Kelis Was Here

Kelis Was Here
Studio album by Kelis
Released	August 22, 2006
Recorded	October 2004 – June 2006
Studio	Various Ändersson Studios (Stockholm, Sweden) Bangladesh Studios, Blue Basement Recordings, Doppler Studios (Atlanta, Georgia) Battery Studios, Right Track Recording, Sony Music Studios (New York City, New York) Blakeslee Recording Company (North Hollywood, California) Chalice Recording Studios, Record Plant (Hollywood, California) Glenwood Place Studios (Burbank, California) The Hit Factory Criteria (Miami, Florida) Ocean Way Recording (Los Angeles, California) Westlake Audio (West Hollywood, California)
Genre	R&B[1]
Length	72:42
Label	Jive Zomba
Producer	Bangladesh Bloodshy & Avant Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd Cool & Dre Dr. Luke Damon Elliott Sean Garrett Cee-Lo Green Jake and the Phatman Knobody Max Martin Polow da Don Raphael Saadiq Scott Storch Teddy "Bear" will.i.am
Kelis chronology
Tasty (2003) Kelis Was Here (2006) The Hits (2008)
Singles from Kelis Was Here
"Bossy" Released: January 31, 2006 "Blindfold Me" Released: October 3, 2006 "Lil Star" Released: February 19, 2007

Kelis Was Here is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Kelis, released August 22, 2006 by Jive Records. It features production by Bangladesh, Raphael Saadiq, Max Martin, Sean Garrett, and Scott Storch, among others, and also features collaborations with will.i.am, Nas, Cee-Lo, Too Short, and Spragga Benz. The album received a nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards and is notable for being the first Kelis record to feature no production from longtime collaborators The Neptunes.

Release and promotion

The album's lead single, "Bossy", features rapper Too Short. The song peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 11, 2006.^[2][3] The second single from the album, "Blindfold Me", featuring Nas, was released solely in the United States. It failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100,^[2] while peaking at number 91 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[4] "Lil Star", which features Cee-Lo of the duo Gnarls Barkley, was released internationally as the album's third and final single. The track reached number three on the UK Singles Chart, earning Kelis her fifth UK top-five hit as a lead artist.^[5]

Due to the use of "I Don't Think So" in a promotional advertising for Big Brother Australia 2008, the song entered the Australian ARIA Singles Chart at number 49 on April 21, 2008. The following week it rose to number 29, ultimately peaking at number 27.^[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	70/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Entertainment Weekly	B[1]
The Guardian	[9]
Los Angeles Times	[10]
NME	7/10[11]
Pitchfork Media	7.5/10[12]
Q	[13]
Slant Magazine	[14]
Spin	[15]
Uncut	[16]

Kelis Was Here received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 70, based on 23 reviews.^[7] Ann Powers from the Los Angeles Times praised its eclectic music and said that it "mines a memory of R&B as the playground of category-dismantling individualists."^[10] NME magazine wrote that it feels like "a wildly ambitious Warhol-esque art project."^[11] Kelefa Sanneh from The New York Times described the album as "typically garish and glorious", with sounds that range from "space-age hip-hop ... to space-age guitar pop".^[17] Q magazine said that the album is "chock-full of surreal soul diamonds."^[13] Pitchfork Media's Tim Finney wrote that, like Wanderland, the album is "formally varied but feels consistent—even monochrome in parts."^[12] In a review for The Observer, Peter Robinson commented that the album "occasionally misfires ... but there's still sass and creativity here."^[18] MSN Music's Robert Christgau gave Kelis Was Here a one-star honorable mention,^[19] indicating "a worthy effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well like."^[20] He cited "Blindfold Me" and "What's That Right There" as highlights, and quipped, "Good for sex and not much else, which in a fantasy object is plenty."^[19]

In a mixed review, Slant Magazine critic Preston Jones said that, although it is "an intriguing mishmash of sounds, beats, and vocal affectations", the album is "far too long" and lacks a song on-par with "Milkshake".^[14] Chris Salmon of The Guardian wrote that without the Neptunes, "contributors such as Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am and [...] Shondrae reject all subtlety for songs that caricature Kelis as sexy, bolshy and not much else. The results are shallow and unconvincing, driven by the kind of brash holler and breathy schmaltz you would expect from J-Lo or Pussycat Dolls (complete with the rubbish guest raps)."^[9] Mikael Wood of Spin said that Kelis "consolidates" her previous "allure" and "turns up sex, turns down sass".^[15] Andy Kellman of AllMusic felt that it lacks first-rate material and "the range of emotions to match the varied backdrops."^[8] Quentin B. Huff of PopMatters argued that "[t]he songs are individually good, but don't really sound like they should have been grouped together on an album."^[21]

The album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards, but lost out to Beyoncé's B'Day.^[22]

Commercial performance

Kelis Was Here debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 with 58,000 copies sold in its first week, becoming Kelis' highest-peaking album on the chart to date.^[23] According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album had sold 160,000 copies in the United States as of May 2010.^[24]

The album debuted at number 41 on the UK Albums Chart,^[25] selling 6,709 copies in its first week.^[26] It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on September 29, 2006,^[27] and by May 2010, it had sold 32,083 copies in the United Kingdom.^[26]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"			1:27
2.	"Bossy" (featuring Too Short)	Kelis Rogers-Jones Shondrae Crawford Todd Shaw Sean Garrett	Shondrae "Bangladesh" Crawford Garrett^[a]	4:34
3.	"What's That Right There"	Rogers-Jones William Adams, Jr. Keith Harris George Clinton III Philippé Wynne	will.i.am	4:17
4.	"Till the Wheels Fall Off"	Rogers-Jones Adams George Pajon, Jr. Harris Printz Board	will.i.am	4:13
5.	"Living Proof"	Raphael Saadiq Robert Ozuna	Saadiq Jake and the Phatman^[a]	3:41
6.	"Blindfold Me"	Garrett Jamal Jones	Polow da Don Garrett	3:48
7.	"Goodbyes"	Rogers-Jones Andre Lyon Marcello Valenzano	Cool & Dre	4:42
8.	"Trilogy"	Rogers-Jones Scott Storch Jason Boyd	Storch Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd^[a]	3:56
9.	"Circus"	Rogers-Jones Saadiq Ozuna	Saadiq Jake and the Phatman^[a]	4:40
10.	"Weekend" (featuring will.i.am)	Rogers-Jones Adams Harris	will.i.am	4:42
11.	"Like You"	Rogers-Jones Jerome Foster	Knobody	3:00
12.	"Aww S***!" (featuring Smoke)	Crawford Shanell Woodgett Tamika Means	Crawford	4:09
13.	"Lil Star" (featuring Cee-Lo)	Rogers-Jones Thomas Callaway	Cee-Lo Green	4:55
14.	"I Don't Think So"	Rogers-Jones Max Martin Lukasz Gottwald	Martin Dr. Luke	3:02
15.	"Handful"	Rogers-Jones Garrett Crawford Boyd	Crawford	2:59
16.	"Appreciate Me"	Rogers-Jones Damon Elliott	Elliott Teddy "Bear"^[a]	4:02
17.	"Have a Nice Day"	Elliott Grecco Buratto	Elliott	6:33
18.	"Fuck Them Bitches" (hidden track)	Adams Pajon	will.i.am	3:49

International edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"			1:27
2.	"Blindfold Me" (featuring Nas)	Garrett Jones Nasir Jones	Polow da Don Garrett	4:19
3.	"Bossy" (featuring Too Short)	Rogers-Jones Crawford Shaw Garrett	Crawford Garrett^[a]	4:34
4.	"Fire" (featuring Spragga Benz)	Rogers-Jones Christian Karlsson Pontus Winnberg Henrik Jonback Michelle Bell Carlton Grant	Bloodshy & Avant	3:31
5.	"I Don't Think So"	Rogers-Jones Martin Gottwald	Martin Dr. Luke	3:02
6.	"Weekend" (featuring will.i.am)	Rogers-Jones Adams Harris	will.i.am	4:42
7.	"Trilogy"	Rogers-Jones Storch Boyd	Storch Boyd^[a]	3:56
8.	"Appreciate Me"	Rogers-Jones Elliott	Elliott Teddy "Bear"^[a]	4:02
9.	"Till the Wheels Fall Off"	Rogers-Jones Adams Pajon Harris Board	will.i.am	4:13
10.	"Handful"	Rogers-Jones Garrett Crawford Boyd	Crawford	2:59
11.	"Aww S***!" (featuring Smoke)	Crawford Woodgett Means	Crawford	4:09
12.	"What's That Right There"	Rogers-Jones Adams Harris Clinton Wynne	will.i.am	4:17
13.	"Circus"	Rogers-Jones Saadiq Ozuna	Saadiq Jake and the Phatman^[a]	4:40
14.	"Lil Star" (featuring Cee-Lo)	Rogers-Jones Callaway	Green	4:55
15.	"Like You"	Rogers-Jones Foster	Knobody	3:00
16.	"Living Proof"	Saadiq Ozuna	Saadiq Jake and the Phatman^[a]	3:41
17.	"Goodbyes"	Rogers-Jones Lyon Valenzano	Cool & Dre	4:42
18.	"Have a Nice Day"	Elliott Buratto	Elliott	6:33
19.	"Fuck Them Bitches" (hidden track)	Adams Pajon	will.i.am	3:49

Notes

• ^{^a} signifies a co-producer

Sampling credits

• "What's That Right There" contains a sample from "(Not Just) Knee Deep", as performed by Funkadelic.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Kelis Was Here.^[28]

Kelis – vocals, executive producer Ben H. Allen – recording (track 13) Wayne "The Brain" Allison – recording (track 8) Chris Athens – mastering Bangladesh – production (tracks 2, 12, 15); recording (tracks 12, 15) Dawn Beckman – choir (track 16) The Blitzburg Group – mixing assistance (tracks 16, 17) Printz Board – trumpet (track 4) Renee Bowers – choir (track 16) Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd – co-production (track 8) Renato Brasa – percussion (track 17) Kerry Paxton – choir (track 16) Robert "Brizz" Brisbane – recording (track 7) Jason Brown – choir (track 16) Grecco Burratto – co-arrangement (track 17) Vadim Chislov – recording assistance (track 8) Nathan Connelly – recording assistance (tracks 16, 17) Cool & Dre – production (track 7) Kevin Crouse – recording (track 11) Dickie – hairstylist Dr. Luke – all instruments, production (track 14) Joseph Edwards – choir (track 16) Damon Elliott – production (tracks 16, 17); arrangement (track 17) Cheryl Evans – backing vocals (track 11) John Frye – mixing (track 2) Darien Gap – mixing (track 15) Sean Garrett – co-production (track 2); production (track 6) Sharon Gault – make-up Serban Ghenea – mixing (tracks 13, 14) Jim Gilstrap – choir (track 16) Conrad Golding – recording (track 8) Cee-Lo Green – production, vocals (track 13) John Hanes – Pro Tools engineering (track 13); additional Pro Tools engineering (track 14) Julio Hanson – choir (track 16) Keith Harris – keyboards (track 3); Rhodes guitar (tracks 4, 10); additional keyboards, Moog bass (track 10) Jean-Marie Horvat – mixing (track 12) Josh Houghkirk – mixing assistance (track 7) Indrani – photography J.Erving – executive producer, management Jake and the Phatman – co-production (tracks 5, 9) Chad Jolley – mixing assistance (track 8) Charles Jones – keyboards, piano (tracks 5, 9) Padraic Kerin – recording (tracks 3, 4, 10) Markus Klinko – photography

Knobody – production (track 11) Marc Lee – recording (track 8) Andrea Liberman – stylist Mike Makowski – mixing assistance (track 6) Fabian Marasciullo – mixing (track 8) Max Martin – all instruments, production (track 14) Renson Mateo – recording (tracks 16, 17) Dave Mattix – assistant recording (track 17) Charles McCrorey – recording (track 2) Colin Miller – mixing assistance (track 12) Wesley Morrow – production coordinator (tracks 5, 9) Bobby Ozuna – drums, turntables (tracks 5, 9); percussion (track 9) George Pajon Jr. – guitar (track 4) John Patrick – choir (track 16) Joe Peluso – assistant mix engineering (tracks 3, 4, 10); assistant engineering (tracks 3, 10) Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado – mixing (tracks 16, 17) Mark Pitts – A&R, executive producer Neal Pogue – mixing (track 11) Polow da Don – production (track 6) Chuck Prada – percussion (track 4) Sandra Riley – choir (track 16) James Roach – recording assistance (track 8) Tim Roberts – assistant Pro Tools engineering (tracks 13, 14) Danny Romero – mixing, recording (tracks 5, 9) Raphael Saadiq – bass, guitar, production (tracks 5, 9) Tatsuya Sato – recording (track 11) Erika Schimdt – choir (track 16) Smoke – rap (track 12) Brian Stanley – mixing (track 6) Scott Storch – production (track 8) Brian Sumner – recording (tracks 6, 12, 14, 15) Phil Tan – mixing (track 7) James Tanksley – assistant Pro Tools engineering (tracks 5, 9) John Tanksley – Pro Tools engineering (tracks 5, 9) Teddy "Bear" – co-production, keyboards, programming (track 16) Meneradini "Bridge" Timothee – keyboards, piano (track 5) Too Short – rap, recording (track 2) Denise Trotman – art direction, design will.i.am – clavinet, Moog bass (track 3); production (tracks 3, 4, 10); drum programming (tracks 3, 10); drums, synthesizer (track 4); keyboards, vocals (track 10) Ethan Willoughby – mixing (tracks 3, 4, 10) Doug Wilson – recording (tracks 2, 6, 11)

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart[29]	96
Australian Urban Albums Chart[30]	8
Austrian Albums Chart[31]	69
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[32]	45
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[33]	88
Dutch Albums Chart[34]	82
French Albums Chart[35]	104
German Albums Chart[36]	77
Italian Albums Chart[37]	90
Japanese Albums Chart[38]	109
Norwegian Albums Chart[39]	35
Scottish Albums Chart[40]	72
Swedish Albums Chart[41]	51
Swiss Albums Chart[42]	22
UK Albums Chart[5]	41
UK R&B Albums Chart[43]	5
US Billboard 200[44]	10
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[45]	6

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[27]	Silver	32,083[26]

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Ref.
Canada	August 22, 2006	Sony BMG	[46]
United States		Jive Zomba	[8]
Germany	September 8, 2006	EMI	[47]
Netherlands			[48]
United Kingdom	September 11, 2006	Virgin	[49]
Sweden	September 13, 2006	EMI	[50]
Italy	September 15, 2006		[51]
Australia	September 16, 2006		[52]
Japan	September 29, 2006		[53]

References

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5. "Kelis". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
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9. Salmon, Chris (September 8, 2006). "Kelis, Kelis Was Here". The Guardian. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
10. Powers, Ann (August 20, 2006). "She may be bossy, but that's not all". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Media. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
11. "Review: Kelis Was Here". NME (London): 35. September 9, 2006.
12. Finney, Tim (August 30, 2006). "Kelis: Kelis Was Here". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
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17. Sanneh, Kelefa (August 21, 2006). "Critics' Choice: New CD's". The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
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External links

• Kelis Was Here at Discogs (list of releases)