Complicated (Nivea album)

Complicated is the second studio album by American singer Nivea, released in the United States on May 3, 2005 on Jive Records. It was primarily produced by her then-husband The-Dream, with additional production from Lil Jon, R. Kelly, Bryan Michael Cox and Jermaine Dupri. The album peaked at No. 37 on the US Billboard 200 album charts and peaked at No. 9 on the R&B chart. Complicated was critically acclaimed, but failed to receive major commercial success, eventually becoming Nivea's lowest selling album to date with just over 100,000 copies sold in the US.

Complicated
Studio album by
Nivea
ReleasedMay 3, 2005 (2005-05-03)
Recorded2003–2005
Genre
Length53:13
LabelJive
Producer
Nivea chronology
Nivea
(2001)		 Complicated
(2005)		 Animalistic
(2006)
Singles from Complicated
  1. "Okay"
    Released: October 19, 2004
  2. "Parking Lot"
    Released: May 3, 2005

"Okay", the album's lead single, was already recorded back in 2003. Though it was clear that the track was going to be released as a single, the record company kept it under closure to introduce the upcoming crunk&B style with newcomer Ciara and her "Goodies" track. No other single was released from Complicated due to a recall on the album for having a content-protector and some discs would not play, so Nivea decided to leave Jive Records not long after the album's release.

Singles

"Okay", the album's lead single, was already recorded back in 2003. Though it was clear that the track was going to be released as a single, the record company kept it under closure to introduce the upcoming crunk&B style with newcomer Ciara and her "Goodies" track. The single became a hit, peaking at No. 14 on R&B and No. 40 on Billboard's Hot 100.

A second single, "Parking Lot" was released shortly before she got pregnant with her first child. Jive Records subsequently dropped promotion for the project, although she appeared on Soul Train the following year and performed "Complicated" which was originally planned to be the third single. After her departure from the label, she gave birth to her twins in April.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

AllMusic's Andy Kellman was not impressed with Complicated. He wrote that the album "contains a couple should-be successful singles, but it's far too patchy to be considered better than the debut. More sexually upfront and as sweet-voiced as ever, Nivea still needs more than a couple hot producers and guest MCs to truly stick out."[1]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Rain (Interlude)"
The-Dream0:50
2."Complicated"
  • Nivea
  • Nash
The-Dream3:52
3."Okay" (featuring Lil Jon and YoungBloodZ)
4:43
4."Parking Lot"
3:51
5."Fulton County Correctional Call (Interlude)"
  • Nivea
  • Nash
The-Dream1:08
6."I Can't Mess with You" (featuring The-Dream)
The Platinum Brothers4:02
7."Breathe (Let It Go)"
  • Nivea
  • Nash
  • Jamil Pierre
  • Deputy
  • Larry "Rock" Campbell[A]
  • The-Dream[A]
4:04
8."Quickie" (featuring Rasheeda)
The Platinum Brothers4:04
9."Indian Dance"
  • Nivea
  • Nash
The-Dream3:50
10."No More"
  • Nivea
  • Chesser
  • Gibbs
The Platinum Brothers3:39
11."Gangsta Girl" (featuring R. Kelly)R. KellyKelly2:56
12."Okay Remix (Red-Cup Version)" (featuring The-Dream)
  • Nivea
  • Nash
  • Smith
  • Hale
The-Dream4:11
13."So Far"
  • Kendall
  • Chesser
  • Gibbs
  • Karl Antoine
  • The Platinum Brothers
  • Karl Antoine[A]
  • Nastacia "Nazz" Kendall[A]
4:02
14."It's All Good"
  • Nivea
  • Nash
The-Dream3:37
15."My Fault (Ghetto Apology)"
P.I.M.P.3:58

Notes and sample credits

  • ^[A] denotes co-producer
  • ^[B] denotes vocal producer
  • ^[C] denotes additional producer
  • "I Can't Mess with You" contains a sample of "You Are Everything" by The Stylistics.
  • "My Fault (Ghetto Apology)" contains a sample of "For the Love of You" by The Isley Brothers.

Personnel

Performers and musicians

  • Fletcher Dozier Jr. – guitar
  • Donnie Lyle – guitar
  • Eddie E. Hamilton – guitar
  • Julio Miranda – guitar

Technical

  • Nivea Nash – executive producer
  • Terius "The Dream" Nash – executive producer, producer
  • Larry "Rock" Campbell – A&R, producer,
  • Bryan Michael Cox – producer
  • Jermaine Dupri – producer
  • Lil Jon – producer
  • R. Kelly – producer
  • The Platinum Brothers – producer
  • Nastacia "Nazz" Kendall – producer
  • Vocal assistance: Sakinah Lestage
  • Brian Frye – engineer
  • Andy Gallas – engineer
  • Abel Garibaldi – engineer
  • Matthew Malpass – engineer
  • Ian Mereness – engineer
  • Ray Seay – engineer
  • Rich Tapper – engineer
  • Steve Bearsley – assistant engineer
  • Josh Copp – assistant engineer
  • Jason Mlodzinski – assistant engineer
  • Keith Sengbusch – assistant engineer
  • Rob Skipworth – assistant engineer
  • Adam Smith – assistant engineer
  • Nathan Wheeler – assistant engineer
  • Leslie Braithwaite – mixing
  • Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing
  • John Frye – mixing
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing
  • Brian Stanley – mixing
  • Phil Tan – mixing
  • Warren Bletcher – mixing assistance
  • Kris Lewis – mixing assistance
  • Tom Coyne – mastering
  • Wayne Williams – A&R
  • Elisa Garcia – art direction
  • Denise Trorman – art direction
  • Jonathan Mannion – photography

Charts
Chart (2005) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[2] 18
US Billboard 200[3] 37
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[4] 9

References
  1. Kellman, Andy. Complicated at AllMusic
  2. "コンプリケイテッド" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  3. "Nivea Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  4. "Nivea Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
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