Double Up (R. Kelly album)

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Double Up
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 29, 2007 (2007-05-29)
Genre
Length76:19
Label
Producer
R. Kelly chronology
TP.3 Reloaded
(2005)
Double Up
(2007)
Untitled
(2009)
Singles from Double Up
  1. "I'm a Flirt (Remix)"
    Released: March 2, 2007
  2. "Same Girl"
    Released: May 29, 2007 (US), August 24, 2007 (Germany)
  3. "Rock Star"
    Released: October 2, 2007
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic63/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Entertainment WeeklyC[4]
Pitchfork Media(6.7/10)[5]
PopMatters(7/10)[6]
Robert Christgau(choice cut)[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Slant Magazine[9]
Yahoo! Music UK(4/10)[10]

Double Up is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter R. Kelly. It was released by Jive Records on May 29, 2007 in the United States, with distribution handled by Zomba Label Group. The album features the contributions with guest appearances and also the productions, which was handled by R. Kelly, along with Swizz Beatz, The Runners, Snoop Dogg, Khao, Nelly, Chamillionaire and Polow da Don.

Its lead single, his remix to "I'm a Flirt", which features guest vocals from American rapper T.I. and American recording artist T-Pain; attaining the prominence of the success on the Billboard's Top 40 charts, while it peaked at number one on the US Top Hot Rap Tracks chart. Double Up is Kelly's final studio album to top the Billboard 200.

Background[edit]

On YouTube, R. Kelly has a video of him speaking out about his state on his success and his thoughts of collaborating with artists, such Young Jeezy and Ludacris, he thought, "why not put some of that magic on my album?" He stated that 70 percent of the record will be uptempo but he assured fans that "there will be some slow jams on there."

Promotion and release[edit]

Prior to the album's release, three songs were leaked onto the Internet: second single "Same Girl", which features Usher; "Rise Up", a song which only appeared on some releases, a tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007; also making an early appearance was a song titled "Blow It Up", at first supposed to be featured on the album but absent from the final track listing, mainly due to the inappropriate mood it would have created because of the presence of the Virginia Tech shooting tribute song "Rise Up". "Rock Star", which features Ludacris and Kid Rock, was released as the album's third single on September 4. A video for the song "Real Talk" was also made directly on YouTube. On May 25, 2007, four days before the album's release, the explicit version of the album became available for purchase on iTunes. The edited version became available on May 29, 2007, with a bonus track version available a day later.

Chart performance[edit]

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 386,000 copies, making this his sixth and final album in his career to debut at number-one.[11] To date, the album has sold 1,200,000 copies in the United States.[12] On June 3, 2007 it entered the UK Albums Chart at #10.

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Champ" (featuring Swizz Beatz)Robert Kelly, Kasseem DeanKelly, The Runners (co.)1:50
2."Double Up" (featuring Snoop Dogg)Kelly, Calvin Broadus, Jr., C. Bereal, K. Bereal, C. Brockman, C. Keyes, N. StewartKelly, Khao (co.)4:48
3."Tryin to Get a Number" (featuring Nelly)Kelly, C. HaynesCorey "Keyz" Martin3:47
4."Get Dirty" (featuring Chamillionaire)R. Kelly, H. SerikiR. Kelly, Mysto & Pizzi (co.)3:56
5."Leave Your Name"R. KellyR. Kelly3:27
6."Freaky in the Club"R. KellyR. Kelly4:35
7."The Zoo"R. KellyR. Kelly3:39
8."I'm a Flirt (Remix)" (featuring T.I. & T-Pain)R. Kelly, S. Moss, R. Jackson, C. Harris, F. NajmLil' Ronnie5:32
9."Same Girl" (duet with Usher)R. KellyR. Kelly, Lil' Ronnie (co.)4:12
10."Real Talk"R. KellyR. Kelly3:00
11."Hook It Up" (featuring Huey)R. Kelly, L. Franks Jr.R. Kelly, Lil' Ronnie (co.)4:15
12."Rock Star" (featuring Ludacris & Kid Rock)R. Kelly, C. BridgesR. Kelly4:47
13."Best Friend" (featuring Keyshia Cole & Polow da Don)R. KellyR. Kelly, Polow da Don (co.)4:41
14."Rollin'"R. KellyR. Kelly4:47
15."Sweet Tooth"R. KellyR. Kelly2:50
16."Havin a Baby"R. KellyR. Kelly3:34
17."Sex Planet"R. KellyR. Kelly5:35
18."Rise Up" (Virginia Tech Memorial tribute track) (not included on releases outside of North America)R. KellyR. Kelly3:31
Bonus/hidden tracks [13]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
19."Ringtone" (iTunes bonus track / physical hidden track)R. Kelly, J. Jones, W. HodgeR. Kelly, Polow da Don3:41
20."I Like Love" (Japan / United Kingdom bonus track)R. KellyR. Kelly3:20
21."Ooh Baby" (iTunes bonus track)R. KellyR. Kelly3:38
22."Good Sex" (featuring Twista) (iTunes bonus track)R. Kelly, A. Harr, J. Jackson, C. MitchellR. Kelly, The Runners3:40

Samples credits

  • "Double Up" samples "Iceberg" performed by Tweet

Notes

  • There are different iTunes versions of Double Up. Some features the track "Ringtone", as track 19; instead of 20 as on the physical version of the album. Other versions have "I Like Love" or the video for "I'm a Flirt" as bonus features.[13]
  • On all versions (digital and CD) of Double Up, "I'm a Flirt" is presented in its censored form while the other songs are not.
  • On most international versions of the album, the song "Rise Up" is omitted in favor of the aforementioned bonus tracks. The song "Rise Up" was reportedly intended predominantly for North American listeners because it is about the Virginia Tech massacre, something that some non-North American fans of R. Kelly may be unfamiliar with.
  • The extended version of the song "Get Dirty" with an extended verse by Chamillionaire was released on R. Kelly's MySpace page.

Chart positions[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[27] Platinum 1,200,000[12]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Willman, Chris (May 25, 2007). "Double Up". Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  2. ^ "Double Up Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  3. ^ Hoffman, K. Ross. "R. Kelly: Double Up > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  4. ^ Willman, Chris (May 25, 2007). "Double Up". Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  5. ^ Dombal, Ryan (June 5, 2007). "R. Kelly: Double Up". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on November 28, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  6. ^ Boeckel, Gentry (June 8, 2007). "R. Kelly: Double Up". PopMatters.
  7. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: R. Kelly". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert (May 29, 2007). "R. Kelly: Double Up". Rolling Stone.
  9. ^ Henderson, Eric (May 31, 2007). "R. Kelly: Double Up". Slant Magazine.
  10. ^ Gennoe, Dan (June 1, 2007). "R. Kelly – Double Up". Yahoo! Music UK. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007.
  11. ^ "R. Kelly Flirts His Way To No. 1 Album Chart Debut". Billboard.
  12. ^ a b "R. Kelly Still Steamy On New Song Leaks". Billboard.com.
  13. ^ a b Double Up (Bonus Track Version) by R. Kelly, May 29, 2007, retrieved February 10, 2022
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – R. Kelly – Double Up" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  15. ^ "R. Kelly Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – R. Kelly – Double Up" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – R. Kelly – Double Up" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  18. ^ "Italiancharts.com – R. Kelly – Double Up". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  19. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – R. Kelly – Double Up". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  20. ^ "Swisscharts.com – R. Kelly – Double Up". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  21. ^ "R Kelly | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  22. ^ "R. Kelly Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  23. ^ "R. Kelly Chart History (Digital Albums)".[dead link] Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  24. ^ "R. Kelly Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  25. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  26. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  27. ^ "American album certifications – R. Kelly – Double Up". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links[edit]