Blue Water Road
Studio album by
Kehlani
ReleasedApril 29, 2022 (2022-04-29)
Recorded2020–2022
Genre
Length37:53
Label
Producer
Kehlani chronology
It Was Good Until It Wasn't
(2020)		 Blue Water Road
(2022)
Singles from Blue Water Road
  1. "Altar"
    Released: September 15, 2021
  2. "Little Story"
    Released: February 24, 2022
  3. "Up at Night"
    Released: March 30, 2022
  4. "Everything"
    Released: April 29, 2022

Blue Water Road is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Kehlani. It was released through Atlantic Records and TSNMI on April 29, 2022.[1] The album features guest appearances from Blxst, Justin Bieber, Syd, Jessie Reyez, Ambré, and Thundercat. Production was handled by Pop Wansel, Wesley Singerman, Some Randoms, Mike Wavvs, Jack LoMastro, Sam Wish, Rogét Chahayed, DaeDaePIVOT, Daoud, and Grades. It was executive produced by Wansel and serves as the "lighter" follow-up to Kehlani's previous album, It Was Good Until It Wasn't (2020).[2]

Background and promotion

In February 2021, during an interview with Rolling Stone, Kehlani shared that they recorded songs originally meant for the deluxe version of their previous album, It Was Good Until It Wasn't (2020), but felt as though the songs would fit better on a separate album.[3] Kehlani formally revealed the album's official title through a trailer on September 14, and revealed that it would be released in the winter.[4] Hours later, they announced the album's lead single, "Altar", which was released the following day.[5] On December 14, Kehlani announced that the album will be delayed due to "a lot [of work] needed before finishing."[6]

blue water road is a destination in my mind. I’m giving everyone access. It’s an emotional journey, a sexual journey, and a spiritual journey. To me, the album is like a glass house. It’s light, transparent, and the sun is shining right through it.

— Kehlani

On February 24, 2022, Kehlani released the second single of Blue Water Road, "Little Story".[7] In March, during a concert at Lollapalooza in Argentina, Kehlani announced that the album would be released the following month.[8] On March 24, they revealed the album's cover and official release date of April 29.[9] Six days later, they released the album's third single, "Up at Night", which features Canadian singer Justin Bieber.[10] On April 25, Kehlani revealed that they will be releasing a three-part docuseries entitled Blue Water Road Trip, where they took their production company, Honey Shot Productions, "on a road trip to experience the music in nature and reflect on some important aspects of my journey so far".[11] The fourth single, "Everything", was released alongside the album on April 29, 2022.[12]

Composition

Primarily an R&B and orchestral pop record,[13][14] Blue Water Road contains elements of folk, hip hop, and progressive soul.[15] Lyrics revolve around themes of spirituality, sexuality, emotional clarity, and love.[16][17] Helen Brown of The Independent wrote that "their conversational vocals bend through the album like sunshine through the water."[18]

Songs

The opener of the album, "Little Story", sees Kehlani sing about people "working and being softer" in a growing relationship over an acoustic guitar, with the lyrics: "I want you to pick up the pen and write me into your story / You know I love a story, only when you're the author".[19][20][21] The fourth track, "Wish I Never", is a hip hop-influenced song.[15] On the fifth track, "Up at Night", which features Justin Bieber, the two artists sing about the past of a relationship that prevents them from getting any sleep in the night.[20] The next track, "Get Me Started", which features Syd, sees the two artists address distractions in a relationship with the lyrics: "You need something else / Well, maybe she can do it better".[20] "Altar", the ninth track, includes a heavy drum beat and is dedicated to their friends that died due to drug addiction and ancestors that have taught them things in life.[19][20] The next track, "Melt", sees them sing about finding a future with a partner, with the lyrics in the second verse: "Matching your breath / Follow your chest up and down / hoping you let / Secrets spill out your mouth".[20][21] "Tangerine", the eleventh and next track includes similar-themed lyrics about sexual tension: "I can taste me on you".[21] The thirteenth and final track, "Wondering/Wandering", which features Ambré and Thundercat, sees Kehlani sing about their feelings about a relationship over a soft piano, which transitions into an R&B instrumental and ends with noises coming from their daughter, Adeya.[21][15]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[22]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash8/10[15]
The Guardian[23]
The Independent[18]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[19]
NME[24]
Pitchfork7.9/10[25]

Upon release, Blue Water Road was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 83, based on 11 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[22]

Writing for The New York Times, Isabelia Herrera praised the album's "delicate warmth", while highlighting a sense of "tenderness not felt since their 2017 studio album, SweetSexySavage."[20] She also noted that what "resonate[s] the deepest" in the album is Kehlani's "candid ruminations on queer desire and estrangement."[20] Shahzaib Hussain of Clash commended the broadness of the album's sonics, with its "shades of chamber pop, folky flourishes and molasses-smooth easy listening gems are a welcome addition to their repertoire; loyalists craving the dark, ambiguous strain of progressive soul Kehlani honed for close to a decade may be left wanting here, but this body of work delicately broadens their musical palette without compromising their rawness or sense of relatability. Kehlani can still be thorny and tempestuous but they’ve also never been more holistic and soulful than on Blue Water Road."[15] Kate Lloyd of The Telegraph compared Blue Water Road to a "movie soundtrack. String interludes behave like camera pans between scenes; fuzzy production gives everything a dream-like quality."[16] Yolanda Machado of Entertainment Weekly called it Kehlani's "most confident album yet" and compared the album's unfoldment to a "breezy coastal drive — you can practically feel the beachy wind in your hair and hear the lulling tides lapping at the shore, waiting to pull you in. This is vibe music."[26]

Rankings

Critics' rankings for Blue Water Road
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Billboard 20 Best LGBTQ Albums of 2022 —
Billboard 50 Best Albums of 2022
21

Commercial performance

Blue Water Road debuted and peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard 200, earning 22,000 album-equivalent units, 15,000 of which deriving from streaming, equating to 20.2 million on-demand streams of the album's songs.[29]

Track listing

Blue Water Road track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicProducer(s)Length
1."Little Story"
3:18
2."Any Given Sunday" (featuring Blxst)
  • Parrish
  • Burdette
  • Wansel
  • Michael Washington, Jr.
  • Jack LoMastro
  • Samuel Wishkoski
  • Prince-Phabian Graham
  • Wansel
  • Mike Wavvs
  • LoMastro[c]
  • Sam Wish[c]
2:45
3."Shooter Interlude"Parrish
  • Wansel
  • Singerman
  • Klein
  • Campfield
  • Wansel
  • Singerman
  • Some Randoms
  • Harrell[v]
1:59
4."Wish I Never"
  • Wansel
  • Chahayed
  • Harrell[v]
3:03
5."Up at Night" (featuring Justin Bieber)
  • Pop Wansel
  • Chahayed
  • Harrell[v]
  • Josh Gudwin[v]
  • Stevie Mackey[v]
3:02
6."Get Me Started" (featuring Syd)
2:49
7."Everything Interlude"Parrish
0:36
8."More Than I Should" (featuring Jessie Reyez)
  • Parrish
  • Jessie Reyez
3:20
9."Altar"
  • Parrish
  • Perkins
  • Wansel
  • Anthony
  • Collier
  • Wansel
  • Daoud
  • Antonio Tucci Jr.[v]
4:04
10."Melt"Parrish
  • Wansel
  • Perez
  • Wansel
  • Perez
3:31
11."Tangerine"
  • Wansel
  • Perez
  • Wansel
  • Perez
2:59
12."Everything"Parrish
  • Wansel
  • Perez
  • Wansel
  • Perez
  • Harrell[v]
3:27
13."Wondering/Wandering" (featuring Ambré and Thundercat)
  • Parrish
  • Perkins
  • Conrad
  • Wansel
  • Some Randoms
  • Harrell[v]
  • Tucci[v]
2:55
Total length:37:53

Notes

  • ^[c] indicates a co-producer
  • ^[v] indicates a vocal producer
  • "Wish I Never" contains a sample of "Children's Story" by Slick Rick.
  • "Up at Night" contains a sample of "Fairplay" by Soul II Soul and Rose Windross.

Personnel

Musicians

  • Kehlani – vocals
  • Pop Wansel – instrumentation, programming (all tracks); guitar (2), keyboards (2, 4, 5, 7–13)
  • Some Randoms – instrumentation, programming (1, 3–5, 13); keyboards (4, 5, 7, 10, 13)
  • Wesley Singerman – instrumentation, programming (1, 3)
  • Mike Wavvs – instrumentation, keyboards (2)
  • Rogét Chahayed – keyboards (4, 5)
  • Daoud – bass guitar, guitar (5); instrumentation, programming (6, 8, 9); keyboards (8, 9)
  • Peter Lee Johnson – strings (5, 10)
  • Ravyn Lenae – background vocals (6)
  • daedaePIVOT – instrumentation (6), programming (6)
  • Syd – vocals (6)
  • Happy Perez – instrumentation, programming (7, 10–12); guitar (10, 12), keyboards (11)
  • Larry Gold – strings (7, 12)
  • Grades – instrumentation, keyboards, programming (8)
  • Jessie Reyez – vocals (8)
  • CJ Branch – strings (13)
  • Gabe Miller – strings (13)
  • Thundercat – vocals (13)
  • Ambré – vocals (13)

Technical

Charts

Chart performance for Blue Water Road
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Hip Hop/R&B Albums (ARIA)[30] 34
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[31] 83
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[32] 34
UK Albums (OCC)[33] 97
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[34] 4
US Billboard 200[35] 13
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[36] 8

Release history

Release dates and formats for Blue Water Road
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various April 29, 2022 [37]
September 30, 2022 Vinyl [38]

References

  1. ↑ Brandle, Lars (April 29, 2022). "Kehlani Makes a Splash With 'Blue Water Road': Stream It Now". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  2. ↑ Spanos, Brittany (September 14, 2021). "Kehlani Announces New Album 'Blue Water Road'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  3. ↑ Spanos, Brittany (February 17, 2021). "Kehlani's 2021 Mantra Is Love". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Kehlani announces details of new album 'Blue Water Road'". NME. September 15, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  5. ↑ Abraham, Mya (September 15, 2021). "Kehlani Finds Strength In Her Angels In New Visual, 'Altar'". Vibe. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  6. ↑ @rapalert2.0 (December 14, 2021). "#Kehlani's new album "Blue Water Road" which set to be released this Winter has been pushed back. #BlueWaterRoad #rapalert" – via Instagram.
  7. ↑ Rouhani, Neena (February 24, 2022). "Kehlani Tells a 'Little Story' With New Single & Music Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Kehlani says third album 'Blue Water Road' is arriving next month". Revolt.tv. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Kehlani Reveals 'Blue Water Road' Artwork And Release Date". Uproxx. March 24, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Kehlani Teams With Justin Bieber for 'Up at Night'". Spin. March 30, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Kehlani to release 3-part docuseries 'blue water road trip'". Pop!. April 25, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  12. ↑ Bouza, Kat (April 30, 2022). "Kehlani's 'Everything' Is a Sentimental, Candid Celebration of Queer Love". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  13. ↑ Mamo, Heran (September 14, 2022). "Kehlani Reveals Third Album 'Blue Water Road' Is 'Coming This Winter'". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Kehlani – 'Blue Water Road' review: R&B star swaps badass braggadocio for quiet confidence". NME. April 29, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Hussain, Shahzaib (April 28, 2022). "Kehlani – Blue Water Road". Clash. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  16. 1 2 McCormick, Neil; Ruskell, Nick; Lloyd, Kate (April 29, 2022). "Willie Nelson at the peak of his powers, Bloc Party attempt a comeback – the week's best albums". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  17. ↑ Brown, Kailyn (April 30, 2022). "Weekend Playlist: New Music From Kehlani, Future, Justin Bieber, Don Toliver". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  18. 1 2 Brown, Helen (April 28, 2022). "Kehlani review, Blue Water Road: California artist returns with an album of warm, sensuous R&B". The Independent. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  19. 1 2 3 Simon-Bashall, Sophia (April 26, 2022). "Kehlani explores spirituality and sensuality throughout Blue Water Road". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Herrera, Isabelia (April 28, 2022). "Kehlani's Journey of Healing". The New York Times. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Hussain, Shahzaib. "REVIEW: Kehlani grows and continues to deliver with 'blue water road'". Riff. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  22. 1 2 "Blue Water Road by Kehlani Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  23. ↑ Morris, Kadish (May 1, 2022). "Kehlani: Blue Water Road review – slow and sensual". The Guardian. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  24. ↑ Daly, Rhian (April 29, 2022). "Kehlani – 'Blue Water Road' review: R&B star swaps badass braggadocio for quiet confidence". NME. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  25. ↑ Green, Dylan (May 4, 2022). "Kehlani: Blue Water Road Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  26. ↑ Machadp, Yolanda (April 30, 2022). "'Blue Water Road' is Kehlani's most confident album yet". EW.com. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Best LGBTQ Albums of 2022". Billboard. December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  28. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2022". Billboard. December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  29. ↑ Anderson, Trevor (May 12, 2022). "Kehlani's 'Blue Water Road' Extends Top-Five Streak on Top R&B Albums Chart". billboard.com. Billboard. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  30. ↑ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Albums for week of 9 May 2022". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 9, 2022. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Kehlani Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Charts.nz – Kehlani – Blue Water Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  34. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Kehlani Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Kehlani Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  37. ↑ Blue Water Road release formats:
    1. "blue water road exclusive clear cassette". Kehlani. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
    2. "blue water road CD". Kehlani. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
    3. "blue water road Explicit Digital Album". Kehlani. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
    4. "blue water road by Kehlani". Apple Music (US). Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  38. ↑ "blue water road crystal vinyl". Kehlani. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
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