"Karma" is a song by American recording artist Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys

Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

 from her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys

The Diary of Alicia Keys

The Diary of Alicia Keys is the second studio album by American recording artist Alicia Keys. It was released in the United States on December 2, 2003 by J Records...

. Written by Keys, Kerry Brothers, Jr., and Taneisha Smith, the track takes influence from hip hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 and classical music

Classical music

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

, and was released as the album's fourth and final single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 in November 2004, peaking at number twenty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 and number seventeen on the U.S. Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

 chart—the album's only single not to top a Billboard chart

Billboard charts

The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...

. A mashup

Mashup (music)

A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...

 of "Karma" with Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder

Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...

's 1972 hit "Superstition

Superstition (song)

"Superstition" is a popular song written, produced, arranged, and performed by Stevie Wonder for Motown Records in 1972, when Wonder was 22 years old. It was the lead single for Wonder's Talking Book album, and released in many countries. It reached number one in the USA, and number one on the soul...

" entitled "Karmastition", produced by Go Home Productions

Go Home Productions

Go Home Productions is the alter ego of Mark Vidler, a producer/remixer/DJ based in Watford, Hertfordshire, England...

, exists.
"Karma" became The Diary of Alicia Keyss first release to fail to achieve top ten status on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop, peaking at number 20 and 17, respectively.

Music video

The music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 for "Karma", directed by Chris Robinson

Chris Robinson (director)

Chris Robinson is an American film director working mostly with music videos and commercials. He has directed commercials for brands such as iPod, Coca Cola and Verizon and music videos for songs like "Fallin'" and "You Don't Know My Name" by Alicia Keys, "Roc Boys" by Jay-Z, the grammy nominated...

 and Keys herself, had parts shot in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and at Casa de Campo

Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic

In 1975 Gulf+Western developed of its Central Romana sugar mill's land into the Casa de Campo resort. Situated in La Romana on the southeast coast of the Dominican Republic, Casa de Campo is a Ponderosa-style, tropical seaside resort.The first to enjoy the luxuries of this enclave were friends of...

 resort's Altos de Chavón

Altos de Chavón

The biggest attraction in La Romana, Dominican Republic, is Altos de Chavón, a re-creation of a medieval European village conceived from the imagination of Roberto Copa, a former Paramount Studios set designer, and Charles Bluhdorn....

 amphitheatre, in La Romana, Dominican Republic. At the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards

2005 MTV Video Music Awards

The 2005 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 28, 2005, honoring the best music videos from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005. The show was hosted by Diddy at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida...

, the video earned Keys the award for Best R&B Video

MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video

The MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video was first awarded in 1993, and was given every year until 2006, as the following year MTV revammped the VMAs and eliminated all of the genre categories. The following year, though, when MTV returned the VIdeo Music Awards to their previous format, Best...

.

Track listings and formats

• European CD single

1. "Karma" — 4:15
2. "Diary" (Hani
   Hani (producer)
   Hani is an American producer and remixer from New York City, New York whose restructuring of hits ranging from Michael Jackson to Alicia Keys have gone on to become club classics...
   
    Mix) — 3:49

• European CD maxi single

1. "Karma" (Radio Edit) — 3:37
2. "Diary" (Hani Mix) — 3:49
3. "Karma" (The Reggaeton Mix) — 3:32
4. "Karma" (Club Mix) — 3:18
5. "Karma" (Video)

• U.S. promo CD single

1. "Karma" (Radio Edit) — 3:37
2. "Karma" (Instrumental) — 4:11
3. "Karma" (Call Out Hook) — 0:10
4. "Karma" (Radio Version in MP3 format) — 3:39

• U.S. promo 12" single

  • A1 "Karma" (Album Version) — 4:12
  • A2 "Karma" (Instrumental) — 4:11
  • B1 "Karma" (KrucialKeys DJ Mix) — 3:20
  • B2 "Karma" (Acappella) — 3:45

• 12"Promo

  • A1 "Karma" (Radio Edit) — 3:37
  • A2 "Heartburn" (Album Version) — 3:25
  • B1 "If I Ain't Got You" (Remix, featuring Usher) — 3:50
  • B2 "Diary" (Album version, featuring Tony! Toni! Toné!) — 4:44
  • B3 "Diary" (Instrumental) — 4:44

• 12"Promo - Karma (The Reggaeton Mix)

  • A1 "Karma" (Spanish Version) — 3:32
  • A2 "Karma" (Spanglish Version) — 3:32
  • B1 "Karma" (Spanish Version) — 3:32
  • B2 "Karma" (Spanglish Version) — 3:32

Personnel

• Alicia Keys – lead vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , backing vocals
  Backing vocalist
  A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
  
  , piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  
• Kerry "Krucial" Brothers – producer
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  , digital programming
  Programming (music)
  Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
  
  , engineer
  Audio engineering
  An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
  
  , instrumentation
  Instrumentation (music)
  In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually...
  
  
• Manny Marroquin
  Manny Marroquin
  Manny Marroquin, born 21 September 1971 in Guatemala, is a Grammy winning mixing engineer. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was nine due to the Guatemalan Civil War....
  
   – mixing
  Audio mixing (recorded music)
  In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
  
  
• Herb Powers Jr. – mastering
  Audio mastering
  Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
  
  
• Joe Romano – horn
  Horn (instrument)
  The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
  
  
• David Watson – horn

Chart positions

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995...  Flanders)	40
Belgium (Ultratop 40 Ultratop 40 Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization...  Wallonia)	2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	6
Germany (Media Control Charts Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... )	62
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... )	40
Switzerland (Media Control AG Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... )	71
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	20
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	17
U.S. Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...	7

Year-end charts

Chart (2005)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	56
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	73

Certifications

Country	Certification
United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...	Gold