Produced by Osborne, Rod Temperton, Richard Perry, T. C. Campbell, Michael Masser, and George Duke, Emotional reached number five on the US Billboard R&B Albums chart and number 27 on the Billboard 200.

AllMusic editor Jason Elias, who had praised previous albums by Osborne, called it "quite a disappointment" and "not exactly a work of cohesion."

He found that Emotional "is overly slick with poor song choices and barely there vocals" and compared it to Whitney Houston's early material "with its use of multiple producers and pop material.

"[1] Connie Johnson from Los Angeles Times felt that "while lacking a blockbuster [...] this album is well-balanced in its blend of exuberant, up-tempo cuts and heart-rending love songs.

Still, in his bid for a broader audience, Osborne hasn’t sacrificed all of the soul basics.