# Free Yourself (Fantasia album)

Free Yourself is the debut studio album by American singer Fantasia. It was released on November 23, 2004, by J Records and 19 Recordings.
After winning the third season of American Idol in May 2004, Fantasia signed a joint deal with J Records and 19 Entertainment. She subsequently began recording Free Yourself, working with a variety of songwriters and producers, including Louis Biancaniello, Craig Brockman, Bryan-Michael Cox, Clive Davis, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, Sean Garrett, Jazze Pha, Darkchild, Harold Lilly, Ric Rude, Soulshock & Karlin, The Underdogs, Sam Watters and Nigel Wright. Fantasia's debut single "I Believe", released in June 2004, debuted atop the US Billboard Hot 100, and was later included on Free Yourself.
Upon release, Free Yourself earned largely mixed reviews from music critics, most of whom praised Fantasia's vocal performance but criticized the record's production. A commercial success, the album debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 240,000 units; it had sold 1.8 million copies in the US by 2010. Despite critical polarity, the album was nominated for three Grammy Awards in 2006. Free Yourself produced five singles; the lead single "Truth Is" peaked at number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100, while the title track reached number 41.

## Singles

In June 2004, Fantasia released her debut single, "I Believe", which later debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, making her the first artist in history to achieve this with a first single. On the sales chart, the song spent eleven consecutive weeks at number one, giving it the longest consecutive stay on top of that chart for an American Idol contestant. The CD single, "I Believe", went on to become the top selling single of 2004 in the United States. The song was later included as the closing track on Free Yourself.
"Truth Is" was released as the lead single from Free Yourself on November 15, 2004. It peaked at number 21 on Billboard Hot 100, and number two on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The most successful single taken from the album, it topped the Adult R&B Songs chart for 13 weeks. "Baby Mama" was released as the second single on February 14, 2005, peaking at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 16 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
"It's All Good" was released as the third single from Free Yourself on March 15, 2005. Its remixes, produced by The Scumfrog and Nate Skaten, prompted the song to reach number 21 on the US Dance Club Songs. "Free Yourself" was released as the fourth single on April 4. The song peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, also becoming Fantasia's second number-one hit on the Adult R&B Songs. "Ain't Gon' Beg You" was released as the fifth and final single from Free Yourself on August 1, 2005, reaching the top 40 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Slant Magazine | |
Free Yourself was released to largely mixed reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album three out of five stars and wrote: "Free Yourself is looser and hipper than any previous American Idol album. Gone is Matthew Wilder, who contributed to Kelly's debut; gone are Neil Sedaka and Aldo Nova, who featured heavily on Clay's album. In their place are Missy Elliott, Jermaine Dupri and Rodney Jerkins, hip-hop hitmakers who give a good indication that this album is striving to seem fresh and hip, something that no other American Idol album has even attempted." IGN critic Chris Carle "note that "there are a few missteps on Free Yourself, but the album as a whole is solid, old-fashioned R&B featuring thee best voice yet to come from America's most popular show."
Christian Hoard from Rolling Stone found that Free Yourself "leaves too much room for the pyrotechnics that constitute vocal talent on the show. But Barrino has gotten crucial help from a cavalcade of top urban songwriters and producers. The result is solid, up-to-date R&B; that puts some sexy bounce into its soccer-mom pop and bookends a cover of "Summertime" with a Missy Elliott jam." Sal Cinquemani, writing for Slant Magazine, described the album as "a smattering of everything that’s going on in mainstream R&B right now." He added: "These are artists we’ve gotten to know in a live context, and like most of the albums by the Idols before her, Free Yourself doesn't fully capture the Fantasia we watched make Paula weep on TV week after week." Neva Chonin from San Francisco Chronicle felt that Fantasia's "first CD doesn't do her justice [...] Layered vocals pour like waterfalls, Fantasia's skills are extolled in sundry shout-outs, and faux-vinyl scratchiness lends touches of nostalgic verite. Even the Elliott-produced title track is clinically smooth and forgettable."

## Accolades

Awards and nominations for Free Yourself :
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2004 | Billboard Music Awards | Top Selling Single of the Year | "I Believe" | Won |
| 2004 | Billboard Music Awards | Top Selling R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year | "I Believe" | Won |
| 2005 | Billboard American Urban Radio Networks | Top R&B/Hip-Hop Single | "I Believe" | Won |
| 2005 | American Music Awards | Favorite Soul/R&B Album | Free Yourself | Nominated |
| 2006 | Grammy Awards | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | "Free Yourself" | Nominated |
| 2006 | Grammy Awards | Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance | "Summertime" | Nominated |
| 2006 | Grammy Awards | Best R&B Album | Free Yourself | Nominated |
| 2006 | ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Awards | Most Performed Song | "Free Yourself" | Won |
| 2006 | ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Awards | Most Performed Song | "Truth Is" | Won |
| 2006 | Soul Train Music Award | Best Female R&B/Soul Album | Free Yourself | Nominated |

## Commercial performance

Free Yourself debuted and peaked at number eight on the US Billboard 200 in the week ending November 12, 2004, with first week sales of 240,000 copies. It also reached number two on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A steady seller, it remained 42 weeks on the chart and was eventually certified platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on January 6, 2005. By August 2010, Free Yourself had sold 1.8 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

## Track listing

Notes
* signifies co-producer
* signifies additional producer
Sample credits
* "Truth Is" contains a sample from "The Highways of My Life", performed by The Isley Brothers.
* "Selfish (I Want You to Myself)" contains a sample from "Dil Aaj Shair Hai", performed by Kishore Kumar.
* "Baby Mama" contains a sample from "There Will Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated at the Conference Table)", performed by The Chi-Lites.

## Personnel

* Kamel Abdo – engineer, mixing
* Gerald Albright – saxophone
* Maxi Anderson – choir, chorus
* Carlos Bedoya – engineer, mixing, programming
* Charile Bereal – drum programming
* Louis Biancaniello – arranger, keyboards, mixing, producer, programming
* Leslie Brathwaite – mixing
* Craig Brockman – keyboards, producer
* Chris Brown – assistant
* Eric Butler – choir, chorus
* Debra Byrd – choir, chorus
* David Campbell – string arrangements, string conductor
* Darius Campo – violin
* Vadim Chislov – assistant
* Steve Churchyard – audio engineer, engineer
* Nicholas Cooper – choir, chorus
* Larry Corbett – cello
* Bryan-Michael Cox – producer
* Eric Dawkins – main personnel, backing vocals
* Joel Derouin – violin
* Kevin Dorsey – choir, chorus
* Laura Marie Duncan – stylist
* Jermaine Dupri – producer
* Missy Elliott – audio production, main personnel, producer, backing vocals
* Fantasia Barrino – vocals
* Angela Fisher – choir, chorus
* Gloria Elias Foeillet – make-up
* Matthew Funes – viola
* Armen Garabedian – violin
* Berj Garabedian – violin
* Sean Garrett – engineer, producer, vocal producer
* Jon Gass – mixing
* Tamyra Gray – main personnel, backing vocals
* Laurence Greenfield – violin
* Julian Hallmark – violin
* Dabling Harward – editing, engineer
* David Heuer – assistant
* Ross Hogarth – engineer
* John Horesco IV – engineer
* Bill Hughes – orchestra contractor
* Jun Ishizeki – assistant engineer
* Jazze Pha – main personnel, producer, rap
* Rodney Jerkins – mixing, producer
* Jeff Kanan – assistant
* Karlin – arranger, instrumentation, producer
* Mark Kiczula – assistant engineer
* Darlene Koldenhoven – choir, chorus
* Chris LeBeau – artwork
* Natalie Leggett – violin
* Mario de León – violin
* Lil' Steve – main personnel, backing vocals
* Allison Lilly – backing vocals
* Harold Lilly – producer
* Bill Malina – audio engineer, engineer
* Manny Marroquin – mixing
* Yolanda McCullough – digital editing, engineer
* Byron Motley – choir, chorus
* Neeko – hair stylist
* Bobbi Page – choir, chorus
* Alyssa Park – violin
* Sara Parkins – violin
* Michael Parnin – mixing
* Bob Peterson – violin
* Charles Pettaway – guitar, main personnel
* Greg Phillinganes – piano
* Ric Rude – producer
* Tom Ranier – orchestration
* Aaron Renner – assistant
* Brian Scheuble – engineer
* Robin Sellars – engineer
* Gabe Sganga – assistant engineer
* Deborah Sharpe-Taylor – choir, chorus
* Dan Smith – cello
* Isabel Snyder – photography
* Nico Solis – engineer
* Soulshock – arranger, instrumentation, producer
* Soulshock & Karlin – audio production
* Nisan Stewart – drums
* Jazmine Sullivan – main personnel, backing vocals
* Phil Tan – mixing
* Tank – main personnel, various instruments
* Melanie Taylor – choir, chorus
* The Underdogs – audio production, instrumentation, main personnel, producer, various instruments
* Sam Watters – arranger, producer, backing vocals
* Tony Wilkins – choir, chorus
* Yvonne Williams – choir, chorus
* Evan Wilson – viola
* John Wittenberg – violin
* Terry Wood – choir, chorus
* Nigel Wright – producer
* Alexis Yraola – art direction, design

## Certifications

Certifications for Free Yourself :
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| United States (RIAA) | Platinum | 1,800,000 |