I Remember Me is the second studio album by American singer and actress Jennifer Hudson, released on March 22, 2011, by Arista Records.
Hudson worked with a variety of producers and writers on the album, including Alicia Keys, Rich Harrison, Ne-Yo, R. Kelly, Harvey Mason Jr., Ryan Tedder, Diane Warren, and among others.
The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 165,000 copies in its first week and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States.
[1] Elysa Gardner of USA Today gave the album three-and-a-half out of four stars and stated "Even when the material [...] flirts with the banal, Hudson's unmannered strength and class shine through, as surely as the technical prowess she wields with confidence and discretion".
[15] Allmusic editor Andy Kellman gave it four-and-a-half out of five stars and praised Hudson's performance and her collaborators' contributions, writing that they both "provide the kind of mature R&B that is not felt merely in the mind, throat, chest, or hips but the entire body".
[10] Chicago Sun-Times writer Thomas Conner noted its songs as "mid-tempo" and complimented their "deft and delicate rhythmic elements".
[9] Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe found its songs "stronger, and Hudson sounds more poised" than on her debut album.
[19] Rolling Stone writer Jody Rosen gave the album three out of five stars and commented that "Sonically, the record is up-to-the-minute; in spirit it's a throwback to the adult-oriented R&B of Anita Baker, Toni Braxton and Whitney Houston".
[21] Slant Magazine's Matthew Cole viewed that its material as unoriginal and stated "most of the album's hooks contain gratuitous overdubs, and when Hudson is allowed to take the spotlight, she's liable to overcook the vocal melodies in the pandering, applause-line style that every American Idol competitor learns to live by".
[16] Los Angeles Times writer Evelyn McDonnell commented that her "big, warm, church-trained R&B diva voice [...] has never seemed comfortable among the bright shiny toys of a pop studio".