The Way It Is (Keyshia Cole album)

The Way It Is is the debut studio album by American R&B singer Keyshia Cole; it was released on June 21, 2005, by A&M Records. The album debuted at number 6 on the US Billboard 200 and it was supported by five singles, including "Never", "I Changed My Mind", "(I Just Want It) To Be Over", "I Should Have Cheated" and "Love". The album sold 89,000 units in its first week.
The album was certified gold within 17 weeks, and then platinum, only eight weeks later. The album stayed on the charts for over a year, eventually selling over 1.6 million copies and it is Cole's second highest-selling album to date.
Reception
Critical response
Upon its release, The Way It is garnered generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rated mean out of 100 from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 77. Andy Kellman of Allmusic rated the album four out of five stars. He felt that "from the opener, the album seems to be set up like a linear narrative about a crumbling relationship, but it doesn't quite play out that way, with the scenes shuffled out of order. None of it's all that profound, but Cole sells it all extremely well. [Her] voice is sweet and ringing, like a wiser version of Lil' Mo who has had to weather a tremendous amount of drama. She could be around for a while." Janet Tzou, writing for Entertainment Weekly found that "Cole certainly nails all the basics on The Way It Is: big-name guest talent and husky ballads lamenting those tricky matters of the heart. But Cole's native Oakland, California upbringing gives her vocals depth and her songs a genuine, lived-in feel."
Track listing
Notes
signifies a vocal producer
signifies an additional producer
Sampling credits
"I Changed My Mind" contains an sample from "Get Out of My Life", written by Allen Toussaint and performed by Solomon Burke.
"Love, I Thought You Had My Back" contains elements from "Loves Jones", written by Randolph Murph, Ralph Eskridge, and Clarence Johnson from Brighter Side of Darkness.
"You've Changed" contains elements from "Sounds Like a Love Song", performed by Bobby Glenn.
"Never" contains sampled portions from "Never Too Much", written and performed by Luther Vandross.
Personnel
Charlie Bisharat - violin
Jacqueline Brand - violin
Roberto Cani - violin
Nico Carmine Abondolo - bass
Mario de Leon - violin
Brian Dembow - viola
Joel Derouin - violin
Bruce Dukov - violin
Stephen Erdody - cello
Steve Erody - cello
Marlo Fisher - viola
Matt Funes - viola
Armen Garabedian - violin
Berj Garabedian - violin
Julie Gigante - violin
Endre Granat - violin
Alan Grunfield - violin
Clayton Haslop - violin
Dan Higgins - flute, horn
Josephina Vergara - violin
David F. Walther - viola
Jerry Hey - horn
Suzie Katayama - cello
Songa Lee - violin
Natalie Leggett - violin
Gayle Levant - harp
Phillipe Levy - violin
David Low - cello
Rene Mandel - violin
Darrin McCann - viola
Vicki Miskolczy - viola
Robin Olson - violin
Simon Oswell - viola
Sid Page - violin
Sara Parkins - violin
Joel Peskin - horn
Katia Popov - violin
Steve Rodriguez - bass guitar
Anatoly Rosinsky - violin
Sarah Thornblade - violin
Kenneth Yerks - violin
Raj Ertui - clarinet
Miri Ben-Ari - Israel violin
Production
Executive producers: Keyshia Cole, Ron Fair
Producer: Tal Herzberg, Loren Hill, Sean Garrett, Diesel, Daron Jones, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, John Legend, Chink Santana, Rich Shelton, Kevin Veney, Kanye West
Vocal producer: Keyshia Cole, Ron Fair, Sean Garrett, Alicia Keys
Engineers: Shannon Braxton, Tal Herzberg, Jun Ishizeki, Anthony Kilhoffer, Ann Mincieli
Assistant engineers: J.D. Andrew, Jun Ishizeki
Mixing: Ron Fair, Dave Pensado
Mixing assistance: Ariel Chobaz
A&R: Justin Siegel destiny
Design: Jason Clark, Michelle Thomas
Photography: Chapman Baehler
Co-Songwriter: Tim "Timbaland" Mosley
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
Other websites
The Way It Is at Metacritic
2005 albums