It Was Good Until It Wasn't

On her 25th birthday, Kehlani announced the title and release date of her second studio album. She subsequently shared the album's artwork throughout her social media, which finds her peaking over a wall in her garden while holding a water hose.[3] Shortly prior to this, Kehlani signed a worldwide publishing deal with Pulse Music Group which includes her entire music catalog in addition to future works with Pulse's Vice President of A&R citing that, "Her talent both as an artist and songwriter is undeniable and seeing her career skyrocket in such a short time is incredibly impressive. We can't wait to get to work and to be a part of her team in this next stage of her career".[4]

In early 2020, Kehlani had a guest appearance on Justin Bieber's fifth studio album Changes on the song "Get Me".[5] She also featured on Megan Thee Stallion's third extended play, Suga. After much anticipation, Kehlani took to her Twitter to announce her "new album is done" and called it her "best work yet".[6] In addition to the album's release, Kehlani also released a handful of singles, including a collaboration featuring singer Keyshia Cole titled "All Me". A duet with rapper YG, who Kehlani also had a relationship with upon the release of the single,[7] titled "Konclusions" was released on Valentine's Day 2020 along with a music video. Just three days after their collaboration, the singer responded with a song titled "Valentine's Day (Shameful)" on which she confirmed their break up. The song was released on Soundcloud and was released on additional streaming services later on.[8] “You Know Wassup”, which was released in November 2019, detailed some of the struggles during her relationship with YG as well.

The album was released on May 8, 2020, by Atlantic Records. The album was made available for pre-order on April 30 alongside the song "F&MU". Kehlani was set to embark on the Changes Tour alongside Justin Bieber. The tour was set to begin on May 14 but was postponed due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.[9]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Album of the Year	72/100[13]
AnyDecentMusic?	7.3/10[14]
Metacritic	77/100[15]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[16]
Clash	9/10[17]
Exclaim!	6/10[18]
The Guardian	[19]
HipHopDX	3.8/5[20]
The Independent	[21]
The Line of Best Fit	9/10[22]
musicOMH	[23]
NME	[24]
Pitchfork	7.7/10[25]

On the review aggregate website Metacritic, It Was Good Until It Wasn't received a score of 77, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[15] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.3 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[14] Album of the Year assessed the critical consensus as a 72 out of 100, based on 13 reviews.[13]

Shakeena Johnson of Clash wrote that "The album's arrangement of serenading beats and jazzy undertones has genuinely proven that Kehlani is a force to be reckoned with." Johnson also called the album Kehlani's "best project to date."[17] The Guardian's reviewer Alexis Petridis opined that "It Was Good Until It Wasn't is an album so concise and focused that songs regularly clock in just a shade over two minutes, and which offers a succession of 21st-century reboots of the old-fashioned R&B slow jam." While Petridis noted that "everything proceeds at pretty much the same pace – languorous crawl to the bedroom", he praised the album for its variety and for not sounding monotonous.[19] Writing for The Independent, Roisin O'Connor stated that the album's "15 tracks waft in as though carried by a summer breeze; Kehlani's crystalline vocals shine through arrangements of sedate beats, jazz piano motifs, and luxurious twangs of Spanish guitar." O'Connor further noted that Kehlani demonstrates her "profound emotional intelligence" on the album and he also praised the features on the record.[21] Pitchfork's reviewer Stephen Kearse noted the album's production as more moody than previous releases by Kehlani, writing that it replaces "the sunny, poppy swells of SweetSexySavage with cloudy grooves that rock and sway rather than ascend and drop." Kearse called the record a bit diffuse at times, referring to the lack of distinct characters in Kehlani's storytelling. However, he praised her for showcasing her development as an artist, stating that she's "becoming an increasingly agile performer, rapping, singing, and everything in between."[25]

Some reviews were more mixed. Hannah Mylrea of NME stated that the problem with the record is that "it loses sight of the sheer brilliance Kehlani has demonstrated on previous releases. The dark and sexy new songs shine their brightest when coated with a layer of her previous sparkle; which makes the artist's second album a fine but frustrating release."[24] Ben Devlin of musicOMH stated that the album contains some filler songs, while noting the tracks "Can I" and "Lexii's Outro" as highlights. Devlin also directed praise towards Kehlani's songwriting and vocal performances.[23] Exclaim!'s reviewer Veracia Ankrah opined that the album's drawback is the lack of cohesiveness within its storytelling. However, Ankrah noted the songs "Bad News", Everybody Business" and "Open (Passionate)" as highlights on the record, stating that those tracks are "showcasing elements of Kehlani's strongest contributions to music thus far, and highlighting her ability to make vulnerability a strength."[18]

It Was Good Until It Wasn't debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 83,000 album-equivalent units (including 25,000 copies of pure album sales) in its first week.[29] This became Kehlani's second album to reach the US top five.[29] The album also accumulated a total of 74.68 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs during the tracking week.[29]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[30]

Notes

• "Toxic" features uncredited background vocals by Ty Dolla Sign.
• "Can I" contains an interpolation of "Come Over", as performed by Aaliyah.
• "Everybody Business" contains an interpolation of "Frontin'," as performed by Pharrell Williams.