Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship

Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship is the third studio album by American singer India Arie. It was released in the United States on June 27, 2006, by Motown. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 161,000 copies in its first week.

Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship
Studio album by India Arie
Released	June 26, 2006
Recorded	2005–2006
Genre	R&B
Length	59:48
Label	Motown
Producer	India Arie Mark Batson Branden Burch Dru Castro Doctah B Sirius AKA Courtney Branch Jimmy "J-Rok" English Jared Gosselin Tony Harrington John Howard III Richard Johnson Jr. Frank "Blame" Macek Drew Ramsey Shannon Sanders Phillip White
India Arie chronology
Voyage to India (2002) Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (2006) Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics (2009)
Alternative cover
UK cover
Singles from Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship
"I Am Not My Hair" Released: November 15, 2005 "There's Hope" Released: June 26, 2006[1] "The Heart of the Matter" Released: September 4, 2006

In 2007, the album was nominated for three Grammy Awards: Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song for "I Am Not My Hair", and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "I Am Not My Hair".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	53/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Blender	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B[4]
The Guardian	[5]
NME	4/10[2]
PopMatters	6/10[6]
Rolling Stone	[2]
Spin	4/10[2]
USA Today	[7]
Vibe	[2]

Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 53, based on 14 reviews.[2] Some reviews are positive, like Billboard, for example, which gave the album a positive review and called it "An ambitious, aurally rich suite of storytelling songs."[8] Hartford Courant gave it a positive review and said, "Of all today's self-actualizing soul singers, India.Arie represents the purest version of the concept. How much you'll like her brand of R&B depends in part on whether the word "nurturing" gives you the warm fuzzies or makes your skin crawl."[9] On the other hand, Mojo gave it two stars out of five and said, "Lacking the wit and lyrical dexterity of a Jill Scott or the raw power of Angie Stone, the songs can feel airless and unengaged."[2] Q also gave it two stars out of five and said that Arie's "sauntering melodies struggle under the weight of their worthy load."[2]

Commercial performance

In the United States, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts with first-week sales of 161,000 copies, Arie's first number-one album on the Billboard 200 and second on the R&B chart.[10] The following week, it fell to number three on the Billboard 200 with 69,000 copies sold.[11] The album had sold 689,000 copies in the United States as of December 2008.[12]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro: Loving"	India Arie Shannon Sanders	Arie Sanders	1:30
2.	"These Eyes"	Arie Mark Batson Joyce Simpson	Arie Batson Sanders^[a]	4:31
3.	"The Heart of the Matter"	Donald Henley Michael W. Campbell John David Souther	Arie^[b] Frank "Blame" Macek^[b]	5:15
4.	"Good Morning"	Arie Sanders Drew Ramsey	Arie Sanders Ramsey	5:27
5.	"Private Party"	Arie Branden Burch John Howard III Richard Johnson Jr. Stevie Wonder	Arie Burch Johnson Howard	3:52
6.	"There's Hope"	Arie Tony Harrington Burch	Arie Harrington Burch	3:57
7.	"Interlude: Living"	Arie Sanders	Arie Sanders	1:23
8.	"India'Song"	Arie	Arie Doctah B Sirius AKA Courtney Branch	5:26
9.	"Wings of Forgiveness"	Arie Macek Jared Gosselin Phillip White	Arie Macek Gosselin White	4:59
10.	"Summer" (featuring Rascal Flatts and Victor Wooten)	Arie Ramsey Cindy Morgan	Arie Ramsey Sanders	3:14
11.	"I Am Not My Hair" (featuring Akon)	Arie Sanders Ramsey Aliaune Thaim		3:49
12.	"Great Grandmother"			0:34
13.	"Better People"	Arie Sanders Ramsey Macek Jimmy "J-Rok" English	Arie Macek English	3:43
14.	"Outro: Learning"	Arie Sanders	Arie Sanders	1:32
15.	"I Choose"	Andrew Catro Arie	Arie Dru Castro	4:45
16.	"This Too Shall Pass" (hidden track)			5:54

UK edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
16.	"I Am Not My Hair" (Urban A/C Mix)	4:20
17.	"This Too Shall Pass" (hidden track)	5:52

iTunes Store bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
16.	"I Am Not My Hair" (Yoruba Soul Remix)
17.	"This Too Shall Pass"	5:52

Target exclusive edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Just for Today (Embrace the Mystery)"	4:31
17.	"This Too Shall Pass" (hidden track)	5:52

Circuit City exclusive edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Simple Yes"	4:48
17.	"This Too Shall Pass" (hidden track)	5:52

Notes

• ^{^a} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^b} signifies a main and vocal producer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2006) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard)[13] 29 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 24 French Albums (SNEP)[15] 141 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 58 Italian Albums (FIMI)[17] 56 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 25 UK Albums (OCC)[19] 103 UK R&B Albums (OCC)[20] 13 US Billboard 200[21] 1 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[22] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2006) Position US Billboard 200[23] 114 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[24] 29

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[25]	Gold	500,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Urban AC – Week Of: June 26, 2006". Radio & Records. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
2. Critic reviews at Metacritic
3. Allmusic review
4. Entertainment Weekly review
5. The Guardian review
6. PopMatters review
7. USA Today review
8. "Billboard review". Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved 2013-07-28.
9. Hartford Courant review Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
10. Hasty, Katie (July 5, 2006). "India.Arie's 'Testimony' Debuts At No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
11. Hasty, Katie (July 12, 2006). "Cash Earns First No. 1 Album Since 1969". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
12. Cohen, Jonathan (December 29, 2008). "India.Arie Readies Next 'Testimony'". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
13. "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. July 9, 2006. Archived from the original on July 15, 2006. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – India.Arie – Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
15. "Lescharts.com – India.Arie – Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
16. "Offiziellecharts.de – India.Arie – Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
17. "Italiancharts.com – India.Arie – Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
18. "Swisscharts.com – India.Arie – Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
19. "Chart Log UK (1994–2010): I Am Arrows – Laura Izibor". Zobbel.de. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
20. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
21. "India.Arie Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
22. "India.Arie Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
23. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
24. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
25. "American album certifications – India.Arie – Testimony". Recording Industry Association of America. August 4, 2006. Retrieved April 3, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.