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.^[1]

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

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100^[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[3]
Robert Christgau	2005
Entertainment Weekly	(B)^[4]
Los Angeles Times	2005
New York Times	(favorable) 2005
Rhapsody	(favorable) 2005
Rolling Stone	2005
Stylus	(B) 2005
Vibe	2005
Village Voice	(favorable) 2005

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.^[2] 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."^[3] 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."^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"(I Just Want It) To Be Over"	Keyshia Cole Brothers Taneisha Greenidge Lady L	Kerry "Krucial" Brothers Ron Fair^[a]	4:03
2.	"I Changed My Mind"	Cole John Legend	Kanye West Fair^[b] Tal Herzberg^[b]	3:19
3.	"Love, I Thought You Had My Back"	Cole Randolph Murph Ralph Eskridge Clarence Johnson Jr Frederick Taylor	Fair Toxic	4:10
4.	"I Should Have Cheated"	Daron Jones Quinnes "Q" Parker	Jones Fair	5:31
5.	"Guess What?" (featuring Jadakiss)	Cole Sean Garrett Jason Phillips Alexandre Da Veiga	Deisel Sean Garrett Fair^[a]	3:45
6.	"Love"	Cole Gregory G. Curtis	Curtis Damon Elliott^[b] Fair^[b] Tal Herzberg^[b]	4:15
7.	"You've Changed"	Cole Fair Leonard Huggins Rich Shelton	Shelton Kevin Veney Loren Hill Fair	4:17
8.	"We Could Be"	Cole Errol McCalla Jr.	E-Poppi Fair	3:11
9.	"Situations" (featuring Chink Santana)	Cole Francesca Richards Andre Parker	Santana Fair^[a]	4:46
10.	"Down and Dirty"	Cole Curtis Elliott	Curtis	3:52
11.	"Superstar" (featuring Metro City)	Cole G. Cole	Mix Polow da Don Fair	3:48
12.	"Never" (featuring Eve)	Cole Eve Jeffers Luther Vandross	E-Poppi Fair	4:03

International bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"I Changed My Mind (Remix)" (featuring Shyne)	Cole Legend Moses Levi	West Fair^[b] Herzberg^[b]	3:38

UK bonus track
No.	Title	Length
14.	"Love" (AOL live version)	4:35

Notes

^{^[a]} signifies a vocal producer
^{^[b]} 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 "Love 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

Chart (2005)	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[5]	6
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[6]	2

Year-end charts

Chart (2005)	Position
US Billboard 200	61
US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums (Billboard)	10

Release history

Region	Date
Japan	June 21, 2005
United States	June 26, 2005
Canada	June 26, 2005
United Kingdom	July 3, 2005
Spain	March 6, 2006

References

↑ Whitmir, Margo (2005-06-29). "Coldplay Logs A Third Week A No. 1". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Archived from the original on June 22, 2014. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
1 2 "The Way It Is Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
1 2 Kellman, Andy. "The Way It Is". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Review. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
1 2 Tzou, Janet (2012-10-03). "Music Review — The Way It Is (2005)". Entertainment Weekly / CNN. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
↑ "Joe – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Joe. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
↑ "Joe – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Joe. Retrieved December 19, 2014.

External links

The Way It Is at Metacritic

Keyshia Cole

Discography

Studio albums	The Way It Is Just like You A Different Me Calling All Hearts Woman to Woman Point of No Return

Singles	"Never" "I Changed My Mind" "(I Just Want It) To Be Over" "I Should Have Cheated" "Love" "Let It Go" "Shoulda Let You Go" "I Remember" "Heaven Sent" "Playa Cardz Right" "You Complete Me" "Trust" "I Ain't Thru" "Take Me Away" "Enough of No Love" "Trust and Believe" "I Choose You" "Next Time (Won't Give My Heart Away)" "Rick James" "She"

Featured singles	"Let's Get Blown" "(When You Gonna) Give It Up to Me" "Last Night" "Dreamin'" "I Got a Thang for You" "Boyfriend/Girlfriend" "Just Stand Up!" "Game's Pain" "Legendary"

Related articles	Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is Keyshia & Daniel: Family First Keyshia Cole: All In

Promotional Songs	"Long Way Down"

Book Category

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