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Back of My Mind (H.E.R. album)

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Back of My Mind
Studio album by
H.E.R.
ReleasedJune 18, 2021
RecordedSeptember 2019–April 2021
GenreR&B • soul[1]
Length79:18
LabelRCA
Producer
H.E.R. chronology
I Used to Know Her
(2019) 		Back of My Mind
(2021)
Singles from Back of My Mind
  1. "Slide"
    Released: September 27, 2019
  2. "Damage"
    Released: October 21, 2020
  3. "Come Through"
    Released: April 23, 2021

Back of My Mind is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter H.E.R.[2] It was released on June 18, 2021, through RCA. The album features guest performances from YG, Lil Baby, Ty Dolla Sign, Yung Bleu, Cordae, DJ Khaled, Bryson Tiller and Chris Brown. The music was written and produced with a host of musicians, including Mike Will Made-It, Hit-Boy, Kaytranada, Thundercat and Darkchild, amongst others.

Back of My Mind was met with positive reactions, with critics praising the singer's musical showcase to a greater, matured extent and the album's cohesion within various R&B sounds. The album was preceded by three singles: "Slide", featuring rapper YG, released on September 27, 2019, "Damage", released on October 21, 2020 and "Come Through" featuring Chris Brown, released on April 23, 2021. The album contains an alternative version of the song "I Can Have It All", which also appears on DJ Khaled's 2021 album Khaled Khaled. The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 after moving over 36,000 album-equivalent units. With this, it became her highest charting album and first top 10 entry on the chart. [3]

The album received two nominations for Album of the Year and Best R&B Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, it marks her third and second nominations in the categories respectively. "Damage" also received nominations for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song.

Background

[edit]

Gabriella Wilson, professionally known as H.E.R., rose to prominence in late 2016 and early 2017 following a series of EP's, named H.E.R. Vol.1 and H.E.R. Vol.2 respectively. Following this she released her first compilation album known as her eponymous debut project H.E.R. which is a combination of both formerly released EP's and a handful of additional songs, including "Best Part", a duet with R&B singer Daniel Caesar. The album was nominated for Album of the Year at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards with H.E.R. earning two Grammy awards the same year. Following the release of H.E.R., she released a new compilation album in 2019, also a combination of formerly released EP's, titled I Used to Know Her. In 2020, following the George Floyd protests she released the song "I Can't Breathe". The song was awarded with Song of the Year at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. On June 10, 2021, H.E.R announced the album release date and a trailer on her social media accounts.[4][5][6] The following day, she announced the album pre-order alongside the album's fifth single "We Made It".[7] The following week, H.E.R continued teasing the album by posting photos from its photoshoot, and revealed the tracklist the day before its release.[8][9][10]

Singles

[edit]

The lead single "Slide" was released on September 27, 2019. The song debuted at number 85 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in January 2020, later peaking at number 43, becoming H.E.R.'s highest entry on the chart. "Damage" was released as the second single on October 21, 2020.[11][12] It reached number one on Urban Radio and peaked at number 44 on the Hot 100 chart,[13][14] and was certified platinum by the RIAA on May 21, 2021.[15] "Hold On" was then released as the first promotional single on October 25, 2020.[16]

On April 23, 2021, H.E.R. released "Come Through", a duet with American singer Chris Brown, as the third single off the album, with a music video for the song premiered on May 13. The song was certified gold by RIAA in September 2021.[17] "We Made It" was released as the second promotional single off the album on June 11, 2021.[18][19]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[20]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[20]
Pitchfork6.8/10[21]
HipHopDX[20]
Exclaim!9/10[20]
Clash8/10[20]

On review aggregator Metacritic, the album has a score of 75, indicating it received mainly positive reviews, based on seven critic reviews.[20] Andy Kellman of AllMusic in a mixed review said that on the album "H.E.R. is often too accommodating".[22] Reed Jackson of Pitchfork said that "Ballads were a staple of H.E.R.’s initial five EPs, and she again uses them frequently on Back of My Mind, for better or worse. Nearly all of them are simple and pretty".[23] Writing for Exclaim!, Antoine-Samuel Mauffette Alavo reviewed the album positively, proclaiming H.E.R. is "in total control of her sound, with masterful command of her artistic direction" and complimenting the ease of adapting her "signature sounds" to fit the featured artists on the project.[24] HipHopDX's Riley Wallace stated that "H.E.R. doesn’t push the genre or her artistry forward with this debut, but she more than proves herself a worthy torchbearer for the art of R&B balladry".[25]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Back of My Mind debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 chart dated July 3, 2021, with 36,000 album-equivalent units, marking H.E.R.’s best weekly performance.[26] 29,500 of the album-equivalent units stemmed from the album's 43.56 million on-demand streams, while 5,500 were pure album sales, and 1,000 were from track-equivalent units.[26]

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top R&B Albums Chart, and number four on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In addition, six of the album’s tracks landed on the Hot R&B Songs chart.[26]

H.E.R. jumped 84-32 on Billboard's Artist 100, which ranks artist popularity, giving her best showing on the chart in over two years, since she climbed to her number 26 career peak in February 2019.[26]

Accolades

[edit]
Award Year Category Result Ref.
American Music Awards 2021 Favorite Soul/R&B Album Nominated [27]
BET Awards 2022 Album of the Year Nominated [28]
Grammy Awards 2022 Album of the Year Nominated [29]
Best R&B Album Nominated
NAACP Image Awards 2022 Outstanding Album Nominated [30]
Soul Train Music Awards 2021 Album of the Year Nominated [31]

Track listing

[edit]
Back of My Mind track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."We Made It"
5:14
2."Back of My Mind" (featuring Ty Dolla Sign)
  • DJ Camper
  • Flippa
3:41
3."Trauma" (with Hit-Boy featuring Cordae)
4:31
4."Damage"
3:47
5."Find a Way" (featuring Lil Baby)
Chi Chi3:17
6."Bloody Waters"
4:20
7."Closer to Me"
4:06
8."Come Through" (featuring Chris Brown)
3:34
9."My Own"
3:39
10."Lucky"
DJ Camper3:03
11."Cheat Code"
3:11
12."Mean It"
  • Gitelman
3:17
13."Paradise" (featuring Yung Bleu)
  • Bordeaux
  • Non Native
2:37
14."Process"
  • DJ Camper
  • Flippa
3:54
15."Hold On"
  • Wilson
  • Thomas
  • Maxx Moore
  • Campozano
  • Walsh
  • Bordeaux
  • Non Native
3:22
16."Don't"
  • Wilson
  • Thomas
  • Camper
  • DJ Camper
4:01
17."Exhausted"
3:29
18."Hard to Love"
4:02
19."For Anyone"
  • Wilson
  • Camper
  • Hue Strother
  • H.E.R.
  • DJ Camper
  • Hue Strother
3:54
20."I Can Have It All" (featuring DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller)
4:23
21."Slide" (featuring YG)
3:56
Total length:79:18
Apple Music edition bonus video [32]
No.TitleLength
22."Behind H.E.R's 'Back of My Mind'"8:21

Notes

  • The Apple Music version of the album credits Hit-Boy as a lead artist on "Trauma"
  • "Damage" features additional vocals by Ant Clemons
  • "I Can Have It All" is a solo version from the album Khaled Khaled without Meek Mill

Sample credits

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications and sales of Back of My Mind
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[43] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "H.E.R. - Back of My Mind". 18 June 2021.
  2. ^ Strauss, Matthew (11 June 2021). "H.E.R. Releasing New Album Back of My Mind Next Week". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  3. ^ "Billboard 200: H.E.R.'s 'Back of My Mind' Opens to Singer's Best First-Week Sales Yet". The Grapejuice Net. 23 June 2021.
  4. ^ "H.E.R. reveals debut album release date, drops new song 'We Made It'". NME. 2021-06-11. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  5. ^ "#BOMM 6.18.21". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  6. ^ "BACK OF MY MIND | 6.18.21 "We Made It" drops at midnight!!! #BOMM". Instagram.
  7. ^ Tigg, Fnr (June 11, 2021). "H.E.R. Celebrates Her Journey with New Single, "We Made It"". Complex. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  8. ^ "Friday 🖤 #BOMM". Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  9. ^ "Me waiting for Back Of My Mind to drop... FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #BOMM". Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  10. ^ "MIDNIGHT!!!!!! #BOMM". Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  11. ^ "H.E.R. Gets Vulnerable on New Song 'Damage'". Rated R&B. 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  12. ^ "H.E.R. Releases New Single 'Damage'". Rap-Up. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  13. ^ "H.E.R." Billboard. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  14. ^ "H.E.R.'s 'Damage' Reaches No. 1 on Urban Radio". Rated R&B. 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  15. ^ "H.E.R.'s 'Damage' Is Now Certified Platinum". Rated R&B. 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  16. ^ Cho, Regina (October 27, 2020). "H.E.R. shares new single "Hold On"". Revolt. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  17. ^ "H.E.R. & Chris Brown Link Up for Steamy 'Come Through' Video". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  18. ^ "H.E.R. Drops Funky 'We Made It' Single, Reveals Release Date for 'Back Of My Mind' Album". Billboard. June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  19. ^ "H.E.R. Drops Funky 'We Made It' Single, Reveals Release Date for 'Back Of My Mind' Album". Billboard. June 11, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  20. ^ a b c d e f Back Of My Mind by H.E.R., retrieved 2021-06-26
  21. ^ Jackson, Reed (June 23, 2021). "H.E.R.: Back of My Mind". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  22. ^ "Back of My Mind - H.E.R. | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  23. ^ "H.E.R.: Back of My Mind". Pitchfork.
  24. ^ "H.E.R. One-Ups Her Oscar Win with Masterful Debut Album 'Back of My Mind' | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  25. ^ "H.E.R. Debut Album 'Back of My Mind' Runs Long - but So Does Her Talent". 26 July 2021.
  26. ^ a b c d "H.E.R.'s 'Back of My Mind' Debuts at No. 1 on Top R&B Albums Chart". Billboard. July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  27. ^ "Olivia Rodrigo Leads 2021 American Music Awards Nominations: Full List". Billboard. October 28, 2021.
  28. ^ Grein, Paul (June 1, 2022). "2022 BET Awards Nominations: Full List". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  29. ^ "2022 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Nominations List". Grammys.com. November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  30. ^ Lewis, Hilary (2022-01-18). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Harder They Fall,' 'Insecure' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  31. ^ "H.E.R. Is Top Nominee at 2021 Soul Train Awards; Maxwell & Ashanti to Receive Special Awards: Exclusive". Billboard. 2 November 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  32. ^ "H.E.R. - Back of My Mind (Apple Music Edition)". Apple Music. June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  33. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 28 June 2021". The ARIA Report. No. 1634. Australian Recording Industry Association. June 28, 2021. p. 6.
  34. ^ "H.E.R. Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  35. ^ "Charts.nz – H.E.R. – Back of My Mind". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  36. ^ "Swisscharts.com – H.E.R. – Back of My Mind". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  37. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  38. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  39. ^ "H.E.R. Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  40. ^ "H.E.R. Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  41. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  42. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  43. ^ "American album certifications – H.E.R. – Back of My Mind". Recording Industry Association of America.
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