Production was handled primarily by Keys, Kerry Brothers Jr., Jack Splash, and Linda Perry, with a guest contribution from musician John Mayer.

It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 742,000 copies in its first week, and was eventually certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling over 618,000 copies its first week of release and scoring the largest first-week sales for a female artist in 2003.

The title derived from one of her poems, "Love and Chains" from the line: "I don't mind drinking my tears for water.

[8] Keys performed and taped her installment of the MTV Unplugged series in July 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

[12] In October 2006, she played the voice of Mommy Martian in the "Mission to Mars" episode of the children's television series The Backyardigans, in which she sang the original song "Almost Everything Is Boinga Here".

She felt she needed to "escape" and went to Egypt for three weeks, explaining: "That trip was definitely the most crucial thing I've ever done for myself in my life to date.

[15][16] In 2007, Keys earned further praise for her second film The Nanny Diaries, based on the 2002 novel of the same name, where she co-starred alongside Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans.

The Nanny Diaries had a hit moderate performance at the box office, earning only $44,638,886 worldwide during its theatrical run.

[21] During the recording sessions, Keys decided to work on her own terms and take her time with finishing the album instead of following the label-set deadline, telling mixing engineer Manny Marroquin: "It'll be in when it's in.

"[22] Producers who worked on the album include–apart from Keys and Brothers–Mark Batson, DJ Dirty Harry, John Mayer, Linda Perry and Jack Splash.

[21] After almost two years of recording, Keys confirmed As I Am had been finished the prior month at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards on September 9, 2007.

"[22] DiSalvatore passed away the same year; her illness and death caused Keys to reconcile with her estranged father Craig Cook.

[27][28] It departs the urban contemporary sound of its predecessor The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003) in favor of 1970s–1980s-influenced traditional soul.

Keys stated in an interview with MTV that "Superwoman" is her favorite track from As I Am, saying: "Every time I sing it, it makes me feel inspired to be however I am that day.

"[32] "Lesson Learned", a soul and soft rock track, features John Mayer on guitar and background vocals.

[27] "The Thing About Love" features Keys singing about different sides of romantic relationships: "Everybody laughs / Everybody cries / Sure it could hurt you baby but / Give it a lil' try".

The guitar-driven "I Need You" is the album's tenth track and is followed by "Where Do We Go from Here", which samples "After Laughter (Comes Tears)" by Wendy Rene.

The Super Edition of the album includes three bonus tracks: "Another Way to Die",–alternative rock duet with Jack White and theme song of the 2008 film Quantum of Solace[33][34]–"Doncha Know (Sky Is Blue)" and "Saviour".

At Live Earth 2007's New Jersey concert on July 7, 2007, Keys performed then-unreleased "The Thing About Love", among other songs.

[40] On November 18, Keys performed "No One" with Junior Reid, Beenie Man and Chaka Demus and Pliers at the American Music Awards of 2007 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles.

[41] Keys also performed "No One" at the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize concert at the Oslo Spektrum on December 11,[42] and the 50th Annual Grammy Awards on February 10.

[43] At the Super Bowl XLII pre-game show on February 3, 2008, Keys performed "Go Ahead", "Fallin'", "If I Ain't Got You", "Teenage Love Affair" and "No One".

On August 19, 2020, the song was certified septuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping seven million units.

[68] In a rave review of the album, Gregory Stephen Tate of The Village Voice praised Keys for her vintage soul influence and called As I Am a "complete work".

[24] Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani wrote that "Keys isn't quite a superwoman come to save R&B from itself, but the timeless quality of As I Am is right on time.

[70] Nate Chinen of The New York Times stated "As I Am radiates not just confidence but also experience", and called it Keys' "strongest effort yet".

[26] Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian called Keys "crashingly dull... her vaunted self-belief seemingly leaves no room for vulnerability, humour, insight or any of the other qualities possessed by the soul giants to whose stature she aspires".

[74] Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot felt that the "main problem is that Keys' songwriting has yet to transcend her obvious influences".

[75] Marisa Brown of AllMusic also viewed its lyrical quality as a weakness, but stated, "even though As I Am is a flawed work – a little too poppy, a little too clichéd – it is also indicative of what Keys can and will do".