Let Freedom Reign

Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording locations, including KMA Studios and The Cutting Room in New York, New York, Vanilla Sky Studios in North Hollywood, California, and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California.[https://archive.today/20240525034904/https://www.webcitation.org/5vRmNtEjP?url=http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp%3Fpid=8367263 Product Notes – Let Freedom Reign]. Muze. Retrieved on 2011-01-02. The album was produced entirely by Chuck Harmony.Track listing and credits as per liner notes for Let Freedom Reign album

The album debuted at number 25 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 42,000 copies in the United States.Caulfield, Keith (December 8, 2010). [http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/949591/boyle-back-to-no-1-on-billboard-200-peas-begin-at-no-6 Boyle Back to No. 1 on Billboard 200, Peas Begin At No. 6]. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-12-12. It also entered at seven on Billboard{{'}}s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number 12 on its Digital Albums chart.[http://www.billboard.com/charts/2010-12-18/r-b-hip-hop-albums R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Week of December 18, 2010]. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-12-12.[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=chrisette michele|chart=Digital Albums}} Chrisette Michele Album & Song Chart History – Digital Albums]. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-12-12.

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev2 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev2Score = (B+)

| rev3 = New York Daily News

| rev3Score = {{Rating|3|5}}

| rev4 = The New York Times

| rev4Score = (favorable)

| rev5 = The Philadelphia Inquirer

| rev5Score = {{Rating|3|4}}

| rev6 = USA Today

| rev6Score = {{Rating|3|4}}

}}

Let Freedom Reign received positive reviews from most music critics. Allmusic writer Andy Kellman gave it four out of five stars and complimented its "upbeat disposition", calling it "the most energetic of Chrisette’s three albums".Kellman, Andy (November 27, 2010). [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=let-freedom-reign-r2064805/review|pure_url=yes}} Review: Let Freedom Reign]. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2010-11-28. Entertainment Weekly{{'}}s Simon Vozick-Levinson noted Michele's "assured performances" and commended her "timelessly sleek voice" and the album's "crisp, understated backdrops".Vozick-Levinson, Simon (November 24, 2010). [https://ew.com/article/2010/11/24/let-freedom-reign/ Review: Let Freedom Reign]. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2010-11-28. Elysa Gardner of USA Today gave the album three out of four stars and complimented her "tangy singing, a distinctly feminine mix of silvery sensuality and catch-in-the-throat yearning".Gardner, Elysa (December 5, 2010). [https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2010-12-05-weekend-listenup_N.htm Review: Let Freedom Reign]. USA Today. Retrieved on 2010-12-05.

Despite writing favorably of its arrangements and Michele's vocals, New York Daily News writer Jim Farber found the album's subject matter clichéd and wrote that it "seems torn between mainstream R&B and something more profound".Farber, Jim (December 7, 2010). [http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2010/12/07/2010-12-07_chrisette_micheles_let_freedom_reign_review_caught_between_mainstream_and_someth.html Review: Let Freedom Reign]. New York Daily News. Retrieved on 2010-12-12. The Philadelphia Inquirer{{'}}s A.D. Amorosi viewed that it "is not as focused as her previous albums", but complimented Michele's "elegant voice" and commented that "little in her catalog stands out as gorgeously as the ferocious ballad 'Goodbye Game'".Amorosi, A.D. (December 19, 2010). [http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/music/20101219_New_Recordings.html?c=0.5219782694958822&posted=n Review: Let Freedom Reign]. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved on 2011-01-02. Nate Chinen of The New York Times responded negatively to Michele's rapping on the album's title track, calling her verses "artless and stiff".Chinen, Nate (December 10, 2010). [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/arts/music/12playlist.html Review: Let Freedom Reign]. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2011-01-02. However, Chinen commented more favorably of its other songs and wrote that "Michele is at her best redressing infringements more personal than political in nature".

• All tracks were produced by Chuck Harmony.

{{Track listing

| title1 = Fairy Tales and Castles (Part 1)

| note1 =

| writer1 = {{hlist|Chrisette Payne|Charles Harmon}}

| length1 = 0:34

| title2 = I’m a Star

| note2 =

| writer2 = {{hlist|Shaffer Smith|Harmon}}

| length2 = 4:13

| title3 = Number One

| note3 =

| writer3 = {{hlist|C. Payne|Linette Payne|Harmon}}

| length3 = 3:37

| title4 = Fairy Tales and Castles (Part 2)

| note4 =

| writer4 = {{hlist|C. Payne|Harmon}}

| length4 = 0:28

| title5 = I Don’t Know Why, But I Do

| note5 =

| writer5 = {{hlist|John Stephens|Jazmine Sullivan}}

| length5 = 3:59

| title6 = Let Freedom Reign

| note6 = feat. Talib Kweli & Black Thought

| writer6 = {{hlist|C.

Payne|Harmon|Talib Greene|Tariq Trotter}}

| length6 = 4:21

| title7 = Goodbye Game

| note7 =

| writer7 = {{hlist|C. Payne|Harmon}}

| length7 = 3:57

| title8 = So Cool

| note8 =

| writer8 = {{hlist|Smith|Harmon}}

| length8 = 4:00

| title9 = So in Love

| note9 = feat. Rick Ross

| writer9 = {{hlist|Kandi Buruss}}

| length9 = 4:12

| title10 = So in Love (Skit)

| note10 =

| writer10 =

| length10 = 0:11

| title11 = I'm Your Life

| note11 =

| writer11 = {{hlist|C. Payne|Harmon}}

| length11 = 3:14

| title12 = I'm from NY (Skit)

| note12 =

| writer12 =

| length12 = 0:17

| title13 = Unsaid

| note13 =

| writer13 = {{hlist|C. Payne|Harmon}}

| length13 = 4:23

| title14 = If Nobody Sang Along

| note14 =

| writer14 = {{hlist|C. Payne|Harmon}}

| length14 = 3:45

| title15 = I Know Nothing

| note15 =

| writer15 = {{hlist|C. Payne|Harmon}}

| length15 = 3:40

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = iTunes bonus tracks

| title16 = Boys Cry Too

| note16 =

| writer16 = {{hlist|C. Payne|Harmon}}

| length16 = 3:42

| title17 = Boys Cry Too

| note17 = MMTS Edit

| writer17 = {{hlist|C. Payne|Harmon}}

| length17 = 3:26

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Deluxe edition bonus tracks

| title18 = What's the Matter

| note18 =

| writer18 =

| length18 = 3:28

| title19 = I Want You

| note19 =

| writer19 =

| length19 = 3:40

}}

Credits for Let Freedom Reign adapted from Allmusic.[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=let-freedom-reign-r2064805/credits|pure_url=yes}} Credits: Let Freedom Reign]. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-11-28.

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

• Alejandro Barajas – assistant
• Jesse Bond – bass, guitar
• Jesse Bonds – guitar
• Leesa D. Brunson – A&R
• Chrisette Michele – executive producer, liner notes
• Stephen Ferrera – A&R
• Moses Gallart – assistant
• Tom Gardner – assistant
• Trevor Gates – assistant
• Chuck Harmony – engineer, executive producer, instrumentation, organ, producer
• Mike "TrakGuru" Johnson – engineer, production coordination
• Doug Joswick – package production

{{col-2}}

• Lance Tolbert – bass
• John Legend – piano
• Giovanna Morga – cello
• Stanley Phillip – assistant
• Herb Powers Jr. – mastering
• Antonio "L.A." Reid – executive producer
• Jazmine Sullivan – background vocals
• Mark Tavern – A&R
• Dapo Torimiro – bass
• Miranda Penn Turin – photography
• Kristen Yiengst – artwork, photo coordination
• Andy Zulla – Mixing

{{col-end}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Chrisette Michele}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Let Freedom Reign}}

Category:2010 albums

Category:Albums produced by Chuck Harmony

Category:Albums recorded at Westlake Recording Studios

Category:Chrisette Michele albums

Category:Def Jam Recordings albums