''Complicated'' is the second studio album by American singer

Nivea Nivea (, stylized as NIVEA) is a German personal care brand that specializes in skin and body care. It is owned by the Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf Global AG. The company was founded on 28 March 1882, by Paul Carl Beiersdorf. In 1890, it w ...

, released in the United States on May 3, 2005 on

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...

. It was primarily produced by her then-husband

The-Dream Terius Youngdell Nash (born September 20, 1977), better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His co-writing credits include songs with "Me Against the Music" (2003) for Britney Spears, "Ride ...

, with additional production from

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cru ...

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

Bryan Michael Cox Bryan-Michael Paul Cox (born December 1, 1977) is an American record producer and songwriter who is notable for his work with artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton. Among his most notable productions are "Be Wit ...

and

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

. The album peaked at No. 37 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 album charts and peaked at No. 9 on the R&B chart. ''Complicated'' was critically acclaimed, but failed to receive major commercial success, eventually becoming Nivea's lowest selling album to date with just over 100,000 copies sold in the US. "Okay", the album's lead single, was already recorded back in 2003. Though it was clear that the track was going to be released as a single, the record company kept it under closure to introduce the upcoming

crunk&B Crunk is a subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop's more dance and club oriented subgenres. An archetypal crunk track fre ...

style with newcomer

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

and her " Goodies" track. No other single was released from ''Complicated'' due to a recall on the album for having a content-protector and some discs would not play, so Nivea decided to leave

not long after the album's release.

Singles

"Okay", the album's lead single, was already recorded back in 2003. Though it was clear that the track was going to be released as a single, the record company kept it under closure to introduce the upcoming

style with newcomer

and her " Goodies" track. The single became a hit, peaking at No. 14 on R&B and No. 40 on Billboard's Hot 100. A second single, "Parking Lot" was released shortly before she got pregnant with her first child. Jive Records subsequently dropped promotion for the project, although she appeared on Soul Train the following year and performed "Complicated" which was originally planned to be the third single. After her departure from the label, she gave birth to her twins in April.

Critical reception

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 databas ...

's Andy Kellman was not impressed with ''Complicated''. He wrote that the album "contains a couple should-be successful singles, but it's far too patchy to be considered better than the debut. More sexually upfront and as sweet-voiced as ever, Nivea still needs more than a couple hot producers and guest MCs to truly stick out."

Track listing

Notes and sample credits * denotes co-producer * denotes vocal producer * denotes additional producer *"I Can't Mess with You" contains a sample of "

You Are Everything "You Are Everything" is a soul song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed and originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics. The Stylistics version An R&B ballad, it was the sixth track from their 1971 debut self-titled albu ...

" by

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of ...

. *"My Fault (Ghetto Apology)" contains a sample of "For the Love of You" by

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

Personnel

Performers and musicians * Fletcher Dozier Jr. – guitar * Donnie Lyle – guitar * Eddie E. Hamilton – guitar * Julio Miranda – guitar Technical * Nivea Nash – executive producer * Terius "The Dream" Nash – executive producer, producer * Larry "Rock" Campbell – A&R, producer, *

– producer *

– producer * The Platinum Brothers – producer * Nastacia "Nazz" Kendall – producer * Vocal assistance: Sakinah Lestage * Brian Frye – engineer * Andy Gallas – engineer * Abel Garibaldi – engineer * Matthew Malpass – engineer * Ian Mereness – engineer * Ray Seay – engineer * Rich Tapper – engineer * Steve Bearsley – assistant engineer * Josh Copp – assistant engineer * Jason Mlodzinski – assistant engineer * Keith Sengbusch – assistant engineer * Rob Skipworth – assistant engineer * Adam Smith – assistant engineer * Nathan Wheeler – assistant engineer * Leslie Braithwaite – mixing * Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing * John Frye – mixing * Serban Ghenea – mixing * Brian Stanley – mixing *

Phil Tan Phil Tan is a Malaysian-American music and audio engineer. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in the U.S., where he attained a degree in Recording Arts in 1990. Afterwards he moved to Atla ...

– mixing * Warren Bletcher – mixing assistance * Kris Lewis – mixing assistance *

Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to: * Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor * Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter * Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer * Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...

– mastering * Wayne Williams – A&R * Elisa Garcia – art direction * Denise Trorman – art direction * Jonathan Mannion – photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2005 albums Albums produced by Bryan-Michael Cox Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri Albums produced by Lil Jon Albums produced by R. Kelly Albums produced by The-Dream Nivea (singer) albums