The First Lady
Encyclopedia
The First Lady received positive reviews from most music critic
s upon its release. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 72, based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". In his review for Allmusic, Andy Kellman wrote that "if there was any creative block during [Evan's] time away, it doesn't show. In fact, The First Lady proves that she only gets better with time, as she goes through more ups and downs and continues to absorb her inspirations." He called the first four tracks the highlights of the album, which he rated four out of five stars, and went on to praise The First Lady, calling it as "well-rounded as an R&B album gets, regardless of the age it's part of. In review of her 2010 album Something About Faith
he called The First Lady "one of Faith Evans' strongest albums". It smartly incorporates throwback aspects into state-of-the-art pop-soul." Belinda Boakye from The Situation complimented the "unfailing spirit and soul" on the album and commented that "this long anticipated album marks a metamorphosis for Faith Evans into a state of musical autonomy. With 52 minutes of silky vocals and a variation of infectious beats and slow sultry rhythm and blues, this record has all the ingredients needed making it emulate the class and tightly toned sound of Evans’ new physical appearance."
Sal Cinquemani from Slant
gave the album three out of five stars and said "The First Lady is decidedly less "street
," boasting a more adult sound that's timely enough to keep longtime fans and possibly even earn new ones." Though he dismissed songs such as "Ever Wonder," "Until You Came" and "Stop N Go," which he declared as either "cloying" or "sappy," he found that the album was "a mark of growth for Evans" following her slip from Bad Boy
and Sean "Diddy" Combs
. Orlando Lima, writing for Vibe, noted that while "Evans can still finesse notes," the album had a tendency to backtracking, "covering much of the same ground as her previous offering [...] instead of continually pushing her sound into the future." He found that Evans yet had to "sway the R&B world with the weight of say, Sade
's Lovers Rock
or Mary J. Blige
's My Life
."
," The First Lady peaked at number two on the Billboard 200
, the official albums chart in the United States, on April 23, 2005. The album sold 157,000 units in its first week of release, falling just 8,000 copies short of the top slot and 50 Cent
's The Massacre
. Despite this, the album gave Evans her best sales figures of her career yet, marking both her highest-selling debut and best ever first-week sales. In addition, The First Lady became her first album to reach number-one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
chart, surpassing The Massacre. By the end of 2005, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), and became the 158th best-selling album of that year in the US.
Music criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...
s upon its release. At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 72, based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". In his review for Allmusic, Andy Kellman wrote that "if there was any creative block during [Evan's] time away, it doesn't show. In fact, The First Lady proves that she only gets better with time, as she goes through more ups and downs and continues to absorb her inspirations." He called the first four tracks the highlights of the album, which he rated four out of five stars, and went on to praise The First Lady, calling it as "well-rounded as an R&B album gets, regardless of the age it's part of. In review of her 2010 album Something About Faith
Something About Faith
Something About Faith is the sixth studio album by American singer Faith Evans, released on Prolific Music Group on October 5, 2010 in the United States. Distributed by E1 Music, the album marks Evans' first independent release, following her departure from Bad Boy Records in 2003 and her...
he called The First Lady "one of Faith Evans' strongest albums". It smartly incorporates throwback aspects into state-of-the-art pop-soul." Belinda Boakye from The Situation complimented the "unfailing spirit and soul" on the album and commented that "this long anticipated album marks a metamorphosis for Faith Evans into a state of musical autonomy. With 52 minutes of silky vocals and a variation of infectious beats and slow sultry rhythm and blues, this record has all the ingredients needed making it emulate the class and tightly toned sound of Evans’ new physical appearance."
Sal Cinquemani from Slant
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
gave the album three out of five stars and said "The First Lady is decidedly less "street
Street Music
Street Music is the fourth album by Defari, an American hip hop musician who is also part of the Likwit Crew. The album features regular collaborators Evidence, J-Ro, E-Swift, The Alchemist and DJ Babu, the latter Defari's partner in the Likwit Junkies....
," boasting a more adult sound that's timely enough to keep longtime fans and possibly even earn new ones." Though he dismissed songs such as "Ever Wonder," "Until You Came" and "Stop N Go," which he declared as either "cloying" or "sappy," he found that the album was "a mark of growth for Evans" following her slip from Bad Boy
Bad Boy Records
Bad Boy Records is a record label founded in 1993 by producer/rapper/entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records.-Beginnings:...
and Sean "Diddy" Combs
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
. Orlando Lima, writing for Vibe, noted that while "Evans can still finesse notes," the album had a tendency to backtracking, "covering much of the same ground as her previous offering [...] instead of continually pushing her sound into the future." He found that Evans yet had to "sway the R&B world with the weight of say, Sade
Sade (band)
Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
's Lovers Rock
Lovers Rock (album)
Lovers Rock is the fifth studio album by English band Sade, released on 14 November 2000 by Epic Records. The album reached number 18 on the UK Albums Chart and number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. It has since been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America,...
or Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
's My Life
My Life (Mary J. Blige album)
My Life is the second studio album from American R&B and soul singer Mary J. Blige, Released by Uptown/MCA Records on November 29, 1994. Recording sessions for the album began in fall of 1993 and ended almost one year later. Many of the topics on My Life deal with clinical depression, Blige's...
."
Commercial performance
Despite the somewhat average commercial performance of the album's leading single, "AgainAgain (Faith Evans song)
"Again" is a song by American recording artist Faith Evans. It was written by Ivan Barias, Venus Dodson, Carvin Haggins, Jerry Harris, and Evans and produced by Carvin & Ivan for her fourth studio album The First Lady ....
," The First Lady peaked at number two on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, the official albums chart in the United States, on April 23, 2005. The album sold 157,000 units in its first week of release, falling just 8,000 copies short of the top slot and 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
's The Massacre
The Massacre
The Massacre is the second studio album by American rapper 50 Cent, released March 3, 2005 on Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records in the United States. Its initially planned release was pushed five days ahead to avoid Internet leakage. The album debuted at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard...
. Despite this, the album gave Evans her best sales figures of her career yet, marking both her highest-selling debut and best ever first-week sales. In addition, The First Lady became her first album to reach number-one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
chart, surpassing The Massacre. By the end of 2005, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
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...
(RIAA), and became the 158th best-selling album of that year in the US.
Track listing
Credits and personnel
- Tony Aliperti - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Russ Brown - guitar
- Matt Cappy - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Rod Morgan - keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- William Rodney Prince - percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Harley White - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Production
- Executive producerExecutive producerAn executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
s: Andrew M. Shack, Todd Russaw - Vocal producer: Andrew Slater
- Vocal assistance: Jay Shawn Smith
- EngineerEngineerAn engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
s: Ben Briggs, Mike CarenMike CarenMike Caren is an American Record Producer, Executive Vice President of A&R for Atlantic Records and Co-President of Elektra Records. After completing jobs with SRC/Loud Records and Ruthless Records, he started his career at Atlantic in 1995 at the age of seventeen as Manager of Rap Marketing for...
, Andrew Coleman, Carvin Haggins, Eric Hunter, Manny MarroquinManny MarroquinManny 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....
, Frank Sutton, Brad Todd, Howard Willing - Assistant engineers: Bryan Ellis
- MixingAudio 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...
: Duro, Serban Ghenea, Manny Marroquin, Phil Tan, Brad Todd
Charts
| Chart (2005) | Provider | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| Swiss Albums Chart | 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... |
89 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... /The Official UK Charts Company The Official UK Charts Company The Official Charts Company , previously called the Chart Information Network and then The Official UK Charts Company, compiles various "official" UK record charts, including the UK Singles Chart, the UK Albums Chart, and the UK Official Download Chart, as well as genre-specific and music video... |
22 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
Billboard | 2 |
| US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 1 |