Get Lifted

Get Lifted is the debut studio album by American singer John Legend. It was released by GOOD Music, Sony Urban Music, and Columbia Records on December 28, 2004 in the United States. The production on the album was handled by Legend's then-manager, Kanye West, who also served as the album's executive producer, as well as Dave Tozer, will.i.am, and Devo Springsteen. The album also features guest appearances by West, Snoop Dogg and Miri Ben-Ari.

Get Lifted
Studio album by
John Legend
ReleasedDecember 28, 2004
Recorded2001–2004
Studio
  • Sound Images
    (Cincinnati, Ohio)
  • Sony Music Studios
    (New York City)
  • The Record Planet, Westlake Studios
    (Los Angeles, California)
  • The Stewchia
    (Los Angeles, California)
  • Studio Crash
    (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Genre
Length52:28
Label
Producer
John Legend chronology
Get Lifted
(2004)		 Once Again
(2006)
Singles from Get Lifted
  1. "Used to Love U"
    Released: August 31, 2004
  2. "Ordinary People"
    Released: April 7, 2005
  3. "Number One"
    Released: August 23, 2005
  4. "So High"
    Released: December 8, 2005

Get Lifted supported by four singles: "Used to Love U", "Ordinary People", "Number One" and "So High". The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. It debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 116,000 copies in its first week.[1] The album later peaked at number four on the chart. At the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, the album won the award for Best R&B Album, and earned Legend another two awards, for Best New Artist and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his single "Ordinary People".

Singles

The album was supported by four singles. The first single "Used to Love U" was released on August 31, 2004. The single received moderate commercial success, peaking at number 74 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.[2] The second single "Ordinary People" was released on April 7, 2005. This became Legend's first breakthrough hit. The song peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Legend's first top 40 hit.[2] It also received success outside of the US. In the United Kingdom, it was peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and number one on the UK R&B Singles chart.[3][4] The song also received three nominations at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards for Song of the Year, Best R&B Song and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, ultimately winning the latter. The third single "Number One" was released on August 23, 2005. Unlike the last two singles, the song failed on the Billboard Hot 100. But it still managed to peak at number 63 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] The final single "So High" was released on December 8, 2005. The song also failed to peaked on the Billboard Hot 100. But it still managed to peak at number 3 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[6]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Blender[8]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[9]
The Guardian[10]
NME8/10[11]
Pitchfork8.8/10[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
SpinA−[14]
USA Today[15]
Vibe5/5[16]

Get Lifted received generally positive reviews from music critics. BBC Music gave the album a favorable review and called it "an album that not only lived up to the hype, but rose squarely above it. Yes, at times it is a patchwork of the past filtered through Legend’s ever-present influences, but the quality of his writing and performance, and his collaborators’ contributions, make it worthy of the awards and plaudits it rightly received."[17] Spin gave it an A− and said that Legend's voice "leans on subtlety more than melisma, and his sound has a crisp live-band jump, rather than canned neo-soul static."[14] Uncut gave it three stars out of five and stated that Legend "introduces some intriguing new variations on the retro R&B template....Jeff Buckley is surprisingly brought to mind in Legend's passionately fragile delivery."[18] IGN gave it a score of 9.3 out of ten and called it "a refreshing record that fans of music will adore."[19] The Guardian gave it four stars out of five and called it "a real gem."[10] Entertainment.ie also gave it four stars and said of Legend, "it's probably not surprising that he's got such a big head, seeing as his producer, hip-hop guru Kanye West, has described him as simply 'the future'. Actually, it would be much more accurate to say that he does a pretty good job of updating the past."[20] In his Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau gave it a three-star honorable mention ((3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)); he picked out two of the songs from the album ("I Can Change" and "Live It Up") and said of Legend, "For an ordinary soul man, he has excellent tunes."[21]

musicOMH gave it an average review and stated that "Certain albums have the power to open the mind into different forms of music, and certainly those who pick up the Get Lifted with the pretence of it being a hip-hop album will have a rude awakening. I approached with trepidation after the opening Prelude but with an open mind or just an appreciation for the finer things in life Get Lifted could find itself being an essential album in anyone’s collection."[22] Paste gave it a positive review and stated that it "has as much in common with the classic funk and soul of Isaac Hayes, Stevie Wonder and The Delfonics as it does with today’s best R&B, hip-hop and neo-soul."[23] The A.V. Club gave it an average review and stated that the album "suffers from a surplus of slickness, but it's also seductive, and at just over 52 minutes, mercifully free from the excess and filler that characterize many rap and R&B albums."[24] Exclaim!, however, gave it an unfavorable review and said, "The early line on Legend is that the heat this album will undoubtedly generate guarantees that Legend’s apparent fidelity issues will get worse before they get better. Get Lifted indeed."[25] Plugged In gave it a mixed review and stated that "Legend is a talented singer and piano player but fails to maintain his moral focus. It doesn't take much profanity, infidelity and sexual inappropriateness to sink an otherwise decent effort."[26]

Rhapsody ranked the album #10 on its "Best R&B Albums of the Decade" list,[27] declaring, "John Legend was all over the Top 40 the entire decade—even before he released one of the decade’s biggest R&B debuts—having worked with Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Kanye West and Jay-Z, to name a few. Get Lifted, his first proper release, is an infectious cross between old-school soul and neo-soul."

Commercial performance

Get Lifted debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 116,000 copies in its first week.[1] This became Legend's first US top-ten debut on the chart.[1] In its second week, the album climbed to number four on the chart, selling an additional 75,000 copies.[28] In its third week, the album remained to number four on the chart, selling 73,000 more copies.[29] In its fourth week, the album dropped to number five on the chart, selling 62,000 copies.[30] On October 13, 2020, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over two million units in the United States. To date, the album has sold a total of 2.1 million copies in the US and over three million units worldwide.[31]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Prelude"John StephensJohn Legend[a]0:44
2."Let's Get Lifted"
3:37
3."Used to Love U"
  • Stephens
  • West
3:30
4."Alright"
  • Stephens
  • West
3:20
5."She Don't Have to Know"
will.i.am4:52
6."Number One" (featuring Kanye West)
3:18
7."I Can Change" (featuring Snoop Dogg)
5:01
8."Ordinary People"
  • Stephens
  • Adams
Legend4:41
9."Stay with You"
  • Stephens
  • Tozer
Tozer3:49
10."Let's Get Lifted Again"
  • Stephens
  • Tozer
Tozer2:18
11."So High"
Harris5:07
12."Refuge (When It's Cold Outside)"
  • Stephens
  • Harris
  • Cho
4:13
13."It Don't Have to Change" (featuring The Stephens Family)
  • Stephens
  • Tozer
Legend3:23
14."Live It Up" (featuring Miri Ben-Ari)
  • Stephens
  • Harris
  • Tarrey Torae
  • A. Hester
4:35

Notes

  • ^a signifies co-producer
  • ^b signifies additional producer

Sample credits

  • "She Don't Have to Know" contains replayed elements from the composition "Just Like a Baby" as written by Sylvester Stewart.
  • "Number One" contains samples from the composition "Let's Do It Again" as written by Curtis Mayfield.
  • "So High" contains samples from the composition "I Don't Need No Reason" as written by Leon Ware and Pam Sawyer.
  • "Live It Up" contains interpolations from the composition "Love Is Missing from Our Lives" as written by Anthony Hester.

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes.[32]

  • Candice Anderson — additional vocals (tracks 2, 4, 6)
  • Pablo Arraya — assistant engineer (tracks 2–4, 6, 8, 13)
  • Jose Barboza, Jr. — tuba (track 4)
  • Miri Ben-Ari — strings (tracks 3, 14), string production and arrangements (14)
  • Printz Board — trumpet (track 3)
  • Val Brathwaite — assistant engineer (tracks 2–4, 6, 8)
  • Jason Carson — assistant engineer (tracks 9, 10)
  • Paul Cho — additional production (track 12)
  • Shvona Chung — additional finger snaps and hand claps (track 13)
  • Ted Chung — additional finger snaps and hand claps (track 13)
  • Jimmy Coleman — live drums (track 9)
  • Tom Craskey — bass (tracks 7, 9, 10)
  • Karesha Crawford — trombone (track 4)
  • Jay Curtis — guitar (track 5)
  • Andrew Dawson — engineer (tracks 7, 11, 14)
  • Jenee Dixon — trumpet (track 4)
  • Pete Donelly — engineer (track 9)
  • Jeremy Dyen — ARP synthesizer (track 9)
  • Mike Eleopoulos — assistant engineer (tracks 1–4, 6, 8, 13)
  • Aaron Fessel — engineer (track 7)
  • Michael Harmon — engineer (track 9)
  • DeVon "Devo" Harris — producer (tracks 11, 12, 14)
  • Sharief Hobley — guitar (track 11)
  • Corey Hogan — saxophone (track 4)
  • The Horn Dogs — horns (track 3)
  • Matt Hueneman — engineer (track 13)
  • Jun Ishizeki — engineer (tracks 9, 10)
  • Tim Izo — saxophone (tracks 3, 5), flute (3)
  • Glenn Jeffery — guitar (track 6)
  • Anthony Kilhoffer — engineer (tracks 1–4, 6, 8, 11–14)
  • Elizabeth Lea — trombone (track 5)
  • John Legend — vocals (all tracks), piano (1-8, 11, 13), organ (4, 5, 11), keyboards (9, 12, 14), Rhodes (11), producer (1, 8, 13), co-producer (2-4, 6, 7, 14), co-executive producer
  • Andy Manganello — engineer (tracks 2–4, 6, 8, 13)
  • Manny Marroquin — mixing (tracks 1–9, 11–14)
  • Tara Michel — additional vocals (tracks 2, 4, 6)
  • Na2 — additional vocals (track 7)
  • George Pajon, Jr. — guitar (tracks 3, 5)
  • Michael Peters — engineer (tracks 2–4, 6, 8, 11), assistant engineer (7, 14)
  • Lenesha Randolph — additional vocals (track 7)
  • Jared Robbins — assistant mix engineer (tracks 1–6, 8)
  • James Roston — additional vocals (track 7)
  • M'balia Singley — background vocals (track 9)
  • Snoop Dogg — rap vocals and spoken ad-libs (track 7)
  • Andy Kravitz — engineer (track 9)
  • A. Wayne Stephens — additional lead and backup vocals (track 13)
  • Brandy Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Brett Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Dionne Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Doris Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • H. Anthony Stephens — additional lead and backup vocals (track 13)
  • Kashaan Stephens — additional lead and backup vocals (track 13)
  • Marjorie Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Phyllis E. Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Phyllis Y. Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Ronald Stephens II — additional lead and backup vocals (track 13)
  • Ronald "Bumper" Stephens II — additional finger snaps and hand claps (track 13)
  • Vada Stephens — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • Vaughan Stephens — additional lead and backup vocals (track 13)
  • Swiss Chris — live drums (track 11)
  • Steve Tirpak — trumpet (track 7)
  • Tarrey Torae — additional lead and background vocals (track 14)
  • Dave Tozer — producer and engineer (tracks 7, 9, 10), mixing (10), guitars (2, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14), bass (2, 11, 14), keyboard programming (7, 10), drum programming (7, 9, 10)
  • Jason Villaroman — engineer (track 5)
  • Kanye West — producer (tracks 2–4, 6), co-producer and drum programming (14), rap vocals (6), executive producer
  • Melanie Williams — additional backup vocals (track 13)
  • will.i.am — producer, clav, moog bass, and drum programming (track 5)

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[56] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[57] Gold 50,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[58] Gold 7,500^
Netherlands (NVPI)[59] Gold 40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[60] Platinum 490,199[61]
United States (RIAA)[62] 2× Platinum 2,100,000[31]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
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