''In My Own Words'' is the debut studio album of American singer-songwriter
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...
. It was released by
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
The l ...
on February 28, 2006. Conceived following his songwriting breakthrough with "
Let Me Love You" for fellow R&B singer
Mario
Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...
in 2004,
Ne-Yo worked with musicians
Ron "Neff-U" Feemster,
Brandon Howard,
Shea Taylor, and
Curtis "Sauce" Wilson, as well as Norwegian production duo
Stargate
''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...
on most of the album, some of which would become regular contributors on subsequent projects. The singer co-wrote the lyrics for each song on ''In My Own Words'' which features guest appearances by rappers
Peedi Peedi and
Ghostface Killah
Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...
.
Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics and earned a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nomination in the
Best Contemporary R&B Album category.
It debuted at number one on the US
''Billboard'' 200, with 301,000 copies sold, and reached the top ten of the
Canadian Albums Chart
The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...
. It was subsequently certified platinum by
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA), with 1.5 million copies sold in the United States, and became a platinum-seller in Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom as well. Four singles were released from the album, including "
Stay
Stay may refer to:
Places
* Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US
Law
* Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment
* Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tr ...
", "
When You're Mad", "
Sexy Love", and the number-one hit "
So Sick". In further support, Ne-Yo went on tour in August 2006 with singer
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...
and
Dem Franchize Boyz
Dem Franchize Boyz was an American hip hop music, hip hop group from Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, signed to E1 Music. The group had four members: Parlae (born Maurice Gleaton), Pimpin' (Jamal Willingham), Jizzal Man (Bernard Leverette), and Buddie ...
.
Critical reception
At
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an
average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
score of 69, which indicates "generally favorable" reviews, based on 11 reviews.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
editor Andy Kellman gave ''In My Own Words'' a four-and-a-half-out-of-five-stars-rating and noted that it "could turn out to be the most impressive R&B debut of 2006, as well as one of several milestones in a lengthy career
.. It's very focused and surprisingly taut, especially for a debut that involves several producers
..Its modern approach, interlocked with touches of '70s and '80s R&B sensibilities, is also in effect for the entirety of the album."
In his review for ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'', Steve Jones remarked that "Ne-Yo is the latest in a recent line of engaging young R&B singers but with his own words he sets himself apart
..On his soulful solo debut, it's apparent that the Las Vegas-bred singer saved some of his best lyrical work for himself."
''
Yardbarker
Yardbarker is a digital media property focused on the publishing of sports and entertainment news and information. Founded in 2006, the property distributes content on Yardbarker.com, social media platforms and via third party syndication partn ...
'' listed the album among "The best R&B albums of the 2000s".
Dan Nishimoto from ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' declared the album a "notable success. With spare but clean, rounded yet consistent production, the album has an appealing azure quality."
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' found that "though, at times, the lyrics are a bit too sentimental and production is spotty, ''In My Own Words'' should have listeners clinging to Ne-Yo's every word."
Kelefa Sanneh, writer for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', complimented Ne-Yo for his "smooth" writing and added: "Not everything on this CD is that brilliant, or that shameless, but Ne-Yo is a deft and appealing player in the game of modern-day R&B."
Slightly less impressed, ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
''s Sal Cinquemani found that ''In My Own Words'' "might pale next to
Legend">ohnLegend’s
stellar debut, but, even at its
Robert Kelly worst, it’s not hateable. And isn’t that all one can ask for from mainstream R&B these days?"
''
Blender'' wrote that "even at its weepiest, his music, thankfully, stays vivacious."
Raymond Fiore from ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' called the album a "confident if slightly underwhelming debut."
Commercial performance
In his home country of the United States, ''In My Own Words'' debuted at number one on the
''Billboard'' 200, with 301,000 copies sold in its first week. In its second week, the album remained in the top ten at ''Billboard'' 200, fell to number five, selling 113,000 copies (down 62 percent). In its third week, the album jump to number four on the chart, selling 77,000 copies (down 33 percent). On March 29, 2006, the album has been certified
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA), for sales of over a million copies.
As of March 2007, ''In My Own Words'' has sold 1.4 million copies in the United States.
Track listing
;Notes
*
signifies an additional producer
;Sample credits
*"Stay" contains an interpolation of "
Stay with Me", written by
Mark DeBarge and Etterlene Jordan, and performed by
DeBarge
DeBarge was an American musical recording group composed of several members of the DeBarge family. In addition to various solo projects completed by members of the family, DeBarge was active between 1979 and 1989. The group originally consiste ...
.
*"It Just Ain't Right" contains a sample of "
I Call Your Name", written by
Bobby DeBarge
Robert Louis DeBarge, Jr. (March 5, 1956 – August 16, 1995) was an American singer and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group Switch, releasing hit records on the Motown label from 1977 to 1980. He has been noted for his fal ...
and Gregory Williams, and performed
Switch
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...
.
*"Get Down Like That" contains a sample from
The O'Jays
The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...
' "
I Swear, I Love No One But You", written by
Bunny Sigler and performed by
The O'Jays
The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...
.
Personnel
Credits adapted from album's liner notes.
*
Tom Coyne – mastering
*Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing
(tracks 3–6, 8, 9, 11, 13)
*
Mikkel S. Eriksen – producer, engineer, and all instruments
(tracks 3, 10–12)
*
Ron "Neff-U" Feemstar – producer
(tracks 1, 7)
*
Ghostface Killah
Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...
– rap
(track 13)
*Larry Gold – strings
(track 12)
*
Tor Erik Hermansen – producer and all instruments
(tracks 3, 10–12)
*Robert "Bob the Builder" Horn – engineer and mixing
(tracks 1, 2, 7)
*
Brandon Howard – additional production
(track 8)
*Alrad "Boola" Lewis – producer
(track 8)
*
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...
– vocals
(all tracks)
*
Peedi Peedi – vocals
(track 1)
*
Dave Pensado – mixing
(track 12)
*Ervin "EP" Pope – producer
(tracks 9, 13)
*Brian "B-Nasty" Reid – producer
(track 2)
*
Nisan Stewart – drums
(track 12)
*Sean Tallman – additional engineering
(tracks 3, 4, 6, 9, 13)
*
Phil Tan – mixing
(track 10)
*
Shea Taylor – producer and guitar
(tracks 4, 6)
*Michael Tocci – engineer
(track 5)
*Curtis "Sauce" Wilson – producer
(track 5), engineer
(tracks 4, 6, 9, 13)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
External links
*
In My Own Words' at
Discogs
Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
*
Album reviewat ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
''
Album Reviewat ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
''
{{Authority control
2006 debut albums
Ne-Yo albums
Def Jam Recordings albums
Albums produced by Stargate
Albums produced by Theron Feemster
Albums recorded at Westlake Recording Studios