''Unpredictable'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter and actor

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film ''Ray'', for which he won the A ...

. It was released on December 27, 2005, by

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...

. The album was supported by four singles: "

Extravaganza An extravaganza is a literary or musical work (often musical theatre) usually containing elements of burlesque, pantomime, music hall and parody in a spectacular production and characterized by freedom of style and structure. It sometimes als ...

" featuring

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

Unpredictable Unpredictable may refer to: Film and TV * "Unpredictable" (''Eureka''), an episode of ''Eureka'' Music Albums * ''Unpredictable'' (Classified album), 2000 * ''Unpredictable'' (Jamie Foxx album), 2005 * ''Unpredictable'' (Malik B. album), 2015 ...

" featuring

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

, "

DJ Play a Love Song "DJ Play a Love Song" is a song by American entertainer Jamie Foxx. It was written by Sean Garrett, Jamal Jones, and Jason Perry for his second album, '' Unpredictable'' (2005), while production was helmed by Garrett and Jones under his productio ...

" featuring

Twista Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (formerly Tung Twista), is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastes ...

, 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 two on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 597,000 copies in its first week and has since peaked at number one on the chart. The album was certified

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

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/ ...

(RIAA).

Recording

Recording sessions took place from 2004 to 2005, with the Record production that was provided by

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

Mike City Mike City (born Michael Flowers) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for producing the singles " I Wish" for Carl Thomas, " Heard It All Before" for Sunshine Anderson, "Full Moon" for Brandy and "One Woman ...

Sean Garrett Garrett Robin Hamler, known professionally as Sean Garrett, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is responsible for a series of chart-topping compositions, most notably Usher's " Yeah!" which ranks second on the ''Billboar ...

and

Jim Jonsin James Gregory Scheffer (born June 8, 1970), professionally known as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer, songwriter, businessman and DJ from South Florida. Jonsin has collaborated with numerous artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, ...

, among others. The album serves as a follow-up to the release of ''

Peep This ''Peep This'' is the debut studio album by American singer and actor Jamie Foxx, then of ''In Living Color'' fame. It was released on July 19, 1994, by Fox Records. The album peaked at #78 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album received mixed to n ...

'' (1994), making it his first studio release in eleven years.

Critical reception

''Unpredictable'' received polarized reviews from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, 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. *''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." *''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' – 6 out of 10 – "When the album works, it's because of Foxx's easy charm and A-list confidence." *''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, A liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves a ...

''- 3 out of 10 – "It's better to be the imitation Ray Charles than the poor man's R. Kelly." *''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." *Alex Petridis of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' was also not impressed with the album, saying: "''Unpredictable'' resembles another legendary thespian's venture into pop,

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpri ...

's 1968 opus ''

The Transformed Man ''The Transformed Man'' is the debut album by actor William Shatner. It was originally released in 1968 by Decca Records (Cat. #DL 75043), while Shatner was still starring in the original ''Star Trek'' series, and began his musical career. The a ...

'', in that you start to wonder whether Foxx is actually serious or not."

Commercial performance

''Unpredictable'' debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 597,000 copies in its first week. The album debuted behind

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

The Breakthrough ''The Breakthrough'' is the seventh studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige, released on December 20, 2005, by Geffen Records. Blige recorded the album with a host of songwriters and record producers, including 9th Wonder, Rodney Jerkins, ...

album. In its second week, the album climbed to number one on the chart, selling an additional 200,000 copies. Foxx became the fourth

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

-winning actor with a number-one album on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. In its third week, the album remained at number one on the chart, selling 131,000 more copies. In its fourth week, the album remained at number one on the chart, selling 103,000 copies. On March 24, 2006, the album was certified

by the

(RIAA) for sales of over two million copies in the United States.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links