The success of Tasty landed Kelis on Britney Spears' The Onyx Hotel Tour. As the opening act, Kelis was able to expand her audience, by performing in front of a mainstream, pop-loving audience. Kelis' growing base was evidenced by the top performance of her fourth album, Kelis Was Here (LaFace/Jive, 2006), on Billboard's Hot 200 chart.
Despite the album's strong opening sales, Kelis Was Here failed to be certified gold, although the album's lead single, "Bossy," garnered multi-platinum sales, a rare feat for any artist. Follow-up singles, "Blindfold Me" and "Lil' Star" received little to no radio airplay in the United States. "Lil' Star" topped the U.K. R&B Singles Chart, however, and became her fourth top three single in the United Kingdom. Kelis Was Here eventually received critical praise in the United States, with the album receiving a GRAMMY nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album. In spite of eventual industry approval, Jive Records dropped Kelis in late October 2007, due to poor sales of Kelis Was Here.
Kelis' departure from Jive closes yet another tortuous chapter in her prolific and innovative musical career. To date, none of Kelis' albums have been able to generate platinum sales, even though she was able to generate multiple sizable hits. Her continued success in Europe is evidence of her aesthetic brilliance and the release of The Hits (Star Trak/Jive/Legacy, 2008) highlights her unbridled experimentations within the R&B genre.
Hopefully, in time, the career of Kelis will be treated with much more care. For now, all one can do is cherish Kelis' Hits, for this compilation is the closest any contemporary R&B artist has come to exploring the outer limits of the genre.
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
Great article Clayton, although it seems as much a history of the artist as it does a review of her hits album. I never knew that Kelis had such a tough time of it in the U.S...you'd think between that rainbow hair, the great songs, and the Neptunes producing that she would be more of a gimme as far as success goes. Amyway, well done sir.
-Glen
2 - Clayton Perry
Glend Boyd:
I appreciate your comments. ;o)
As a life-long fan (who has owned every Kelis album), I felt forced/compelled/encouraged to tell "HERstory," due to her limited success in the United States.
Consider this article a "historical music review" of Kelis' greatest hits.
Best wishes,
Clayton Perry
3 - MadMusicManny
True music lover got her. How many artist do you know that work with Timo Maas, Richard X, Eurythmics and Moby and pull it off? I would like to see some of these "pop tarts" try pulling that off.