The Element of Freedom

The Element of Freedom is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys, released on December 11, 2009, by J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during May to September 2009 at the Oven Studios in Long Island, New York. Production was primarily handled by Keys, Kerry Brothers Jr., and Jeff Bhasker. Departing from the classicist soul music of Keys' previous albums, The Element of Freedom has a mid-tempo, low-key sound and features mostly love songs. Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its low-key style, cohesiveness, and Keys' singing, while some were ambivalent towards the lyrics. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 417,000 copies in its first week. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) within its first month of release (later being certified double platinum) and produced six singles. By August 2012, The Element of Freedom had sold over four million copies worldwide. Recording and production After recording her third studio album, As I Am, Keys began to "find the way to totally be myself and what that meant; figuring out what choices I wanted to make and not make in order to truly honor myself". Keys began working on the album in May 2009. During this time, Keys and her Audio engineer bought several vintage keyboards, describing the Moog as her "special best friend". Recording took place at Keys' Oven Studios in Long Island, New York. Keys expressed that she "didn't know what to do" when she began working on the album, but knew to do it. After exhausting herself, she stated that she "finally found the key, and that is to allow yourself to be free". She explained that the album dealt with overcoming depression, going on to say: "I found more freedom. Before, I thought I could only show the strong side of me. Now there’s a mixture of strong and delicate. A new sound, a new emotion. That’s a lot of who I am right now". Recording for the album was completed between August and September 2009. Keys described that she "love[d] melody so much", but approached the album with a "free zone". The album includes production by Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, Jeff Bhasker, Noah "40" Shebib and Swizz Beatz.