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Free Yourself was released to largely mixed reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album three out of five stars and wrote: "Free Yourself is looser and hipper than any previous American Idol album. Gone is Matthew Wilder, who contributed to Kelly's debut; gone are Neil Sedaka and Aldo Nova, who featured heavily on Clay's album. In their place are Missy Elliott, Jermaine Dupri and Rodney Jerkins, hip-hop hitmakers who give a good indication that this album is striving to seem fresh and hip, something that no other American Idol album has even attempted."
Christian Hoard from Rolling Stone found that Free Yourself "leaves too much room for the pyrotechnics that constitute vocal talent on the show. But Barrino has gotten crucial help from a cavalcade of top urban songwriters and producers. The result is solid, up-to-date R&B; that puts some sexy bounce into its soccer-mom pop and bookends a cover of "Summertime" with a Missy Elliott jam."
Accolades
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ Awards and nominations for Free Yourself
! scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Award
! scope="col"| Category
! scope="col"| Nominee(s)
! scope="col"| Result
|-
! scope="row"| 2004
|rowspan="2"|Billboard Music Awards
|Top Selling Single of the Year
|rowspan="3"|"I Believe"
|
|-
! scope="row"| 2004
|Top Selling R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year
|
|-
! scope="row"| 2005
|Billboard American Urban Radio Networks
|Top R&B/Hip-Hop Single
|
|-
! scope="row"| 2005
|American Music Awards
|Favorite Soul/R&B Album
|Free Yourself
|
|-
! scope="row"| 2006
|rowspan="3"|Grammy Awards
|Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
|"Free Yourself"
|
|-
! scope="row"| 2006
|Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
|"Summertime"
|
|-
! scope="row"| 2006
|Best R&B Album
|Free Yourself
|
|-
! scope="row"| 2006
|rowspan="2"|ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Awards
|Most Performed Song
|"Free Yourself"
|
|-
! scope="row"| 2006
|Most Performed Song
|"Truth Is"
|
|-
! scope="row"| 2006
|Soul Train Music Award
|Best Female R&B/Soul Album
|Free Yourself
|
|}
Commercial performance
Free Yourself debuted and peaked at number eight on the US Billboard 200 in the week ending November 12, 2004,
|style="text-align:center;"|11
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|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Year-end chart performance for Free Yourself
!scope="col"|Chart (2005)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
| 27
|-
!scope="row"|US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
| 7
|}