Kaleidoscope is the debut studio album by American singer Kelis. It was released on December 7, 1999, by Virgin Records, and was produced entirely by the Neptunes. Despite underperforming in the United States, the album saw mild success in certain international markets, including the United Kingdom, where it charted at number 43 and was certified gold.
Kaleidoscope was reissued on February 21, 2020, in celebration of its 20th anniversary. The extended digital release features edits and club remixes, including a Neptunes extended remix of "Caught Out There". The physical edition was pressed to translucent orange vinyl and was released in a two-set on March 6, 2020.
Critical reception
Kaleidoscope received widespread acclaim from music critics. AllMusic editor Jaime Sunao Ikeda remarked that the album "showcases the development of a great talent [...] It's when Kelis and her production team create tracks that best fit her voice and uniqueness that the end results are outstanding. Although comparisons to Neneh Cherry are inevitable, she does carve out a niche for herself, armed with undeniable talent." NME called Kaleidoscope a "futuristic, visionary, multi-layered work of R&B, funk, soul and rap, furnished with an inspirational, psychedelic spirituality, rarely seen but desperately needed in these cynical times" and concluded: "Uplifting, magical, genre-bending music, if there’s a better debut album this year, bring it on. We need more like this."
Commercial performance and singles
Kaleidoscope peaked at number 144 on the Billboard 200, and as of November 2006, it had sold 249,000 copies in the United States. The album fared better in Europe, where all three singles—"Caught Out There", "Good Stuff", and "Get Along with You"—attained moderate commercial success. Kaleidoscope reached number 43 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). "Caught Out There" was given a proper release in the UK, eventually peaking at number four. "Good Stuff" also proved a modest success, reaching number 19 on the UK chart.
Track listing
Sample credits
- "Ghetto Children" contains elements from "Hey Young World" by Slick Rick.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Kaleidoscope.
Musicians
- Kelis – vocals
- The Neptunes – instruments, arrangements
- Terrar – vocals
- Markita – vocals
- Marc Dorsey – vocals
- N.E.R.D – vocals
- Justin Vince – vocals
- Nicole Wray – background vocals
- Kenny Wray – background vocals
Technical
- The Neptunes – production, executive production
- Dave Hummel – engineering
- Andrew Coleman – engineering
- Şerban Ghenea – mixing
- Ken "Duro" Ifill – mixing
- Rob Walker – executive production
Artwork
- Len Peltier – art direction
- A³DTB / D Thom Bissett – design
- Me Company – hummingbird character and logo
- Jonathan Mannion – photography
- Steven Klein – photography
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for Kaleidoscope
! scope="col"| Chart (2000)
! scope="col"| Peak<br/>position
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! scope="row"|Australian Charts (ARIA)
|style="text-align:center;"|136
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! scope="row"|Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
|style="text-align:center;"|26
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Certifications
Release history
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Release history for Kaleidoscope
! scope="col"| Region
! scope="col"| Date
! scope="col"| Label
! scope="col"|
|-
! scope="row"| United States
| December 7, 1999
| rowspan="2"| Virgin
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row"| United Kingdom
| February 28, 2000
| align="center"|
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! scope="row"| New Zealand
| March 6, 2000
| rowspan="3"| EMI
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row"| Japan
| March 8, 2000
| align="center"|
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! scope="row"| Australia
| April 17, 2000
| align="center"|
|}