Released November 16, 2004 Label J | Length 4:16 | |
Format CD single12" singledigital download Genre R&Balternative hip hopclassical | ||
"Karma" is a song by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys, taken from her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003). Written by Keys, Kerry Brothers, Jr., and Taneisha Smith, the track takes influence from hip hop and classical music, and was released as the album's fourth and final single in November 2004, peaking at number twenty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number seventeen on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart—the album's only single not to top a Billboard chart. A mashup of "Karma" with Stevie Wonder's 1972 hit "Superstition" titled "Karmastition", produced by Go Home Productions, exists. "Karma" became The Diary of Alicia Keys's first release to fail to achieve top ten status on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop, peaking at number 20 and 17, respectively.
Contents
Content
In the song, the narrator's lover who had left her returns and wants to start a new relationship, but she has moved on. Her lover is now in the position she was once in, and in being rejected receives their just deserts ("what goes around comes around"). The title references the popular conception of karma as getting what one deserves.
Music video
The music video for "Karma", directed by Chris Robinson and Keys herself, was filmed over three days in August 2004, with parts shot in New York City and at Casa de Campo resort's Altos de Chavón amphitheatre, in La Romana, Dominican Republic. At the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, the video earned Keys the award for Best R&B Video.
- "Karma" — 4:15
- "Diary" (Hani Mix) — 3:49
- "Karma" (Radio Edit) — 3:37
- "Diary" (Hani Mix) — 3:49
- "Karma" (The Reggaeton Mix) — 3:32
- "Karma" (Club Mix) — 3:18
- "Karma" (Video)
- "Karma" (Radio Edit) — 3:37
- "Karma" (Instrumental) — 4:11
- "Karma" (Call Out Hook) — 0:10
- "Karma" (Radio Version in MP3 format) — 3:39