''Happy People/U Saved Me'' is the sixth studio album and the second double album by American R&B singer

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 ...

, where he mixed feel-good danceable

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

records (''Happy People'') with

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

anthems (''U Saved Me''). Released in 2004, it peaked at No. 2 on the pop albums chart and went on to be certified three times

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". Pla ...

. The album contained the hit single "Happy People" (US No. 19, UK No. 6), and the minor hit "U Saved Me" (US No. 52, UK No. 6). On "Red Carpet (Pause, Flash)," Kelly sampled the song " Step in the Name of Love" on his previous album, which was released a year earlier.

Critical reception

''Happy People/U Saved Me'' received mostly positive reviews. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' said, "Charming, unpretentious and effortless, the singer presides over a party whose pace never flags and whose soul is fun-loving and wholesome." ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' said, "''Happy People'' is a cunning, crackling, can't-keep-still classic." However many found his gospel/Christian based songs to be at stark contrast to his legal history.

Commercial performance

In his home country of the United States, ''Happy People/U Saved Me'' debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 264,000 copies in its first week, behind

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

's ''

Live Like You Were Dying ''Live Like You Were Dying'' is the eighth studio album by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released on August 24, 2004, by Curb Records and was recorded in a mountaintop studio in upstate New York. It entered the ''Billboard'' 2 ...

''. The album was the sixth consecutive Kelly solo album (seventh overall) to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. In its second week, the album remained in the top ten at ''Billboard'' 200, falling to number six, selling 127,000 copies. On September 24, 2004, the double album has been certified 3× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipping more than 3 million units (in this case, 1.5 million double album sets, which are double-counted by the RIAA). As of December 6, 2011, ''Happy People/U Saved Me'' has sold 5.2 million copies worldwide.

Track listing

*All songs written, produced and arranged by R. Kelly.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

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 ...

. * Delatrice Alexander – choir, chorus * Michael Avery – choir, chorus * Steve Bearsley – assistant, engineer, main personnel, programming * George I. III Broughton – choir, chorus *

Kim Burrell Kimberly Jean Burrell (born August 27, 1972) is an American, Grammy–nominated, gospel singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor from Houston, Texas, United States. Biography Early life Born Kimberly Jean Burrell on August 27, 1972 in Houston, Te ...

– featured artist, primary artist * Jeff Chestek – string engineer * Joan Collaso – choir, chorus * Dee Dee – illustrations * Rodney East – keyboards, main personnel * Felicia Coleman Evans – choir, chorus * Sonya Frank – choir, chorus * Kimberly Ann Franklin – choir, chorus *

Yvonne Gage Yvonne Gage (born December 20, 1959) is an American singer from Chicago, Illinois. Active since the late 1970s, she has done background vocals for artists prior to and after her own solo success. As a session musician, she has provided vocals for ...

– choir, chorus * Andy Gallas - assistant, audio engineer, engineer, main personnel, programming * Abel Garibaldi – audio engineer, engineer, main personnel, mixing, programming, vocals, background vocals * Omar Gilbert – unknown contributor role * Senabelle Gill – choir, chorus * Larry Gold – conductor, string arrangements * Dejah Gomez – choir, chorus * Pastor Chris Sr. Harris – choir, chorus * Brandon Hull – assistant * Earickia L. Isom – hair stylist * R. Kelly – arranger, audio production, composer, main personnel, mixing, primary artist, producer, string arrangements, vocals * Gregg Landfair – guitar * Donnie Lyle – bass, bass instrument, guitar, main personnel, vocals, background vocals * Paul Mabin – choir, chorus * Maurice Mahon – featured artist, primary artist * John McGlinchey – assistant * Ian Mereness – engineer, main personnel, mixing, programming * Jason Mlodzinski – assistant, engineer, main personnel, programming *

Peter Mokran Peter Mokran is an American mixer, producer, engineer and musician. Early life Mokran was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, he studied classical guitar, while also learning engineering and programming as a teen.Paul Tingen“Secr ...

– audio engineer, engineer * Jeffrey Morrow – choir, chorus * Jackie Murphy – art direction, design * Lori Holton Nash – choir, chorus * Kendall D. Nesbitt – keyboards, main personnel, vocals * Armirris Palmore – choir, chorus * Lauren Pilot – choir, chorus * Herb Powers – mastering *

Kelly Price Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. She started her singing career in 1992. Price originally garnered attention by singing backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including her ''Billboar ...

– featured artist, guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, vocals * Riesig & Taylor – photography * Montez Roberts – assistant * Stevie Robinson – choir, chorus * David Ross – set design * Johnny Rutledge – choir, chorus * Cristino Sanchez – choir, chorus * Roberta Thomas – choir, chorus * Devin B. Thompson – choir, chorus * Uncle Life – main personnel, vocals, background vocals * Seth Waldman – assistant * Pamela Watson – stylist * Nathan Wheeler – assistant, engineer, main personnel, programming, vocals, background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Happy People U Saved Me 2004 albums R. Kelly albums Albums produced by R. Kelly