Unpredictable (Jamie Foxx album)

Critical reception

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. AllMusic editor Andy Kellman found that though he "fits somewhere between R. Kelly and Ginuwine, Foxx has more than enough personality and talent to defend his music against accusations of opportunism. He can belt and proclaim with authority, but he's best when he's smooth and mellow – an asset, to be sure, since not many modern R&B vocalists trade in subtleties." Christian Hoard from Rolling Stone felt that "when the album works, it's because of Foxx's easy charm and A-list confidence, which staves off overkill while he's dropping lush, insistent melodies on well-conceived love odes like "VIP." Foxx wrote or co-wrote nearly half the album and sprinkled hip-hop-flavored beats – among largely mellow fare, courtesy of veteran (if not terribly well known) R&B-producers." The Village Voices Greg Tate wrote that "Foxx reveals across the breadth of Unpredictable that his real dream is to do Marvin Gaye [and] the album's guest list assures us that Unpredictable is pure product, buffed-and-shined modern R&B."

Richard Cromelin from The Los Angeles Times noted that producers on Unpredictable "create some rich, flavorful, state-of-the-art sonic settings, and Foxx's smooth, agile voice – lots of R. Kelly, a little Sam Cooke – is fine for the pleading and preening that mark his range on Unpredictable. Entertainment Weeklys Michael Endelman felt that the "album is exactly what you'd expect from this sort of vanity project: plenty of competent-if-generic R&B booty jams and Cristal-sippin' anthems with a who's who of cameos that only a suitcase of cash or celebrity status can snag. We know that Foxx can actually sing, but this ballad-heavy disc of clichéd wordplay and commonplace melodies proves his music career should've ended on screen." In a negative review for Now, Jason Richards remarked that Foxx "should focus on getting back to actin' before we have time to remember his solo album too well, cuz after you get past the fact that, wow, the guy can also sing, there isn't much left to these boring mid-tempo sex jams." Alex Petridis of The Guardian was also not impressed with the album, writing: "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."

Commercial performance

Unpredictable debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 597,000 copies in its first week. The album debuted behind Mary J. Blige's The Breakthrough album. In its second week, the album climbed to number one on the chart, selling an additional 200,000 copies. 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. In its fourth week, the album remained at number one on the chart, selling 103,000 copies. 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.

Track listing

Notes

• signifies vocal producer(s)
• signifies co-producer(s)

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

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

References

1. "Unpredictable Reviews". [[Metacritic]].
2. {{AllMusic
3. "Robert Christgau: CG: jamie foxx".
4. Endelman, Michael. (January 9, 2006). "Unpredictable".
5. Petridis, Alexis. (April 20, 2006). "CD: Jamie Foxx, Unpredictable".
6. Tang, Melisa. (January 31, 2006). "Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable". [[HipHopDX]].
7. (December 24, 2005). "Unpredictable Foxx and generous Snoop". [[Los Angeles Times]].
8. Richards, Jason. (December 22, 2005). "Unpredictable, Jamie Foxx". [[Now (newspaper).
9. Hoard, Christian. (January 12, 2006). "Jamie Foxx: Unpredictable".
10. Howe, Brian. (March 27, 2006). "Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable". [[Paste (magazine).
11. Tate, Greg. (January 13, 2006). "The New King".
12. (December 28, 2005). ["Blige's 'Breakthrough' Bows At No. 1"](https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/60255/bliges-breakthrough-bows-at-no-1#:~:text=Blige's%20%22The%20Breakthrough%22%20(Geffen,the%20chart's%20top%20three%20slots.).
13. Mar, Alex. (January 4, 2006). "Jamie Foxx Tops the Chart".
14. Mar, Alex. (January 11, 2006). "Jamie Foxx Stays on Top".
15. (January 18, 2006). "Blige's 'Breakthrough' Returns To No. 1".
16. "RIAA Certifications - Jamie Foxx".
17. "Jamie Foxx - RMNZ Charts". [[Recorded Music NZ]].
18. (2006). "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Urban Albums 2006". [[Australian Recording Industry Association]].
19. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006".
20. "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2006".