''Reality Show'' is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

by American R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan. It was released by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

on January 13, 2015, in the United States. Sullivan recorded the album, her first in five years, during a hiatus from the music industry, writing and working with producers such as Anthony Bell,

Salaam Remi Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is a Grammy winning American record producer known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, Robby, Fugees, Fergie, Estelle, Black Thought, and Miguel, and for his reggae-tinged (often referred to as ...

, and Key Wane. ''Reality Show'' received widespread acclaim from critics and sold 30,000 copies in its first week.

Background

In January 2011, after having released her second album '' Love Me Back'' (2010), Sullivan announced via Twitter that she was indefinitely leaving the music industry saying, "I promised myself when it wasn't fun anymore I wouldn't do it. And, here I am. I'm not saying I won't ever sing again in my life because I don't believe that. But in this moment… right now… got some things to figure out". In 2014, she announced her new album, ''Reality Show''. In a 2014 interview with ''

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 adverti ...

'', Sullivan described her return as inevitable saying she "...can't escape ercalling."

Release and reception

''Reality Show'' was released by

on January 13, 2015. In its first week, it debuted at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and sold 30,000 copies in the United States. ''Reality Show'' received widespread acclaim from 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 mainstream publications, it 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 85, based on 9 reviews. In ''

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 ...

'',

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

with modern

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These ...

, while the themes of romantic dysfunction intensify and inspire Sullivan's singing. "Playing a woman too often scorned", Pareles wrote, "she comes out victoriously soulful."

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

's Andy Kellman felt she sings more confidently than before and concluded in his review, "Just as potent and lasting as ''Fearless'' and ''Love Me Back'', ''Reality Show'' completes one of the most impressive first-three-album runs." Ryan B. Patrick of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' stated that Sullivan's return was a welcome one, as she delivers "an R&B album that feels like how R&B used to sound circa late 1990s/early 2000 while still coming off as forward-looking". ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' critic David Drake hailed Sullivan's voice as the best in contemporary R&B and said "her songs work so well because they allow the listener to experience them at face value or more holistically, shifting perspectives as rapidly as in life itself.".

Accolades

''Reality Show'' was ranked number 44 on ''Pitchfork''s list of 2015's best albums, while ''

Rap-Up ''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...

'' named it the year's tenth best record. It was also nominated for the 2015 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, while the song " Let It Burn" received nominations in the categories of Best R&B Song and Best Traditional R&B Performance.

Track listing

Sample credits: “Let It Burn” samples “ Ready or Not” by After 7.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from

. * Anthony Bell – instrumentation, musician, producer, programming * Tyler Bellinger – choir, chorus * Amber Bullock – vocals (background) * Maddox Chimm – assistant * Da Internz – producer * Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing * Dilemma – producer * Gleyder "Gee" Disla – engineer * DJ Dahi – keyboards, producer, programming * Peter Edge – producer * Twanetta M. Ferebee-Brown – choir, chorus * Benjamin Freedlander – keyboards, producer * Joe Gallagher – engineer, vocal engineer * Erwin Gorostiza – creative director * Jeff Halsey – assistant * Kevin Hanson – guitar * Stacey Harcum – choir, chorus * Chuck Harmony – producer * Michelle Holme – art direction, design * Jaycen Joshua – mixing * Trevor Jerideau – A&R, producer * JoeLogic – producer * Mike "Guru" Johnson – production coordination * Ryan Kaul – assistant * Dave Kutch – mastering * Erik Madrid – mixing * Shane McCauley – photography * Meek Mill – featured artist * Sophia Nicole Stephens – choir, chorus * Gary Noble – mixing * Tyron Perrin – vocals (background) * Karl Peterson – engineer * Kevin Randolph – keyboards * Salaam Remi – A&R, arranger, drums, keyboards, producer * Nicole Renee – choir, chorus * Tony Russell – bass, * Richard "Tubbs" Smith – keyboards * Christopher Stevens – trumpet * Jazmine Sullivan – executive producer, primary artist, producer, vocals (background) * Pamela Sullivan – vocals (background) * Laurin Talese – choir, chorus * Dan Thomas – drum programming * Vincent Vu – assistant * Key Wane – arranger, bass, drums, keyboards, producer * Matt Wong – bass, keyboards, strings * Kenta Yonesaka – engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reality Show (album) 2015 albums Jazmine Sullivan albums RCA Records albums