Australia 2008, the song entered the Australian ARIA Singles Chart at number 49 on April 21, 2008. The following week it rose to number 29, ultimately peaking at number 27.[6] It also reached number eight on the ARIA Urban Singles Chart.[7]

Critical reception

Kelis Was Here 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 70, based on 23 reviews.[8] Ann Powers from the Los Angeles Times praised its eclectic music and said that it "mines a memory of R&B as the playground of category-dismantling individualists."[9] NME magazine wrote that it feels like "a wildly ambitious Warhol-esque art project."[10] Kelefa Sanneh from The New York Times described the album as "typically garish and glorious", with sounds that range from "space-age hip-hop ... to space-age guitar pop".[11] Q magazine said that the album is "chock-full of surreal soul diamonds."[12] Pitchforks Tim Finney wrote that, like Wanderland, the album is "formally varied but feels consistent—even monochrome in parts."[13] In a review for The Observer, Peter Robinson commented that the album "occasionally misfires ... but there's still sass and creativity here."[14] MSN Music's Robert Christgau gave Kelis Was Here a one-star honorable mention,[15] indicating "a worthy effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well like."[16] He cited "Blindfold Me" and "What's That Right There" as highlights, and quipped, "Good for sex and not much else, which in a fantasy object is plenty."[15]

In a mixed review, Slant Magazine critic Preston Jones said that, although it is "an intriguing mishmash of sounds, beats, and vocal affectations", the album is "far too long" and lacks a song on-par with "Milkshake".[17] Chris Salmon of The Guardian wrote that without the Neptunes, "contributors such as Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am and [...] Shondrae reject all subtlety for songs that caricature Kelis as sexy, bolshy and not much else. The results are shallow and unconvincing, driven by the kind of brash holler and breathy schmaltz you would expect from J-Lo or Pussycat Dolls (complete with the rubbish guest raps)."[18] Mikael Wood of Spin said that Kelis "consolidates" her previous "allure" and "turns up sex, turns down sass".[19] Andy Kellman of AllMusic felt that it lacks first-rate material and "the range of emotions to match the varied backdrops."[20] Quentin B. Huff of PopMatters argued that "[t]he songs are individually good, but don't really sound like they should have been grouped together on an album."[21]

The album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards, but lost out to Beyoncé's B'Day.[22]

Commercial performance

Kelis Was Here debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 with 58,000 copies sold in its first week, becoming Kelis's highest-peaking album on the chart to date.[23] According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album had sold 160,000 copies in the United States as of May 2010.[24]

The album debuted at number 41 on the UK Albums Chart,[25] selling 6,709 copies in its first week.[26] It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on September 29, 2006, and by May 2010, it had sold 32,083 copies in the United Kingdom.[26]

Track listing

Notes

Sample credits

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Kelis Was Here.[27]

Musicians

Technical

Artwork

Charts

Chart (2006)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 96
Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[29] 8
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[30] 60
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[31] 109

Release history

Region! scope="col"
DateLabel
CanadaAugust 22, 2006Sony BMG[32]
United StatesJive
GermanySeptember 8, 2006EMI[33]
Netherlands[34]
United KingdomSeptember 11, 2006Virgin[35]
SwedenSeptember 13, 2006EMI[36]
ItalySeptember 15, 2006[37]
AustraliaSeptember 16, 2006[38]
JapanSeptember 29, 2006[39]

Notes and References

  1. Hope . Clover . Kelis Readies New Album For June . . March 9, 2006 . October 29, 2017.
  2. Kelis Chart History (Hot 100) . Billboard . December 8, 2021.
  3. United States. Kelis. Bossy. December 11, 2006. October 29, 2017.
  4. Kelis Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs) . Billboard . December 8, 2021.
  5. Web site: Kelis full Official Chart History . . February 28, 2015.
  6. Web site: Kelis – I Don't Think So . australian-charts.com . December 5, 2010.
  7. ARIA Urban Singles Chart – Week Commencing 19th May 2008 . . 951 . May 19, 2008 . 18 . January 27, 2020 . . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080519140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20080520-0000/Issue951.pdf . May 19, 2008 . dead.
  8. Web site: Reviews for Kelis Was Here by Kelis . . October 23, 2018.
  9. Web site: Powers . Ann . Ann Powers . She may be bossy, but that's not all . . August 20, 2006 . December 7, 2010.
  10. Review: Kelis Was Here . . London . September 9, 2006 . 35 . 0028-6362.
  11. Web site: Sanneh . Kelefa . Kelefa Sanneh . Critics' Choice: New CD's . . August 21, 2006 . February 28, 2015.
  12. Kelis – Kelis Was Here (Jive) . . 244 . November 2006 . 143 . 0955-4955.
  13. Web site: Finney . Tim . Kelis: Kelis Was Here . . August 30, 2006 . December 7, 2010.
  14. Web site: Robinson . Peter . Peter Robinson (journalist) . Kelis, Kelis Was Here . . September 17, 2006 . February 28, 2015.
  15. Web site: Christgau . Robert . Robert Christgau . Consumer Guide: February–March 2007 . . February 2007 . April 7, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090204092751/http://music.msn.com/music/consumerguide/2007/2/ . February 4, 2009 . dead .
  16. Web site: Christgau . Robert . CG 90s: Key to Icons . RobertChristgau.com . 2000 . April 7, 2012.
  17. Web site: Jones . Preston . Review: Kelis, Kelis Was Here . . August 21, 2006 . April 21, 2019.
  18. Web site: Salmon . Chris . Kelis, Kelis Was Here . . September 8, 2006 . February 28, 2015.
  19. Wood . Mikael . Reviews: New CDs . . 22 . 9 . September 2006 . 104, 106 . 0886-3032 . February 28, 2015 . Google Books.
  20. Web site: Kellman . Andy . Kelis Was Here – Kelis . . February 28, 2015.
  21. Web site: Huff . Quentin B. . Kelis: Kelis Was Here . . September 7, 2006 . February 28, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131101061914/http://www.popmatters.com/review/kelis-kelis-was-here/ . November 1, 2013.
  22. Web site: 49th Annual Grammy Awards Winners List . Grammy Awards . February 28, 2015 . https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20091108091302/http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/49th_Show/list.aspx . dead . November 8, 2009.
  23. Hasty . Katie . Danity Kane Sidesteps OutKast To Claim No. 1 . Billboard . August 30, 2006 . February 28, 2015.
  24. Mitchell . Gail . Kelis: Summer Album Preview 2010 . Billboard . May 26, 2010 . February 28, 2015.
  25. Web site: Official Albums Chart Top 100 . Official Charts Company . September 17–23, 2006 . February 28, 2015.
  26. Web site: Key Releases: 22.05.10. . . May 22, 2010 . February 28, 2015 . . https://archive.today/20150228052523/http://business.highbeam.com/411456/article-1G1-226791714/key-releases-220510 . February 28, 2015.
  27. Kelis Was Here . liner notes . . . 2006 . 82876-83258-2.
  28. ARIA Top 100 Albums – Week Commencing 25th September 2006 . The ARIA Report . 864 . September 25, 2006 . 6 . January 27, 2020 . National Library of Australia . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080222222440/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20060920-0000/issue864.pdf . February 22, 2008 . dead.
  29. ARIA Urban Album Chart – Week Commencing 25th September 2006 . The ARIA Report . 864 . September 25, 2006 . 16 . January 27, 2020 . National Library of Australia . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080222222440/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20060920-0000/issue864.pdf . February 22, 2008 . dead.
  30. Web site: Albums : Top 100. Jam!. August 27, 2006. April 7, 2023 . usurped. https://archive.today/20060905123110/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html. September 5, 2006.
  31. Web site: https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/67345/products/645047/1/ . ja:ケリス・ワズ・ヒア ケリス . Kelis Was Here Kelis . ja . Oricon. January 9, 2023. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20171029175328/https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/67345/products/645047/1/. October 29, 2017.
  32. Web site: Kelis Was Here by Kelis . . February 28, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402150148/https://www.hmv.ca/en/Search/Details?sku=57909 . April 2, 2015.
  33. Web site: Kelis // Kelis Was Here . de . . February 28, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080401121159/http://www.emimusic.de/produkt/0094636320625 . April 1, 2008.
  34. Web site: Kelis Was Here, Kelis . bol.com . nl . February 28, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402143032/http://www.bol.com/nl/p/kelis-was-here/1000004004485056/ . April 2, 2015.
  35. Web site: Kelis: Kelis Was Here . . December 5, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120928231738/http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280%3B-1%3B-1%3B-1%3B-1&sku=456914 . September 28, 2012.
  36. Web site: Kelis Was Here – Kelis . CDON . sv . Sweden . December 5, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120314022619/http://cdon.se/musik/kelis/kelis_was_here-610727 . March 14, 2012.
  37. Web site: Kelis – Kelis Was Here . IBS.it . it . October 29, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171029181023/https://www.ibs.it/kelis-was-here-cd-kelis/e/0094636320625 . October 29, 2017.
  38. Web site: Kelis – Discography . musichead . December 5, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060923101653/http://www.musichead.com.au/site/artistDiscography.asp?actID=108808 . September 23, 2006.
  39. Web site: http://www.emimusic.jp/artist/kelis/?id=44650 . ja:ケリス･ワズ･ヒア . Kelis Was Here . ja . . December 5, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120930220629/http://www.emimusic.jp/artist/kelis/?id=44650 . September 30, 2012.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kelis Was Here".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.