Whisper a Prayer

Critical response

Whisper a Prayer has received general acclaim from critics. AllMusic editor, Andrew Hamilton listed "Positivity" and "Can't Seem to Make Up My Mind", both co-written by Paris, as "favorites", adding that "her original version of "You Put a Move on My Heart" sounds better than Tamia's version" featured on Quincy Jones' Jook Joint album. Hamilton also praised Paris' vocal performances, writing "she delivers these songs in her smooth, jazz- and blues-influenced, intense but relaxed style". In addition to this, Hamilton expressed that Paris "is the most exciting female vocalist to come along in some time" but noted that "unlike her first LP, which scored a minor R&B hit with "My One Temptation", none of these excellent songs made much of an impact".

In a retrospective review, BBC Music editor Daryl Easlea described Paris as "one of the UK’s greatest soul divas" and wrote that "working with what only could be deemed a stellar cast [...] Island looked at Whisper a Prayer as being Paris’ true breakthrough album". Easlea described the album as "a remarkable pedigree" thanks in part to "backing singers like Siedah Garrett, producers including Narada Michael Walden and Rod Temperton, and writers such as Graham Lyle on board". Easlea described "I Bless the Day" as "sweet and light, floating along with Paris’ emotive voice at once commanding and sensitive" and the "Drizabone-mixed swingbeat of Two in a Million" as "spry and sugary". However, Easlea wrote that "the only thing that lets the Whisper a Prayer down is its instrumentation". Using "You Put a Move on My Heart" as one such an example he wrote, "a song as beautiful and passionately delivered [...] you long for it being recorded at a different time, not with Paris in front of a keyboard with an orchestra setting button and a drum machine". He also noted the "90s contraptions [...] present and correct on the album’s opener, I Never Felt This Way Before", writing that "it may be ultra-smooth but the overall effect is like a cut-price version of a cut from Anita Baker’s Rapture".

Andrew Hamilton also reviewed "You Put a Move on My Heart" favorably, writing "Mica Paris' original rendition of Rod Temperton's ballad supreme[...]shames Tamia's more successful rendition". Though he noted that the sales of Whisper a Prayer "pale in comparison" to Q's Jook Joint - on which Tamia's cover is featured - he wrote that "Paris' glorious tone, however, never pales; it glows like a warm fire as the devastating British woman squeezes the last drop of soul from the lyrics."

Commercial reception

Whisper a Prayer debuted and peaked at number twenty on the UK Albums Chart making it her second top twenty appearance on the chart. In its second week the album dropped one place to twenty-one and thirty in its third before making its last appearance on the chart at number sixty-one in its fourth week. In the US, Whisper a Prayer peaked at ninety-nine on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, where it spent a single week. It is Paris' last album to appear on any Billboard chart.

Singles

Four singles were released from Whisper a Prayer, the first being the Narada Michael Walden production "I Never Felt Like This Before", written by Walden and Sally Jo Dakota. "I Never Felt Like This Before" debuted at number twenty-three on the UK Singles Chart, rising and peaking at number fifteen in its second week, becoming Paris' third and last top twenty appearance on the chart after 1989's "Where is the Love" with Will Downing.

Walden also produced the second single, "I Wanna Hold on to You", which debuted and peaked at number twenty-seven on the UK Singles Chart whilst in the US, it peaked at forty-six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It is the only single from the album and Paris' last to appear on a Billboard chart. Third and fourth singles "Two in a Million" and title track "Whisper a Prayer" were minor successes in the UK peaking at fifty-one and sixty-five respectively. "I Wanna Hold on to You" was sampled by 2Pac on "Nothing to Lose", posthumously released on the album R U Still Down? (Remember Me).

Personnel

Credits obtained from the album's linear notes.