features guest appearances by Raphael Saadiq, Nas, Jeff Beck, Sheila E., David Sanborn and Jamie Hartman from Ben's Brother.

[6] She also enlisted guest musicians such as rapper Nas, guitarist Jeff Beck, percussionist Sheila E. and saxophonist David Sanborn.

[6] Stone performed the song "Governmentalist" during voter registration group HeadCount's "Get Out the Vote Party" at the Highline Ballroom in New York City on 3 November 2008.

The tour included concerts in Darlington, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Dover, and concluded on 4 March.

[9] She later announced European tour dates, visiting countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Portugal and Greece between June and September 2009.

[10][11] From 21 to 23 November 2009, she performed three shows in the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Porto Alegre, respectively.

[19] On 16 November 2009, Stone appeared on the German late-night talk show TV total, where she performed "Free Me", as well as a duet with Swiss singer Stefanie Heinzmann on the latter's single "Unbreakable".

[22][23][24][25] In May 2009, it was reported that Stone was willing to forfeit £2 million to terminate her four-album deal with EMI due to her dissatisfaction with the label after it was taken over by private equity firm Terra Firma in 2007.

"[38] Graham Rockingham of Metro News Canada raved that the album has "a sonic depth that you can reach in and caress, which is something you can usually only find on old Stax or Muscle Shoals LPs.

[33] Dan Aquilante of the New York Post opined that on Colour Me Free!, Stone is "at her bluesy, soul-singer best", stating that her voice is "powerful" and "reminiscent of the energy Aretha [Franklin] brought to many of her early recordings".

[35] Steve Jones of USA Today commented that Stone "sings with more grit and gusto than a battalion of R&B princesses while taking a sledgehammer to pop conventions" and concluded that "[s]he's assertive, sassy and lets lovers know that they play with her heart at their own risk.

"[37] The Observer's Hugh Montgomery called the album a "decent comeback" that "eschews [Stone's] last LP's hip-hop leanings for more straightforward retro soul funk", adding that "what most impresses is her voice, which has acquired emotional resonance to match its size.

"[39] Jim Farber of the New York Daily News found that "the material on Free far outperforms that on earlier CDs" and noted that the album showcases "a far more stripped-down sound than before, which leaves more room for Stone's newly grounded vocals to shine.

"[36] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times opined that "Colour Me Free succeeds about as well as Stone's other records: It's quite good in the up-tempo bits [...] and a little soggy in the ballads.

"[32] Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times felt that "the problem is that Stone doesn't really have a master plan, or the discerning ear to tell her best moments [...] from her worst".