[2] After his release from prison in 2009,[2] he was introduced by his manager, Pete Farmer,[3] to music executives Ron Fair and Jimmy Iovine at Geffen and Interscope Records.

[5] He later said of the meeting and audition, "we put a plan together and the minute I stepped into the studio I was so nervous, but I felt so much power just coming through me soon as I hit the microphone it was like, it was still there".

[17] On June 27, 2010,[18] he made his first media appearance since his prison release as a surprise guest at the 2010 BET Awards, performing a medley of his earlier hit songs as a member of DeBarge and as a solo artist,[2][19] including "Second Chance".

[25][27] He was scheduled to tour during the Spring in the United States with Kem and Ledisi, beginning February 17, 2011, but withdrew after checking himself into a rehabilitation center to address his drug abuse.

[16] Entertainment Weekly's Mikael Wood commented that "his ethereal vocals still shimmer so effortlessly", and called it "the year's most elegant tell-all".

[11] Steve Jones of USA Today felt that DeBarge's "sweet, soaring falsetto remains intact, and he has lost none of his knack for writing catchy, romantic tunes".

[33] The Huffington Post's Marlynn Snyder critiqued that "the effort to surround [DeBarge] with a mix of both established, hit-making songwriters and producers, and younger creative voices, is a rousing success".

[10] Steve Horowitz from PopMatters claimed that the album's material "succeeds to a large extent simply because it addresses a wide demographic".

[9] Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News praised DeBarge's "melodic soul-pop" vocals and described the album as "an elegant effort that updates his style without obliterating it".

[29] Okayplayer's E. Esi Arthur wrote that the album "does an efficient job of lining up songs where his unique vocal styling is in the front seat".

[32] In MSN Music, Robert Christgau found DeBarge's voice "unspoiled" and said his "special gift has always been combining the boyish innocence of J5-era Michael Jackson with intimations of physical congress.