The Element of Freedom

The Element of Freedom
A woman with her eyes closed, wearing a feathered dress that covers her chest, bares her shoulders and goes around her neck. Laid against a blue background, a white dove is seen flying behind her to the left. The name "Alicia Keys" is written to the right in white font and "The Element of Freedom" is written below that in dark blue font.
Standard edition cover[a]
Studio album by
Alicia Keys
ReleasedDecember 11, 2009 (2009-12-11)
RecordedMay–September 2009
Studio
Genre
Length53:04
LabelJ
Producer
Alicia Keys chronology
As I Am
(2007) 		The Element of Freedom
(2009) 		Girl on Fire
(2012)
Singles from The Element of Freedom
  1. "Doesn't Mean Anything"
    Released: September 22, 2009
  2. "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart"
    Released: November 17, 2009
  3. "Put It in a Love Song"
    Released: January 19, 2010
  4. "Empire State of Mind
    (Part II) Broken Down    "
    Released: February 22, 2010
  5. "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)"
    Released: May 28, 2010
  6. "Wait Til You See My Smile"
    Released: December 13, 2010

The Element of Freedom is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys, released on December 11, 2009, by J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during May to September 2009 at the Oven Studios in Long Island, New York. Production was primarily handled by Keys, Kerry Brothers Jr., and Jeff Bhasker. Departing from the classicist soul music of Keys' previous albums, The Element of Freedom has a mid-tempo, low-key sound and features mostly love songs.

Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its low-key style, cohesiveness, and Keys' singing, while some were ambivalent towards the lyrics. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 417,000 copies in its first week. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) within its first month of release (later being certified double platinum) and produced six singles. By August 2012, The Element of Freedom had sold over four million copies worldwide.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference jpdlx was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference empireedition was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).