| Back of My Mind | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 18, 2021 | |||
| Recorded | September 2019–April 2021 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 79:18 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer |
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| H.E.R. chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Back of My Mind | ||||
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Back of My Mind is the debutstudio album by American singer and songwriterH.E.R.[2] It was released throughRCA Records on June 18, 2021. The album features guest performances fromYG,Lil Baby,Cordae,Ty Dolla Sign,Yung Bleu,Bryson Tiller,Chris Brown, andDJ Khaled. The music on the album was written and produced with a host of musicians, including a variety of American record producers such asMike Will Made-It,Hit-Boy,Kaytranada,Thundercat, andDarkchild, among 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 variousR&B sounds. The album was preceded by three singles: "Slide" (featuringYG), "Damage", and "Come Through" (featuring Chris Brown). The album contains an alternative version of the song, "I Can Have It All", which also appears on Khaled'sKhaled Khaled (2021). The album debuted at number six on theBillboard 200, after moving over 36,000album-equivalent units, becoming her highest-charting album and first top 10 entry on the chart.[3]
The album received two nominations forAlbum of the Year andBest R&B Album at the64th Annual Grammy Awards, it marks her third and second nominations in the categories respectively. "Damage" also received nominations forBest R&B Performance andBest R&B Song.
Gabriella Wilson, professionally known as H.E.R., rose to prominence between towards the end of 2016 and at the beginning of 2017, following a series ofEP's, namedH.E.R. Vol.1 andH.E.R. Vol.2, respectively. Following this, she released her firstcompilation album, known as hereponymous 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 singerDaniel Caesar. The album was nominated forAlbum of the Year at the61st Annual Grammy Awards with H.E.R. earning twoGrammy awards the same year. Following the release ofH.E.R., she released a new compilation album in 2019, also a combination of formerly released EP's, titledI Used to Know Her. In 2020, following theGeorge Floyd protests, she released the song, "I Can't Breathe". The song was awarded withSong of the Year at the63rd 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 continues teasing the album by posting photos from its photoshoot and revealed the tracklist the day before its release.[8][9][10]
The album's leadsingle, called "Slide", was released on September 27, 2019. The song debuted at number 85 on the USBillboardHot 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 theRIAA 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 a track, called "Come Through", a duet with American singerChris Brown, as the third single off the album with a music video for the song premiered on May 13. The song was certified gold byRIAA in September 2021.[17] "We Made It" was released as the second promotional single off the album on June 11, 2021.[18][19]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100[20] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [20] |
| Pitchfork | 6.8/10[21] |
| HipHopDX |  [20] |
| Exclaim! | 9/10[20] |
| Clash | 8/10[20] |
On review aggregatorMetacritic, the album has a score of 75, indicating it received mainly positive reviews, based on seven critic reviews.[20] Andy Kellman ofAllMusic in a mixed review said that on the album "H.E.R. is often too accommodating".[22] Reed Jackson ofPitchfork said that "Ballads were a staple of H.E.R.’s initial five EPs, and she again uses them frequently onBack of My Mind, for better or worse. Nearly all of them are simple and pretty".[23] Writing forExclaim!, 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]
| Award | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Music Awards | 2021 | Favorite Soul/R&B Album | Nominated | [26] |
| BET Awards | 2022 | Album of the Year | Nominated | [27] |
| Grammy Awards | 2022 | Album of the Year | Nominated | [28] |
| Best R&B Album | Nominated | |||
| NAACP Image Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Album | Nominated | [29] |
| Soul Train Music Awards | 2021 | Album of the Year | Nominated | [30] |
Back of My Mind debuted at number six on theBillboard 200 chart dated July 3, 2021, with 36,000album-equivalent units, marking H.E.R.’s best weekly performance.[31] 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.[31]
The album debuted at number one on theBillboard Top R&B Albums Chart, and number four on the BillboardTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In addition, six of the album’s tracks landed on theHot R&B Songs chart.[31]
H.E.R. jumped 84-32 onBillboard'sArtist 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.[31]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "We Made It" | 5:14 | ||
| 2. | "Back of My Mind" (featuringTy Dolla Sign) |
|
| 3:41 |
| 3. | "Trauma" (withHit-Boy featuringCordae) |
| 4:31 | |
| 4. | "Damage" | 3:47 | ||
| 5. | "Find a Way" (featuringLil Baby) |
| Chi Chi | 3:17 |
| 6. | "Bloody Waters" |
|
| 4:20 |
| 7. | "Closer to Me" |
|
| 4:06 |
| 8. | "Come Through" (featuringChris Brown) |
|
| 3:34 |
| 9. | "My Own" |
| 3:39 | |
| 10. | "Lucky" |
| DJ Camper | 3:03 |
| 11. | "Cheat Code" |
|
| 3:11 |
| 12. | "Mean It" |
|
| 3:17 |
| 13. | "Paradise" (featuringYung Bleu) |
|
| 2:37 |
| 14. | "Process" |
|
| 3:54 |
| 15. | "Hold On" |
|
| 3:22 |
| 16. | "Don't" |
|
| 4:01 |
| 17. | "Exhausted" |
| 3:29 | |
| 18. | "Hard to Love" |
|
| 4:02 |
| 19. | "For Anyone" |
|
| 3:54 |
| 20. | "I Can Have It All" (featuringDJ Khaled andBryson Tiller) |
|
| 4:23 |
| 21. | "Slide" (featuringYG) |
|
| 3:56 |
| Total length: | 79:18 | |||
Notes
Sample credits
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[43] | Gold | 7,500‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[44] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||