''Coming Home'' is the eighth studio album by American singer Lionel Richie. It was released by

The Island Def Jam Music Group The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordi ...

on September 12, 2006 in the United States. A breakaway from his previous albums and their

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

sounds, Richie and executive producer Antonio "L.A." Reid recruited a number of sought-after producers and songwriters from the

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhy ...

and hip-hop genres to work with him on the album, including

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, Rodney Jerkins, and Norwegian duo Stargate. The album earned a generally mixed reception from music critics, who either complimented or dismissed Richie's decision to update his sound. In the United States, ''Coming Home'' debuted at number six on the US ''Billboard'' 200, becoming his biggest hit album since 1986's ''

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'', while selling up to 449,000 copies. Elsewhere, it reprised the chart success of ''

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'' (2000) and '' Just for You'' (2004), entering the top ten in Germany and Switzerland and going gold in the United Kingdom. ''Coming Home'' produced several singles, including "

I Call It Love "I Call It Love" is a song by American singer Lionel Richie. It was written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, and Phillip "Taj" Jackson for Richie's eighth studio album '' Coming Home'' (2006), while production was helmed by Eriksen and ...

" and "

Why Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in v ...

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' critic Michael Endelman felt that while "Richie collaborates with producers who are young enough to be his kids in a bid to update his quiet-storm sound for modern R&B ears ..The move pays off, as Richie’s silky voice glides through tracks ..But dentists of America, don’t fret: The ’80s soft-pop titan hedges his bets by also including plenty of his trademark banal ballads.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

editor Andy Kellman found that "too much of ''Coming Home'' is merely pleasant – particularly the adult contemporary fare, with the exception of "I Love You" – or too conscious of remaining with the times. While the likes of "Why" and "Up All Night" involved Richie's songwriting in some capacity, just about any twentysomething vocalist could be fronting them; the same goes for the

-produced "What You Are." The stab at emotionally cleansing reggae of the

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variety, "Stand Down," comes up short as well. That said, at least half the album should satisfy Richie's longtime followers."

Chart performance

In the United States, ''Coming Home'' debuted and peaked at number six on the ''Billboard'' 200. It sold over 75,000 copies in its first week and marked Richie's first top 10 album debut of his career. In February 2007, the album was certified gold for the shipment of 500,000 units, and in May 2012 it surpassed the 449,000 mark.

Track listing

Notes * signifies an assistant producer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control 2006 albums Lionel Richie albums Albums produced by Chuckii Booker Albums produced by Dallas Austin Albums produced by Rodney Jerkins Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri Albums produced by Raphael Saadiq Albums produced by Sean Garrett Albums produced by Stargate Albums produced by Wyclef Jean Island Records albums