''Untitled'' is the ninth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American R&B recording artist

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 worldwid ...

. It was released by

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 ...

on December 1, 2009. It was entirely produced by R. Kelly and a team of younger producers.Stewart, Allison
Review: ''Untitled''
''

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 ...

''. Retrieved on 2009-12-01. The album debuted at number 4 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, and also reached the top of the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart. ''Untitled'' received generally mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. The album has sold over 500,000 copies.

Background

In 2008, the album's title was initially supposed to be released under the name ''12 Play: 4th Quarter'', however, that version of this project leaked before release and so it was decided that the whole project should be re-recorded. That title is still referenced in several songs on the album.

Singles

Supaman High "Supaman High" is a song by American R&B singer R. Kelly featuring OJ da Juiceman, written by R. Kelly, OJ da Juiceman, Gucci Mane and Willy Will for his ninth studio album, ''Untitled'' (2009). Produced by R. Kelly and Willy Will. The record was ...

featuring

OJ da Juiceman Otis Williams Jr. (born November 23, 1981), better known by his stage name OJ da Juiceman, is an American rapper. OJ da Juiceman was formerly signed to Gucci Mane's 1017 Brick Squad record label. OJ Da Juiceman is also the founder of vanity labe ...

was supposed to be the album's lead single, but due to a label and artist dispute, it was repurposed as a promotional single for the album The album's lead single, " Number One" featuring Keri Hilson, was released on July 28, 2009. The song peaked at number 59 on the US ''

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 ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and number 7 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

charts. Both second and third singles, " Religious" and " Echo" (both released October 10, 2009), charted lower, with peak positions of numbers 48 and 52 respectively on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

Critical reception

''Untitled'' received generally positive reviews from music critics.''Untitled'' Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More

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 ...

. Retrieved on 2011-02-16. At

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream 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 62, based on 15 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable 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 ...

writer Andy Kellman gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars and called it "a simple, concept-free, creatively unambitious R&B album". Mikael Wood of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' complimented the album's "fresh raunch", noting "'Bangin' the Headboard' and 'Pregnant' (as in 'You make me wanna get you…') are bawdy even by Kelly's considerable standards".Wood, Mikael (January 2010)
Review: ''Untitled''
''

''. Retrieved on 2011-02-16. Tom Horan of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' praised Kelly's "unwavering focus" and stated, "should headboard-banging be in the offing, this will make a fine accompaniment." In a mixed review, ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

''s

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

gave the album a C+ rating and commented that it "feels generic".Rabin, Nathan
Review: ''Untitled''
''

''. Retrieved on 2009-12-14. Drew Hinshaw of ''

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 ...

'' found it lacking any "larger themes from ''Untitled''s sex seminars" and stated, "It's tragic to see a master of r&b finesse fall back onto a childish, domineering bent that comes off as boorish, entitled, and mean-spirited."Hinshaw, Drew
Review: ''Untitled''
''

''. Retrieved on 2009-12-01. ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' writer

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

wrote that Kelly "massages simple (and sometimes simplistic) words into hooks through phrasing that is pliant, inventive, audacious, sometimes silly", commenting that "That ardor is framed by music that is everything his lyrics are not: subtle, ornate, at times downright refined. As a producer and arranger, he is meticulous with detail, orchestrating hand claps, finger snaps and drum machines to create just the right rhythm backdrop for an evening of 'wooo and weee'".Kot, Greg
Review: ''Untitled''
''

''. Retrieved on 2009-11-27. Jon Pareles of ''

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 ...

'' found the album "routine" for Kelly, although he stated, "Still, even a routine R. Kelly song outshines much of the competition."Pareles, Jon
Review: ''Untitled''
''

''. Retrieved on 2009-11-30.

Accolades

In 2011, ''Untitled'' was nominated for 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 ...

for Best Contemporary R&B Album, presented at the

53rd Grammy Awards The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights pri ...

.Nominees: 2010 - 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards

Grammy.com 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 ...

. Retrieved on 2010-12-02.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 4 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 110,000 copies in its first week, marking his ninth top five album on the chart. As of June 2022, the album sold over 500,000 copies in the United States. A disappointing performance compared to his previous album Double Up which debuted at number 1 on the

US Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

and sold over 1,000,000 copies

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2009 albums R. Kelly albums Albums produced by Jack Splash Albums produced by Jazze Pha Albums produced by R. Kelly Jive Records albums