Overview
Rebellious Soul is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter K. Michelle. The album was released on August 13, 2013, by Atlantic Records. Its songs were mostly co-written and co-composed by Michelle and Bianca Atterberry. Other artists who collaborated on the album include Tank, Priscilla Renea, Meek Mill, Jack Splash and Barry White. Musically, Rebellious Soul was inspired by Michelle's love for emotional ballads, and the 1970s and 1980s eras in music. She incorporated different combinations of musical genres, including electronic, R&B, hip hop, soul and gospel, for the album's songs.
Upon its release, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, and peaked at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, selling 72,000 copies in its first week. Rebellious Soul produced two singles, "V.S.O.P.", released on May 20, 2013, and “Can't Raise a Man” was released on January 13, 2014. Michelle promoted Rebellious Soul through an album release party, televised live performances, radio interviews and a concert tour.
The album sold over a million copies worldwide by 2014 and Michelle won the Soul Train Music Award for Best New Artist at the 2013 Soul Train Music Awards. Michelle embarked on the album's first supporting concert tour, Rebellious Soul Tour, in November 2013. Reviews of Rebellious Soul were generally positive, with critics applauding Michelle's personal themes.
Background
In 2008, K. Michelle signed a recording contract with Jive Records. She was working on her debut album titled Pain Medicine. Featured on the album were Trina, Gucci Mane, Akon, Usher, and R. Kelly. Michelle parted ways with RCA in 2011 after initially signing with Jive. "I wanted to get out of my label contract because of things that I couldn't control that happened to me. I did not get dropped. They didn't understand me, and a part of me thinks that I didn't understand myself," K. Michelle says. In 2012, K. Michelle began appearing as one of the main cast members on the VH1 reality television series Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta. Because of the publicity given to her from starring on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, she signed a recording contract to Atlantic Records and began working on her debut studio album.
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