A Different Me is the third studio album by American singer Keyshia Cole. It was released by Geffen Records in association with Imani Entertainment and Interscope Records on December 16, 2008 in the United States. Cole reteamed with producers Toxic, Ron Fair and The Runners to work on A Different Me, but also worked with a variety of additional collaborators on new material, including Polow da Don, The Outsyders, Kwamé, Carvin & Ivan, Tank, Theron Feemster, and Poke & Tone. Guest appearances include Amina, Nas, Monica and 2Pac.
The album received generally positive reviews from critics who complimented it for its free-spirited and adventurous nature. A Different Me debuted and peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 322,000 copies in its first week of release. It was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and became the third highest-selling R&B/Hip-Hop album of 2009. A Different Me spawned the singles "Playa Cardz Right", "You Complete Me", and "Trust," all of which entered the top ten of the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Conception
A Different Me focuses less on heartache and more on maturity of her vocals and lyrics. Cole explained that, "The first two albums were more…painful. It's a different me this time: a young woman who's still growing and finding myself, exploring life through different routes musically and in other areas. I wrote more about other people's situations than my own. I'm moving forward." On the songwriting process, Cole stated, "When I hear something, I hear it—it doesn't take me three, four, five times to hear a song and say, 'OK, let's write.' If I don't write to it right off the bat, it's not working." All the songs on the album were written or co-written by Cole. Guest appearances include Amina, Nas, Monica and 2Pac. Along with the album, Cole was developing a movie based on her life. A screenwriter has develop the script with Cole in 2009.
Release and promotion
Before the album was released, BET released the third and final season of her reality show, Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is which showed her in the process of finishing the album and writing a movie. Guests during the season include Ron Fair, Polow Da Don, Monica, and Shirley Murdock. Cole also embarked on the I Am Music Tour in late 2008 and A Different Me Tour in the summer of 2009. She was featured in magazines Billboard, WordUp and VIBE from winter of 2008 to spring of 2009.
The album was released on December 16, 2008. Earlier that week, Cole made an appearance on BET's 106 and Park being interviewed and introducing the video to lead single "Playa Cardz Right" featuring Tupac Shakur. The song was released on October 21, 2008 and originally appeared on Tupac's album Pac's Life, but was rearranged by Cole and producers Ron Fair and Carvin & Ivan. It peaked at number nine on Billboards US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Second single "You Complete Me" featured on Cole's Myspace page in December and officially released on January 20, 2009. It peaked at number seven on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Third single "Trust" was originally recorded as a solo by Cole and released as an iTunes bonus track to her previous project, Just like You. The song was rerecorded featuring vocals from R&B singer and friend, Monica. It peaked at number five on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming the most successful single of the album. "No Other" was to be the fourth and final single of the album. Although the single was never officially released, it did receive radio airplay and a music video.
Critical reception
A Different Me received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 67 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Album of the Year collected 5 reviews and calculated an average of 71 out of 100.