I Am (Chrisette Michele album)

I Am is the debut album by American R&B recording artist Chrisette Michele, released in the United States on June 19, 2007, by Def Jam Recordings.

Production
Michele began working on the music that would make up I Am before she had a recording contract, and started promoting her work by visiting events for independent artists. During this time, she caught the attention of L.A. Reid, who later signed her to Island Def Jam, where she got support from producers such as Babyface, will.i.am, and John Legend.

The video for the album's lead single "If I Have My Way" premiered on VH1 Soul. The video for her second single "Best of Me" premiered on July 6, 2007, on Yahoo! Music, and was later added to VH1's video rotation. "Be OK", which features will.i.am, was released as the third single from the album, whose music video was on BET's 106 & Park on December 18, 2007. "Love Is You" was the fourth and final single and was released in 2008.

Reception
I Am debuted at number twenty-nine on the US Billboard 200, selling 26,000 copies in its first week. Despite lack of promotion, the album has thus far managed to sell 419,000 units in the United States as of late February 2009.

I Am received generally positive reviews. Internet publication AllHipHop gave the album a stellar rating, stating: "She is Chrisette Michele and with her debut, I Am (Def Jam), this constituent of the House of Hov delivers one of the quietest, yet most powerful albums out there." The album's third single, "Be OK", won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.

Track listing

 * Sample credits
 * "Good Girl" contains a sample from "Move Over" performed by The Soul Children.
 * "Be OK" contains a sample from "Could You Be Loved" performed by Bob Marley & the Wailers.
 * "Let's Rock" contains a sample from "Here We Go" performed by Run D.M.C.

Musicians

 * Chrisette Michele – singing, backing vocals
 * Face – acoustic guitar, drums
 * Lino Gomez – bass clarinet
 * Vincent Henry – baritone saxophone
 * Christopher Johnson – drums
 * Norris "Sirone" Jones – guitar
 * Lisa Kim – violin
 * Gail Kruvand – bass
 * John Legend – piano
 * Rob Lewis – keyboards
 * Emily Mitchell – bass clarinet


 * Eileen Moon – cello
 * Sandra Park – violin
 * Bruce Purse – bass trumpet
 * Salaam Remi – bass, drums, guitar, piano
 * Robert Smith III – drums
 * Qiang Tu – cello
 * Jeremy Turner – cello
 * Omari Williams – drums
 * Steve Williamson – clarinet
 * Kelvin Wooten – bass, organ, piano
 * Sharon Yamada – violin

Production

 * Chrisette Michele – producer
 * Babyface – producer, keyboard programming
 * Stephen Barber – string arrangements
 * A.J. Benson – A&R
 * Shalik Berry – A&R
 * Paul Boutin – engineer
 * Thom Cadley – engineer
 * Lysa Cooper – stylist
 * Dwayne"Whateva" Lindsey - Producer
 * Andrew Dawson – engineer
 * Nichell Delvaille – art coordinator, photo coordination
 * Gleyder "Gee" Disla – assistant
 * Dylan Dresdow – mixing engineer
 * Doug "Biggs" Ellison – programming, executive producer, management, vocal editing
 * Anthony Gallo – vocal engineer
 * Jon Gass – mixing
 * GI Joe – producer
 * Don Goodrick – assistant engineer
 * Christopher "Jazz" Grant – engineer
 * Bernie Grundman – mastering
 * Courtney Harris – assistant engineer
 * Q. Nicole Jackson – A&R
 * Matt Jones – photography


 * Doug Joswick – package production
 * Hyomin Kang – assistant engineer
 * John Legend – producer
 * Rob Lewis – string arrangements
 * Riley Mackin – engineer
 * Manny Marroquin – mixing
 * Tony Maserati – mixing
 * Mo Jaz – producer
 * Amber Noble – marketing
 * Linette Payne – personal manager
 * Kevin Randolph – producer
 * L.A. Reid – executive producer
 * Kendal "KD" Revanales – programming, engineer, vocal editing
 * Rubin Rivera – engineer
 * Mark Roule – digital editing, mixing assistant
 * Joseph Smart – engineer
 * Jason Stasium – engineer
 * David Lee Stewart – producer
 * Matt Taylor – design
 * Nadia Vessel – hair stylist
 * will.i.am – producer
 * Kelvin Wooten – producer, string arrangements
 * Patricia Yankee – grooming