Kelis Was Here

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Kelis Was Here
Studio album by Kelis
Released	August 22, 2006 September 11, 2006
Recorded	2004–2006
Genre	R&B/Hip-hop
Length	72:42 (U.S. edition) 76:39 (international edition)
Label	LaFace/Jive Virgin
Producer(s)	Kelis, Scott Storch, Raphael Saadiq, Cee-Lo Green, Cool & Dre, Damon Elliott, Max Martin, Linda Perry, will.i.am, Swizz Beatz, Polow Da Don, Bangladesh
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Entertainment Weekly (B) link musicOMH.com link Observer link Pitchfork Media link Slant Magazine link
Kelis chronology
Tasty (2003)	Kelis Was Here (2006)	kelis 5th studio album (2007)

Kelis Was Here is the fourth studio album by American R&B/hip-hop singer Kelis, released by LaFace/Jive Records on August 22, 2006 in the United States and on September 11, 2006 via Virgin Records worldwide. It involves production by Raphael Saadiq, Swizz Beatz, Max Martin, and Scott Storch, among others and also features duets with will.i.am, Nas, and Cee-Lo Green. The album was nominated for the "Best Contemporary R&B Album" category at the 2007 Grammy Awards.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Chart performance 2 Track listings 2.1 North America 2.2 International Edition 3 Credits and personnel 3.1 Production 4 Leftover tracks 5 Charts

[edit] History

[edit] Chart performance

The album debuted at number ten on the U.S. Billboard 200 and at number six on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with more than 58,000 units sold within its first week of release, making it Kelis' best-charting album to date. Nevertheless sales declined soon and the album fell quickly off the chart after its sixth week. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Kelis Was Here barely sold 130,000 copies in the United States (as of November 2, 2006), also making it her least successful album to date.

The album has not had much better success internationally; In the UK, the album has been ceritifed by BPI the British music industry association as Silver. According to the BPI the album has shipped 60,000 copies on September 29th 2006. Kelis Was Here was certified Gold in Australia for 35,000 copies sold (despite never entering the top fifty of the Australian chart). Due to the success of Lil Star the album has reentered the top 75 UK albums chart at #65 on March 5th 2007.

Despite low sales, the album was nominated for the "Best Contemporary R&B Album" category at the 2007 Grammy Awards. Although not her first nomination, it was the singer's first album to be nominated for a Grammy ( her 2003 nomination was for her song "Milkshake" in the "Best Urban/Alternative Performance" cateogory ).

The album's lead single, "Bossy", was a moderate hit which features rapper Too $hort. It broke into the top twenty of the Billboard Hot 100 to peak at #16, but saw limited success outside the U.S., especially in the UK, where Kelis is used to have good results, by peaking only at #21. The second single from the album in the U.S., "Blindfold Me", featuring Nas, peaked at #91 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The second single in UK and Europe, was "Lil' Star" which features Cee-Lo of Gnarls Barkley fame. It has entered the UK Singles Chart at #37 a whole three weeks before its official release there, and has so far peaked at #11 on the UK iTunes Store Top 100 songs. Its big success was certified when it landed at #3 in the UK Singles Chart the second week week of its official release. "Lil' Star" became Kelis' biggest hit since 2004's "Millionaire". The single also reached no.2 on the Irish music charts in Ireland and has been a return to form for Kelis.

[edit] Track listings

[edit] North America

1. "Intro" – 1:27
2. "Bossy" (featuring Too $hort) – 4:34
3. "What's That Right There" (featuring will.i.am) – 4:17
4. "Till the Wheels Fall Off" – 4:13
5. "Living Proof" – 3:41
6. "Blindfold Me" – 3:48
7. "Goodbyes" – 4:42
8. "Trilogy" – 3:56
9. "Circus" – 4:40
10. "Weekend" – 4:42
11. "Like You" – 3:00
12. "Aww S***!" (featuring Smoke) – 4:09
13. "Lil' Star" (featuring Cee-Lo) – 4:55
14. "I Don't Think So" – 3:02
15. "Handful" – 2:59
16. "Appreciate Me" – 4:02
17. "Have a Nice Day" (with 1 minute of silence following) – 6:33
18. "Fuck Them Bitches" (hidden track) – 3:49

[edit] International Edition

1. "Intro" – 1:27
2. "Blindfold Me" (featuring Nas) – 4:19
3. "Bossy" (featuring Too $hort) – 4:34
4. "Fire" (featuring Spragga Benz) – 3:31
5. "I Don't Think So" – 3:02
6. "Weekend" – 4:42
7. "Trilogy" – 3:56
8. "Appreciate Me" – 4:02
9. "Till the Wheels Fall Off" – 4:13
10. "Handful" – 2:59
11. "Aww S***!" (featuring Smoke) – 4:09
12. "What's That Right There" (featuring will.i.am) – 4:17
13. "Circus" – 4:40
14. "Lil' Star" (featuring Cee-Lo) – 4:55
15. "Like You" – 3:00
16. "Living Proof" – 3:41
17. "Goodbyes" – 4:42
18. "Have a Nice Day" (with 1 minute of silence following) – 6:33
19. "Fuck Them Bitches" (hidden track) – 3:49

[edit] Credits and personnel

• Kelis - vocals
• Dawn Beckman - choir
• Renee Bowers - choir
• Renato Brasa - percussion
• Kerry Braxton - choir
• Jason Brown - choir
• Joseph Edwards - choir
• Jim Gilstrap - choir
• Julio Handson - choir
• Keith Harris - bass
• Jake & the Phatman - percussion, turntables
• John Patrick - choir
• Chuck Prada - percussion
• Sandra Riley - choir
• Raphael Saadiq - bass
• Erika Schimdt - choir
• will.i.am - bass

[edit] Production

• Executive producers: Kelis, Mark Pitts, J. Erving
• Producers: Shondrae "Bangladesh" Crawford, Cool & Dre, Dr. Luke, Damon Elliott, Sean Garrett, Cee-Lo Green, Jake & the Phatman Don, Knobody, Max Martin, Polow Da Don, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Raphael Saadiq, Scott Storch, Teddy Bear, will.i.am
• Engineers: Joe Peluso, John Tanksley, John Hanes
• Mixing: John Frye, Ethan Willoughby, Joe Peluso, Danny Romero, Brian Stanley, Phil Tan, Fabian Marasciullo, Jean Marie, Serban Gheneaat, Darien Gap, Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado
• Mastering: Chris Athens
• A&R: Mark Pitts
• Assistants: John Tanksley, Mike Makowski, Josh Houghkirk, Vadim Chislov, James Roach, Chad Jolley, Colin Miller, Tim Roberts, *Nathan Connelly, The Blitzburg Group, Dave Mattix
• Production coordination: Wesley Morrow
• Programming: Teddy "Bear"
• Drum programming: Jake & the Phatman
• Arranger: Damon Elliott, Grecco Burratto
• Photography: Markus Klinko and Indrani
• Artwork: Denise Trotman
• Hair: Dickie
• Make-Up: Sharon Gault
• Stylist: Andrea Lieberman

[edit] Leftover tracks

• "Fire" (featuring Spragga Benz) (produced by Bloodshy and Avant) - 2:56
• "Handful" (Alternate version) (featuring Nas) - 3:04
• "Waiting for War" (produced by Swizz Beatz)
• "Feelings Change"
• "Push It to the Edge" (produced by Scott Storch) (featured in the Ford commercials)

[edit] Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position	Certification
U.S. Billboard 200	10	—
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	6
Australian ARIA Albums Chart	96	-
Austrian Album Chart	69	—
Dutch Mega Albums Chart	82	—
French Album Chart	104	—
German Album Chart	77	—
Swiss Album Chart	22	—
Swedish Album Chart	51	—
UK Albums Chart	41	Silver
UK R&B Albums Chart	16	-
United World Chart	25	—