''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, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...
. 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 ...
on February 28, 2006. Conceived following his songwriting breakthrough with "
Let Me Love You" for fellow R&B singer
Mario
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...
in 2004,
Ne-Yo worked with musicians
Ron "Neff-U" Feemster,
Brandon Howard
Brandon Howard , also known as B. Howard, is an American singer, record producer and songwriter. His album ''Genesis'' was released in 2010. Howard was credited as songwriter and producer on the song "I Ain't Gotta Tell You" from Ne-Yo's album ' ...
,
Shea Taylor
Robert "Shea" Taylor is a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist based in New York City. He established an early successful songwriting partnership with Def Jam's R&B singer-songwriter phenom Ne-Yo, and has also worked with Rihanna, Beyoncé ...
, and
Curtis "Sauce" Wilson, as well as Norwegian production duo
Stargate
''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...
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
Pedro Louis Zayas (born September 25, 1977), known as Peedi Crakk and Peedi Peedi, is an American rapper of Puerto Rican descent. He is a member of State Property and is currently signed to Amalgam Digital and G-Unit Philly.
Career
The North P ...
and
Ghostface Killah
Dennis 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 (36 C ...
.
Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from most music critics and earned a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nomination in the
Best Contemporary R&B Album
The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the contemporary ...
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 Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocea ...
. 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 tri ...
", "
When You're Mad
"When You're Mad" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. It was written by Ne-Yo and Shea Taylor for Ne-Yo's debut album, '' In My Own Words'' (2006), while production was overseen by Taylor. Released as the album's third single in March ...
", "
Sexy Love
"Sexy Love" is the fourth and final US single and the second and final international single released from American R&B singer Ne-Yo's debut album, ''In My Own Words'' (2006). The song reached number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In the U ...
", and the number-one hit "
So Sick
"So Sick" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, written alongside Norwegian production duo Stargate for Ne-Yo's debut studio album, '' In My Own Words'' (2006). The song was released as the second single from the album on November 21, 2 ...
". 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. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...
and
Dem Franchize Boyz
Dem Franchize Boyz was an American hip hop group from Atlanta, signed to E1 Music. The group had four members: Parlae (born Maurice Gleaton), Pimpin' (Jamal Willingham), Jizzal Man (Bernard Leverette), and Buddie (Gerald Tiller). They were best ...
.
Critical reception
At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, 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 arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
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 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 ...
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'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', 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."
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, fi ...
'' 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 advertise ...
'' 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
Kelefa T. Sanneh (born 1976) is an American journalist and music critic. From 2000 to 2008, he wrote for ''The New York Times'', covering the rock and roll, hip-hop, and pop music scenes. Since 2008 he has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorke ...
, writer for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', 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 York ...
''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
A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a 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 digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' 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 with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
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
Mark "Marty" DeBarge (born June 19, 1959) is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter, drummer, percussionist, and plays a variety of wind instruments, such as the saxophone, flugelhorn, trumpet, and flute. He is best known for his work as member o ...
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 consisted ...
.
*"It Just Ain't Right" contains a sample of "
I Call Your Name
"I Call Your Name" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was written primarily by John Lennon, with assistance from Paul McCartney. It was released in the US on '' The Beatles' Second Al ...
", written by
Bobby DeBarge
Robert Louis DeBarge, Jr. (March 5, 1956 – August 16, 1995) was an American singer and musician. DeBarge was the lead singer of the Motown R&B/soul vocal group Switch and was noted for his falsetto vocals. Later on, he served as both mentor ...
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 of ...
.
*"Get Down Like That" contains a sample from
The O'Jays
The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...
' "
I Swear, I Love No One But You", written by
Bunny Sigler
Walter "Bunny" Sigler (March 27, 1941 – October 6, 2017) was an American R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer who did extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and was instrumental in creating th ...
and performed by
The O'Jays
The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...
.
Personnel
Credits adapted from album's liner notes.
*
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
*Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing
(tracks 3–6, 8, 9, 11, 13)
*
Mikkel S. Eriksen
Mikkel is a Danish and Norwegian masculine given name. It may refer to:
* Mikkel Ødelien (1893–1984), Norwegian soil researcher
* Mikkel Aaland (born 1952), award-winning American photographer
* Mikkel Andersen (disambiguation)
*Mikkel Bødker ...
– producer, engineer, and all instruments
(tracks 3, 10–12)
*
Ron "Neff-U" Feemstar – producer
(tracks 1, 7)
*
Ghostface Killah
Dennis 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 (36 C ...
– rap
(track 13)
*Larry Gold – strings
(track 12)
*
Tor Erik Hermansen
Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to:
Places
* Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain
* Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city
* Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano
* Tor Bay, Devon, England
* Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia
Sc ...
– producer and all instruments
(tracks 3, 10–12)
*Robert "Bob the Builder" Horn – engineer and mixing
(tracks 1, 2, 7)
*
Brandon Howard
Brandon Howard , also known as B. Howard, is an American singer, record producer and songwriter. His album ''Genesis'' was released in 2010. Howard was credited as songwriter and producer on the song "I Ain't Gotta Tell You" from Ne-Yo's album ' ...
– 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, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...
– vocals
(all tracks)
*
Peedi Peedi
Pedro Louis Zayas (born September 25, 1977), known as Peedi Crakk and Peedi Peedi, is an American rapper of Puerto Rican descent. He is a member of State Property and is currently signed to Amalgam Digital and G-Unit Philly.
Career
The North P ...
– vocals
(track 1)
*
Dave Pensado
Dave Pensado is a Grammy Award-winning mix engineer. His career began in Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s doing live and studio sound engineering. He has lived in Los Angeles since 1990.
He mixes between 200 and 250 songs a year at Larrabee Studios ...
– mixing
(track 12)
*Ervin "EP" Pope – producer
(tracks 9, 13)
*Brian "B-Nasty" Reid – producer
(track 2)
*
Nisan Stewart
Nisan Cumming Stewart (born 31 March 1974) is a noted drummer, record producer and songwriter. Having worked with Timbaland and Missy Elliott on Missy Elliott's earlier work (''This Is Not a Test!''), he co-produced Karen Clark Sheard's 2002 album ...
– drums
(track 12)
*Sean Tallman – additional engineering
(tracks 3, 4, 6, 9, 13)
*
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
(track 10)
*
Shea Taylor
Robert "Shea" Taylor is a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist based in New York City. He established an early successful songwriting partnership with Def Jam's R&B singer-songwriter phenom Ne-Yo, and has also worked with Rihanna, Beyoncé ...
– 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. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
*
Album reviewat ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
''
Album Reviewat ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''
{{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