More Issues Than Vogue

Background

K. Michelle revealed on the second season of her show, K. Michelle: My Life and in an interview with Billboard on January 25, 2016, that she wanted to release her next album without it being an urban sound. "I want to be able to sing what I want, If I want to be able to sing country, I want to be able to show that. I want to be able to sing ballads that touch the world and not just one demographic. I’m just not going to be told that because I’m black, I have to do this anymore." The track listing and cover art was revealed on Pate's Instagram and Twitter account on February 12, 2016.

Singles

"Not a Little Bit" was released as the lead single from the album on January 22, 2016. Upon release, the song debuted on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number 18 on February 18, 2016. The official music video was released on March 25, 2016.

"Ain't You" was released as the second single from the album on February 12, 2016. The song debuted on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs chart at number 41 on March 5, 2016. The music video for the single premiered on June 8, 2016.

"Nightstand" will be released as the third single from the album on February 13, 2017. The single was promoted during a performance in a commercial for the second season of K. Michelle: My Life as preparation for the official music video.

Promotional singles

"Mindful" was released as the album's first promotional single on February 19, 2016. The song was written and produced by T-Pain. The official music video was released on March 10, 2016.

"Time" was released as the album's second promotional single on February 25, 2016.

"Got Em Like" was released as the album's third promotional single on May 6, 2016. The official music video was released on May 6, 2016.

Critical response

Upon its release, More Issues Than Vogue received positive reviews, scoring an 80 out of 100 on Metacritic based on five reviews . Complex gave the album a favorable review, stating that "the album is a bit less cohesive sonically than her sophomore effort, Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? That’s not a condemnation. The last album was sadder in overall tone. Here, there is a sparkle and an easiness pronounced throughout the project. I say this as a compliment: More Issues Than Vogue gives me fusion restaurant. Like, it's still catfish, only some spiffy sauce is on it and it's kale with turkey neck meat versus collard greens."

AllMusic's Andy Kellman gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5, commenting that "More Issues Than Vogue wisely sticks to roughly the same makeup of Pate's first two albums. "Make the Bed," featuring Jason Derulo, takes a somewhat surprising shot at crossover play, but it's mostly in the production and the deployment of a melodic "oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" in the background, something like the umpteenth instance of its use in contemporary dance-pop."

Commercial performance

In the United States, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, with 59,158 album equivalent units (over 54,066 in sales) in the first week, and it was streamed nearly five million times. The album also debuted at number 32 on the UK R&B Albums Chart. In its second week, the album dropped to number 23 on the Billboard 200, to begin selling further to 22,484 copies in the United States. In its third week the album dropped to number 74 on the Billboard 200 and remained for its fourth week. In its fifth week the album dropped to 145 on the Billboard 200.

Track listing