Unpredictable (Jamie Foxx album)
| Unpredictable | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Jamie Foxx | ||||
| Released | December 27, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2004–05 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 62:25 | |||
| Label | J | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Jamie Foxx chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Unpredictable | ||||
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Unpredictable is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter and actor Jamie Foxx. It was released on December 27, 2005, by J Records. Recording sessions took place from 2004 to 2005, with the production that was provided by Timbaland, Mike City, Sean Garrett and Jim Jonsin, among others. The album serves as a follow-up to the release of Peep This (1994), which occurred to be his first studio release in eleven years. The album was supported by four singles: "Extravaganza" featuring Kanye West, the title track "Unpredictable" featuring Ludacris, "DJ Play a Love Song" featuring Twista, and "Can I Take U Home".
Upon its release, Unpredictable received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who were ambivalent towards its lyrical content and production. The album debuted at number 2, beating behind Mary J. Blige's The Breakthrough on the US Billboard 200, with 597,000 copies in its first week.[1] In the second week, the album rose to number one, overtaking Blige, making Foxx as the fourth artist to ever won a Academy Award for acting, while achieving a number-one album on the US Billboard charts.
Commercial performance
Unpredictable debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, beaten to number-one by Mary J. Blige with The Breakthrough. It sold 597,000 copies in its first week.[1] In its second week, it climbed to number one, despite a 77% decrease, selling 139,000 copies. In its third week, it slipped to number 3, with a 29% decrease, selling 93,000 copies. In its fourth week of sales, it increased by 2%, selling 96,000 copies. However, the album slid another spot down to number 4. In its fifth week, it suffered a 21% decrease, sliding to number 10, selling 75,000 copies. To date, the album has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with an excess of two million copies sold in the United States.
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 52/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [3] |
| Blender | [4] |
| Robert Christgau |  [5] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C-[6] |
| HipHopDX.com | [7] |
| Los Angeles Times | [8] |
| Rolling Stone | [9] |
| Paste | [10] |
| Vibe | [2] |
| The Village Voice | (favorable)[11] |
| The Guardian | [12] |
Unpredictable received generally mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 52, which indicates "mixed or average reviews", based on 16 reviews.[2]
- E! Online - 7.5 out of 10 -"Whether he makes it all work via his musical skills or chameleonic acting ability, we don't know, but it does work."[2]
- Rolling Stone - 6 out of 10 - "When the album works, it's because of Foxx's easy charm and A-list confidence."[9]
- Paste- 3 out of 10 - "It's better to be the imitation Ray Charles than the poor man's R. Kelly."[10]
- Q magazine - 4 out of 10 - "The voice that set such a spark to West's Gold Digger should be capable of more than this exaggerated comedy sex routine."[13]
- Alex Petridis of The Guardian was also not impressed with the album, saying: "Unpredictable resembles another legendary thespian's venture into pop, William Shatner's 1968 opus The Transformed Man, in that you start to wonder whether Foxx is actually serious or not."[14]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Unpredictable" (featuring Ludacris) | 3:39 | |
| 2. | "Warm Bed" |
| 3:53 |
| 3. | "DJ Play a Love Song" (featuring Twista) |
| 4:18 |
| 4. | "With You" (featuring The Game and Snoop Dogg) | Tank | 4:20 |
| 5. | "Can I Take U Home" | 4:15 | |
| 6. | "Love Changes" (featuring Mary J. Blige) |
| 4:30 |
| 7. | "Extravaganza" (featuring Kanye West) | Mike City | 4:15 |
| 8. | "Three Letter Word" |
| 4:42 |
| 9. | "Get This Money" | Mike City | 4:31 |
| 10. | "VIP" |
| 3:54 |
| 11. | "Do What It Do" |
| 4:03 |
| 12. | "Storm (Forecast)" | 4:27 | |
| 13. | "U Still Got It (Interlude)" (featuring Common) |
| 2:47 |
| 14. | "Heaven" | 3:54 | |
| 15. | "Wish U Were Here" | Ron "Neff-U" Feemster | 4:13 |
| Japanese bonus track | ||
|---|---|---|
| Track listing | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
| 16. | "This Love" | 3:27 |
Charts
Album – Billboard (US) actual sales 1,980,000
| Year | Chart(s) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) | 1 |
| 2006 | US Billboard 200 | 1 |
Singles – Billboard (US)
| Year | Song | Chart(s) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Unpredictable" (featuring Ludacris) | US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 8 | ||
| UK Singles Chart | 16 | ||
| "Extravaganza" (featuring Kanye West) | US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) | 52 | |
| UK Singles Chart | 43 | ||
| 2006 | "DJ Play a Love Song" (featuring Twista) | US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) | 5 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 45 | ||
| "Can I Take U Home" | US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) | 48 |
References
- 1 2 "Previous Album Sales Chart". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
- 1 2 3 4 "Unpredictable Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r806586
- ↑ http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=3744
- ↑ http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=jamie+foxx
- ↑ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1146053,00.html
- ↑ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.602/title.jamie-foxx-unpredictable
- ↑ Cromelin, Richard; Baker, Soren (2005-12-24). "Unpredictable Foxx and generous Snoop". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- 1 2 Hoard, Christian (2006-01-12). "Jamie Foxx: Unpredictable". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-06-22. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- 1 2 Howe, Brian (2006-03-27). "Jamie Foxx - Unpredictable". Paste. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ↑ http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0603,tate,71732,22.html
- ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/apr/21/popandrock.shopping6
- ↑ Q Magazine. May 2006. Page 126
- ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/apr/21/popandrock.shopping6
External links
- http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20051229/en_music_eo/18046
- http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/60198/foxx-overtakes-blige-on-album-chart
| Preceded by The Breakthrough by Mary J. Blige |
Billboard 200 number-one album January 8–21, 2006 January 29 – February 4, 2006 |
Succeeded by The Breakthrough by Mary J. Blige Ancora by Il Divo |