Share My World

Background

Share My World marked several personal and professional changes in Blige’s life and career. Following the departure of label head Andre Harrell the year before, Blige defected from Uptown Records in favor of its MCA parent. Meanwhile, she severed professional ties with long-time producer, manager and mentor Sean “Puffy” Combs shortly before the production of Share My World began. His absence was filled with a bevy of high-profile producers, such as: Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Babyface, Bryce Wilson and R. Kelly. The end result produced an album that was less entrenched in the Hip hop soul of her first two albums, and replaced with a style that was more aligned with Contemporary R&B.

During the making and run of 1994's My Life, Blige had reportedly experienced clinical depression, while also battling drug and alcohol addiction, and enduring an often turbulent relationship with K-Ci Hailey — all of which heavily influenced the dark mood of that album. In late 1996, however, Blige reportedly made a concerted effort to clean up her life and subsequently found herself in more positive frame of mind while recording Share My World, which influenced the albums noticeably lighter mood.

Commercial performance

For the Billboard issue dated May 10, 1997, Share My World debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with sales of 240,000 copies, marking Blige's first official number-one album on the Billboard 200 chart. The album had ended the four-week stint of Life After Death by The Notorious B.I.G., which was released posthumously after his death. Moreover, the album debuted at number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, marking Blige's third consecutive number-one album on the latter chart. Share My World has sold over 3 million copies in the United States alone, receiving a 3x Platinum certification on May 19, 1999.

In addition to debuting number one in the United States, the album also debuted in the top ten in the United Kingdom, peaking at number-eight on the UK Albums Chart, thus giving Blige her first top-ten album in that country. And on the Canadian Albums Chart, where the album reached number-four. It also reached number thirty-seven on the German Albums Chart.

Critical reception

Alex Henderson of AllMusic wrote in his review, "Her strongest and most confident effort up to that point, Share had much more character, personality, and honesty than most of the assembly line fare dominating urban radio in 1997. For all their slickness, emotive cuts like "Get to Know You Better," "Love Is All We Need," and "Keep Your Head" left no doubt that Blige was indeed a singer of depth and substance. Although high tech, the production of everyone from R. Kelly (with whom she duets on the inviting "It's On") and Babyface to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis doesn't come across as forced or robotic, but, in fact, is impressively organic." Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone commended Blige's transition from sound to singing, writing that "On Share My World even Blige's harshest critics will have to concede that she's moved beyond sound to real singing. Listen to "Seven Days," "Missing You" and the already-classic "Not Gon' Cry" (also on the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack), and you hear Blige's signature ache married to newfound technique. There's shading, depth and control in her vocals now." Steve Jones of USA Today said the songs "run the usual gamut of love themes, but it's Blige's powerful, emotional deliveries and street sensibility that separate her from the competition." Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said "Blige is a diva for her own time. As befits her hip hop ethos, she's never soft if often vulnerable, and as befits her hip hop aesthetic, she plays her natural vocal cadences for melodic signature and sometimes hook. She redefines the New York accent for the '90s. And she's taken two straight follow-ups to the next level."

Jonathan Bernstein from Entertainment Weekly was more critical, finding Share My World "uneven" and the songwriting "meandering and half finished." Tom Moon later wrote in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) that the record displayed "Blige's hit-song savvy but fewer memorable performances" than previous albums.

Accolades and nominations

Throughout late 1997, and onto early 1998 Share My World became a critical and commercial success. On July 1, 1997, nearly three months after the album's release, Share My World was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of one million copies in the US. Five months later, on November 17, 1997, the album received a 2x Platinum certification by the RIAA, for two million copies sold in the US alone. On January 26, 1998, the album won the American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Album at the 25th annual ceremony. The following month, it was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 40th Grammy Awards, losing to Baduizm by Erykah Badu. Blige also received additional nominations such as an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Female Artist, and two Soul Train Music Award nominations for Best R&B/Soul Single, Female (for the single "Everything") and a nomination for Best R&B/Soul Album, Female, losing both to Erykah Badu in both categories. In addition, Blige won a second award for the album at the Soul Train Lady of Soul awards, where she picked up an award for Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year (solo).

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for Share My World adapted from Allmusic.

Certifications

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