| Unpredictable | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 20, 2005 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 62:25 | |||
| Label | J | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Jamie Foxx chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Unpredictable | ||||
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Unpredictable is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter and actor Jamie Foxx. It was released on December 20, 2005, by J Records. The album was supported by four singles: "Extravaganza" featuring Kanye West, the title track "Unpredictable" featuring Ludacris, "DJ Play a Love Song" featuring Twista, and "Can I Take U Home".
Upon its release, Unpredictable received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who were ambivalent towards its lyrical content and production. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 597,000 copies in its first week and has since peaked at number one on the chart.[1][2] The album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[3]
Recording
[edit]Recording sessions took place from 2004 to 2005, with the Record production that was provided by Timbaland, Mike City, Sean Garrett and Jim Jonsin, among others. The album serves as a follow-up to the release of Peep This (1994), making it his first studio release in eleven years.
Critical reception
[edit]| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 52/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [5] |
| Blender | [6] |
| Robert Christgau |  [7] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C−[8] |
| HipHopDX | [9] |
| Los Angeles Times | [10] |
| Rolling Stone | [11] |
| Paste | [12] |
| Vibe | [4] |
| The Village Voice | (favorable)[13] |
| The Guardian | [14] |
Unpredictable received polarized reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 52, which indicates "mixed or average reviews", based on 16 reviews.[4]
- E! Online – 7.5 out of 10 -"Whether he makes it all work via his musical skills or chameleonic acting ability, we don't know, but it does work."[4]
- Rolling Stone – 6 out of 10 – "When the album works, it's because of Foxx's easy charm and A-list confidence."[11]
- Paste- 3 out of 10 – "It's better to be the imitation Ray Charles than the poor man's R. Kelly."[12]
- Q magazine – 4 out of 10 – "The voice that set such a spark to West's Gold Digger should be capable of more than this exaggerated comedy sex routine."[15]
- Alex Petridis of The Guardian was also not impressed with the album, saying: "Unpredictable resembles another legendary thespian's venture into pop, William Shatner's 1968 opus The Transformed Man, in that you start to wonder whether Foxx is actually serious or not."[14]
Commercial performance
[edit]Unpredictable debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 597,000 copies in its first week.[1] The album debuted behind Mary J. Blige's The Breakthrough album.[1] In its second week, the album climbed to number one on the chart, selling an additional 200,000 copies.[2] Foxx became the fourth Academy Award-winning actor with a number-one album on the US Billboard 200 chart. In its third week, the album remained at number one on the chart, selling 131,000 more copies.[16] In its fourth week, the album remained at number one on the chart, selling 103,000 copies.[17] On March 24, 2006, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over two million copies in the United States.[3]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Unpredictable" (featuring Ludacris) |
| 3:39 | |
| 2. | "Warm Bed" |
|
| 3:53 |
| 3. | "DJ Play a Love Song" (featuring Twista) |
|
| 4:18 |
| 4. | "With You" (featuring The Game and Snoop Dogg) |
|
| 4:20 |
| 5. | "Can I Take U Home" | Tim Mosley |
| 4:15 |
| 6. | "Love Changes" (featuring Mary J. Blige) | Skip Scarborough |
| 4:30 |
| 7. | "Extravaganza" (featuring Kanye West) |
| Mike City | 4:15 |
| 8. | "Three Letter Word" |
|
| 4:42 |
| 9. | "Get This Money" | Mike City | Mike City | 4:31 |
| 10. | "VIP" |
|
| 3:54 |
| 11. | "Do What It Do" |
|
| 4:03 |
| 12. | "Storm (Forecass)" |
| 4:27 | |
| 13. | "U Still Got It (Interlude)" (featuring Common) |
| Jamie Foxx | 2:47 |
| 14. | "Heaven" | Foxx | Babyface | 3:54 |
| 15. | "Wish U Were Here" |
| Ron "Neff-U" Feemster | 4:13 |
Sample credits
- "Three Letter Word" contains a sample from "Kari", written and performed by Earl Klugh.
- "VIP" contains a sample from "Butterfly", written and performed by Herbie Hancock.
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
|
Year-end charts[edit]
|
Certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[31] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[32] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[33] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Blige's 'Breakthrough' Bows At No. 1". Billboard. December 28, 2005. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ a b c Mar, Alex (January 4, 2006). "Jamie Foxx Tops the Chart". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ a b "RIAA Certifications - Jamie Foxx". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Unpredictable Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r806586
- ^ "Blender - All Things Blender, All in One Place".
- ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: jamie foxx". www.robertchristgau.com.
- ^ "Unpredictable". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable". HipHopDX.
- ^ Cromelin, Richard; Baker, Soren (December 24, 2005). "Unpredictable Foxx and generous Snoop". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ a b Hoard, Christian (January 12, 2006). "Jamie Foxx: Unpredictable". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ a b Howe, Brian (March 27, 2006). "Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable". Paste. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ "village voice > music > Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable by Greg Tate". Archived from the original on February 8, 2006.
- ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (April 20, 2006). "CD: Jamie Foxx, Unpredictable". the Guardian.
- ^ Q Magazine. May 2006. Page 126
- ^ Mar, Alex (January 11, 2006). "Jamie Foxx Stays on Top". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ "Blige's 'Breakthrough' Returns To No. 1". Billboard. January 18, 2006. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Jamie Foxx". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
- ^ "Jamie Foxx - RMNZ Charts". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "Jamie Foxx Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable". Music Canada.
- ^ "British album certifications – Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable". British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "American album certifications – Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable". Recording Industry Association of America.
