Here (Alicia Keys album)

Here
The black and white picture shows woman with black curly hair, wearing a silver earring and looking straight at camera.
Studio album by Alicia Keys
Released November 4, 2016 (2016-11-04)
Genre
Length 45:55
Label RCA
Producer
Alicia Keys chronology
Girl on Fire
(2012)Girl on Fire2012		 Here
(2016)
Singles from Here
  1. "In Common"
    Released: May 4, 2016
  2. "Blended Family (What You Do for Love)"
    Released: October 7, 2016

Here (stylized as HERE) is the sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys. It was released on November 4, 2016, by RCA Records. Keys had finished creating and recording material for the album before she found out she was pregnant in 2014, which put the record on hold. The first single from the standard edition, "Blended Family (What You Do for Love)", was released on October 7, 2016. "In Common" and "Hallelujah" were featured on the deluxe edition of the album.[3][4][5][6][7][8] Here received a generally positive critical reception. As of May 2017, the album has sold 131,000 copies worldwide.[9]

Background

Keys told Humanity magazine that "the music for this album was created so fast—the fastest I've ever created music before. It was like raining down every night, like storms of music was just coming out. It was crazy because I never experienced creating like that; I came in already knowing what I wanted to start to talk about. I knew the topics that I wanted to address and I knew who I wanted to assemble to help me create this very powerful sonic and lyrical journey. So everything I did was with so much intention that when the music began it made sense that it just came so fast. We did probably 30 songs in like 10 days."[10][11]

Here is Keys' first album in four years, following Girl on Fire (2012). Keys said that she was not planning a hiatus, but after she finished recording material for the album, she found out she was pregnant which "put a different time spin on things."[10] Her son Genesis was born in December 2014.[12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10[13]
Metacritic76/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Consequence of SoundB–[16]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[17]
The Guardian[18]
The Independent[19]
The Irish Times[20]
NME[21]
Pitchfork6.5/10[22]
Rolling Stone[1]
ViceA–[23]

Here was met with generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 76, based on 14 reviews.[14] Andy Gill of The Independent praised Keys' writing and musicality, regarding her work to be "grounded in a melodic appeal that’s almost magnetic".[19] Writing for Vice, Robert Christgau hailed it as Keys' best record since her debut, deeming it "simultaneously raw and political" and commending Keys' "adventures in gospel grit".[23] The Wall Street Journal's Jim Fusilli complimented Keys' expressive piano, affecting vocals, and eschewing commerciality, in an album that "pursues new sounds without abandoning that kind of classic soul she does so well" and "delivers a satisfying, enriching experience".[2] Entertainment Weekly writer Nolan Feeney said that "the combination of Keys' subject matter and her urgent delivery" makes Here "her most vital release in years — and a welcome addition to 2016’s rich canon of albums ... that address black life in America.[17] Nick Levine from NME praised Keys' "looser and more youthful" approach, and appreciated that she "doesn't shy away from the personal here" while also looking outwards in explorations of social struggles.[21] Ludovic Hunter-Tilney wrote in Financial Times that Here was animated by "politically active music" such as Sam Cooke's 1964 Civil Rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come", and suggested that Keys' "powerful vocals carry the memory of Lauryn Hill in her prime".[24]

Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine proclaimed that Keys "seems at once more awake and relaxed than ever on her first album in four years". Praising Keys' "naked" performances throughout the album, he found that the album avoids formula and radio staples, and mixes "the political with the personal".[25] The Guardian's Edward Bowser considered the album "a sobering piece of work", adding that "despite an undertow of glum earnestness, Keys has never sounded so committed".[18] Emily Mackay of The Observer highlighted the "gritty, gut-punch power" of Keys' "urgent" voice and the album's "warmth, wisdom and confident class", regarding it as a "standout" of the year.[26] Keith Harris, writing for Rolling Stone, remarked that the album "downplays her classical training in favor of a grittier R&B edge." He described the melded atmosphere Keys inhabits as the sound of New York "reimagined as a hectic but coherent symphony", and regarded her "socially consciousness lyrics as tough as her sound" while also commending her expression of hope.[1] Nina Corcoran of Consequence of Sound commended Keys for subverting expectations and "embrac[ing] bareness" in her music and voice. Keys' lyrical narratives "become a pile of truth", through with Keys express her frustrations and desire for change, and the album, Corcoran considered, "doesn’t struggle to balance [the] range of topics", while the songs "resonate deeper than the concrete jungle it colors."[16] Colin Mcguire of PopMatters declared Here Keys' "rawest and best album of her career", evoking the edge that made her debut "so memorable", and representing her "most fully exhilarating musical experience" to date. Mcguire praised the honesty and raw emotion Keys conveys, and concluded that the album "should be all but impossible for soul music lovers to ignore this release."[27]

Some reviewers were less enthusiastic. Andy Kellman of AllMusic felt that "Keys' invigorated energy level and need to simply expel ideas, rather than refine them, lends the album a hollow quality" as a number of the songs "are not lacking in energy or conviction, but they're raw as in crude" and "the outside productions don't add a whole lot". Kellman, however, praised her impassioned voice and noted that "for all the haste, the album does contain a batch of career standouts".[15] Vanessa Okoth-Obbo from Pitchfork disapproved of Keys "inhabiting the personae of multiple characters" when, according to Okoth-Obbo, she "still doesn't tell us much about herself". While she complimented Keys' "willingness to experiment with her sound" and her flexing "dexterity, moving easily between ballads and more uptempo beats and varying her delivery", she remarked that the album "does little to further our understanding of who Keys is" and lyrically here she "rarely betrays a sense of adventure".[22]

Promotion

On October 9, 2016, Keys performed a concert Here in Times Square in Times Square, New York. The performance was televised by BET on November 3, 2016.[28]

Commercial performance

Here debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 50,000 album-equivalent units, of which 42,000 were pure album sales.[29] It topped the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums on November 26, 2016 (making it the seventh time),[30] as well as the UK R&B Chart. It's Keys' seventh top ten album in the United States, and, along with The Element of Freedom, her only studio album not to top the Billboard 200.[29] Apart from the United States, the album peaked within the top ten on Canadian Albums Chart, Five Music Chart in Taiwan and Schweizer Hitparade Chart in Switzerland. It failed to enter the top twenty in the United Kingdom, peaking at number twenty-one on the UK Albums Chart. In Australia, the album failed to enter the top ten, peaking at number fourteen on the ARIA Charts. As of May 2017, the album has sold 131,000 copies worldwide.[9]

Track listing

Here – Standard edition[31]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Beginning (interlude)"
1:04
2."The Gospel"
3:01
3."Pawn It All"
  • Keys
  • Batson
  • Beatz
3:10
4."Elaine Brown (interlude)"
  • Keys
  • Keys
0:50
5."Kill Your Mama"
Keys2:40
6."She Don't Really Care_1 Luv" (written by)
  • Keys
  • Beatz
  • Johnson
6:07
7."Elevate (interlude)"
  • Keys
  • Keys
0:48
8."Illusion of Bliss"
  • Keys
  • Batson
  • Dean
  • Lilly
  • Keys
  • Batson
  • Beatz
5:23
9."Blended Family (What You Do for Love)" (featuring ASAP Rocky)
  • Keys
  • Batson
3:31
10."Work on It"
  • Keys
  • Williams
3:34
11."Cocoa Butter (Cross & Pic Interlude)"
  • Keys
  • Keys
0:59
12."Girl Can't Be Herself"
  • Keys
  • Batson
  • Lilly
  • Martin
  • Keys
  • Batson
  • Beatz
2:39
13."You Glow (interlude)"
  • Keys
  • Keys
0:25
14."More than We Know"
  • Keys
  • Hyman
  • Batson
  • Lilly
  • Martin
  • Keys
  • Batson
  • Beatz
4:35
15."Where Do We Begin Now"
  • Keys
  • Batson
  • Lilly
  • Keys
  • Batson
  • Beatz
2:47
16."Holy War"
4:22
Total length:45:55

Notes

Personnel

Credits which adapted from Here liner notes.[35]

Charts

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, edition(s), format(s), label and reference.
Region Date Edition(s) Format(s) Label Ref.
United Kingdom November 4, 2016
  • Standard
  • Deluxe
RCA [60]
United States [31]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Harris, Keith (April 25, 2016). "Review: Alicia Keys Gets Gritty, Eclectic, Political on 'Here'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
  2. 1 2 Fusilli, Jim (November 5, 2016). "'Here' by Alicia Keys Review: The Rewards of Risk Taking". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  3. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (October 7, 2016). "Alicia Keys Releasing 'Here' on Nov. 4; Listen to 'Blended Family' Single with A$AP Rocky". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ Blistein, Jon (October 7, 2016). "Hear Alicia Keys' Heartfelt Ode 'Blended Family' With A$AP Rocky". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  5. ↑ Pearce. Sheldon (October 7, 2016). "Alicia Keys Announces New Album Here, Shares A$AP Rocky Collab "Blended Family (What You Do For Love)": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  6. ↑ Renshaw, David (October 7, 2016). "Alicia Keys Announces New Album Here With A$AP Rocky Collaboration". The Fader. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  7. ↑ Young, Alex (October 7, 2016). "Alicia Keys announces new album, Here, shares ASAP Rocky single — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  8. ↑ Goodman, Jessica (October 7, 2016). "Alicia Keys releases A$AP Rocky collab from new album, Here". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Boneschansker, Daniel. "Grammys 2018: What Are the Best-selling Albums (so Far) Eligible for Album of the Year?" Goldderby. Goldderby, 11 May 2017. Web. 26 May 2017.
  10. 1 2 Freedman, Jared (July 6, 2016). "Alicia Keys". Citizens of Humanity. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ Geslani, Michele (November 4, 2016). "Stream: Alicia Keys' new album HERE". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  12. ↑ Webber, Stephanie (December 28, 2014). "Alicia Keys Gives Birth, Welcomes Second Baby Boy With Swizz Beatz: See His Unique Name!". Us Weekly. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Here by Alicia Keys reviews". Any Decent Music. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Here". Metacritic. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
  15. 1 2 Kellman, Andy. "Alicia Keys - Here". AllMusic. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  16. 1 2 Corcoran, Nina (November 14, 2016). "Alicia Keys – Here". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  17. 1 2 Feeney, Nolan (November 9, 2016). "Alicia Keys' Here: EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  18. 1 2 Bowser, Edward (November 10, 2016). "Album Review: Alicia Keys, Here". The Guardian. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  19. 1 2 Gill, Andy (November 9, 2016). "Album reviews: Emeli Sande - Long Live The Angels, Sting - 57th & 9th, Alicia Keys - Here, Simple Minds - Acoustic". The Independent. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  20. ↑ Carroll, Jim (November 2, 2016). "Alicia Keys - Here album review: swinging for a whole different set of musical pitches". The Irish Times. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  21. 1 2 Levine, Nick (November 11, 2016). "Album Review: Alicia Keys, Here". NME. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  22. 1 2 Okoth-Obbo, Vanessa (November 10, 2016). "Alicia Keys — Here". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  23. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (November 25, 2016). "We the People: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Vice. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  24. ↑ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (November 11, 2016). "Alicia Keys: Here — review". Financial Times. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  25. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (November 4, 2016). "Alicia Keys: Here". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  26. ↑ Mackay, Emily (November 13, 2016). "Alicia Keys: Here review – gritty, gut-punch power". The Observer. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  27. ↑ Mcguire, Colin (November 10, 2016). "Alicia Keys: Here". PopMatters. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Alicia Keys Shuts Down Times Square With Hometown Concert". Billboard.
  29. 1 2 Caulfield, Keith (November 13, 2016). "Bon Jovi Earns Sixth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  30. ↑ Mendizabal, Amaya (November 16, 2016). "Alicia Keys Collects Seventh No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart". Billboard.
  31. 1 2 "Here by Alicia Keys on iTunes US". iTunes. Apple (US). Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Here by Alicia Keys on iTunes GB". iTunes. Apple (GB). Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Here (Deluxe)". Google Play Music. Archived from the original on January 15, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  34. ↑ "Amazon.co.jp: ヒアー :アリシア・キーズ 形式: CD" (in Japanese). Amazon.
  35. ↑ Here (CD). Alicia Keys. 2016.
  36. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Alicia Keys – Here". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Alicia Keys – Here" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  38. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Alicia Keys – Here" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Alicia Keys – Here" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Alicia Keys Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  41. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Alicia Keys – Here" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  42. ↑ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes - SNEP (Week 45, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Alicia Keys – Here" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  44. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 45, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  45. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Alicia Keys – Here". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  46. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Alicia Keys – Here". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  47. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Alicia Keys – Here". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  49. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Alicia Keys – Here". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  50. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  51. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Alicia Keys – Here". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  52. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Alicia Keys – Here". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  53. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Alicia Keys – Here". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Alicia Keys | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  55. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  56. ↑ "Alicia Keys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  57. ↑ "Alicia Keys Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  58. ↑ "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-end Chart 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  59. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  60. ↑ "Here by Alicia Keys: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
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