Unplugged is the first live album by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. It was recorded as part of the television programMTV Unplugged on July 4, 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York City. It was released in the United States on October 11, 2005 by J Records. The album includes songs from her multi-platinum albums Songs in A Minor and The Diary of Alicia Keys. It debuted on the US Billboard 200 chart at number one, with first-week sales of 196,000 copies in the US, and over 245,000 copies worldwide, the highest debut for an MTV Unplugged album since Nirvana's 1994 MTV Unplugged in New York and the first Unplugged by a female artist to debut at number one. The album has sold over one million copies in the United States and over 2.5 million copies worldwide. Additionally, it received four nominations for the 2006 Grammy Awards, including Best R&B Album. The first single released from the album was "Unbreakable", which peaked at number thirty-four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The second single, "Every Little Bit Hurts", was released in January 2006. The album and DVD includes songs from her multi-platinum albums Songs in A Minor and The Diary of Alicia Keys.
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and BillboardTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, with first-week sales of 196,000 copies, serving as Keys' third consecutive number-one debut in the United States. The album's two singles were "Unbreakable", which reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart, and "Every Little Bit Hurts", which failed to enter the US and international charts.
Critical reception
Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 65/100 from Metacritic. E! Online gave the album an A− and said of Alicia Keys: "She might be unplugged--but she's still electrifying." Entertainment Weekly said the album "largely leaves Keys' runaway careerism in the dressing room, where it belongs." Blender gave it four stars out of five and called it "a stellar set." Q gave the album four stars out of five and said it "stands as an apt reminder that she is the finest soul talent of her generation." Billboard gave it a favorable review and said, "This self-assured, illuminating 'MTV Unplugged' performance underscores Keys' boundless passion for her craft." Los Angeles Times gave it three stars out of four and said, "The problems in this 72-minute package come chiefly when the exquisite singer-songwriter moves to what you'd think would be the creative heart of the album: material that isn't on her earlier CDs." Stylus Magazine gave it a B− and stated, "I’m definitely recommending Unplugged--with reservations, but it’s still a recommendation--but damn, I just wish the fun Keys seems to have on stage would translate more clearly to record." Other critics were more ambivalent. Rolling Stone gave it three stars out of five and said the album "bursts with sweet soul that seems to feed off the adoring crowd." Allmusic gave it two and a half stars out of five and stated, "Over these rhythmic vamps, Keys does have some impressive vocal runs where she departs from the original melody and glides by on the sheer sound of her voice, but when the songs are reduced to their bare essence, her vocalizing doesn't become a way of telling a story, it becomes the reason she's playing music in the first place." Neumu gave it four stars out of ten and called it "just another bloated arena show." Uncut gave it two stars out of five and said, "Keys hasn't the charisma to indulge in the inter-song banter here, which breaks up any soulful flow that might develop despite her sharp, hectoring vocals."
