Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter K. Michelle. It was released on December 9, 2014, through Atlantic Records, as the follow-up to her debut studio album Rebellious Soul (2013). Primarily an R&B album, it incorporates elements of pop and country music, with lyrics exploring love, heartbreak, and romantic relationships. Michelle worked with several producers on the album, including Pop & Oak, Eric Hudson, Lil' Ronnie, and Shea Taylor.
Three singles were released from Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?: "Love 'Em All", "Maybe I Should Call", and "Hard to Do". The lead single, "Love 'Em All", was released on September 16, 2014, and peaked at number 35 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Maybe I Should Call" was released on November 3, 2014, followed by "Hard to Do" on March 31, 2015. To further promote the album, Michelle embarked on the My Twisted Mind Tour, which began on February 5, 2015, in San Francisco and continued through the United States.
Upon its release, Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? received generally positive reviews from music critics. Commercially, the album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200, with 87,000 album-equivalent units earned in its first week, including more than 84,000 copies sold. It also debuted at number two on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Background and development
Michelle released her debut studio album Rebellious Soul on August 13, 2013. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In February 2014, she released Still No Fucks Given, a 26-track mixtape hosted by DJ Sense and a follow-up to her earlier mixtape 0 Fucks Given. She also opened for Robin Thicke on the North American leg of his Blurred Lines Tour and collaborated with actor Idris Elba, who directed The Rebellious Soul Musical, a VH1 special featuring songs from her debut album that aired in August 2014. While discussing her forthcoming second album in October, Michelle described herself as a classically trained pianist who also played guitar, produced and composed music, and said the project would include country and acousticrecordings alongside her other material. For months, Michelle used the hashtag #AWBAH without initially revealing its meaning. On October 29, she announced that the initials stood for Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?. Pre-orders for the album began on November 3, alongside the premiere of her VH1 reality television series K. Michelle: My Life. In a December interview with Billboard, Michelle described the album as different from Rebellious Soul, while The Washington Post reported that she had said the project was inspired by her relationship with Elba.
Singles
"Love 'Em All" was released on September 16, 2014, as the lead single from Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?. Its music video premiered via VH1 on November 3, and features Michelle performing choreography with a chair and backup dancers, dancing among male mannequins, and singing from a throne. The song peaked at number 35 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, number 13 on its Hot R&B Songs chart, and number 26 on its R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.
"Maybe I Should Call" was released on November 3, 2014, as the album's second single and made available as an instant download with pre-orders of the album. Its lyric video premiered on November 10, followed by the official music video on November 17. Directed by Iren Sheffield Brown, the short film depicts Michelle as an unseen presence observing a former partner as he builds a new life with another woman and their baby. She appears in their car, at their dinner table, and in their bedroom before awakening alone.
"Hard to Do" was released as to urban radio as the third single on March 31, 2015. Its Child Basquiat-directed music video, which premiered on May 18, features Michelle in various outfits alongside a zebra and flamingos, including a bathtub scene and a sequence in which she rolls in mud with a female companion. The song peaked at number 23 on Billboard's Hot R&B Songs chart and number 43 on its R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.
Other songs
"How Do You Know?" was released on November 17, 2014, as the first promotional single and made available as an instant download to customers who pre-ordered the album. The second promotional single, "Going Under" followed on November 24 as another pre-release from the album.
The music video for "Something About the Night" premiered on December 9, 2014, the day the album was released. Directed by Child Basquiat, the cinematic video depicts Michelle performing as a nightclub singer in a period setting inspired by Billie Holiday and the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues. The story opens with her drinking before a performance and follows her onstage with a live band and backing singers.
Upon its release, Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? received positive reviews. The Washington Post called it "a great album", stating that K. Michelle "continues to distinguish herself from her reality television peers, who seem to stay in the studio but never release music — let alone good music." Billboard deemed it one of 2014's best R&B albums, writing, "There's a serrated ferocity to K. Michelle that sends her songs past saccharine territory and into compelling unstable territory."
Complex rated the album 3.5 stars out of 5: "...[W]hile it may have taken her longer than she'd like to make this known, it cannot be denied any longer: K. Michelle is leaps and bounds ahead of many of her peers." Rolling Stone listed Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? as one of the top 20 R&B albums of 2014. The Philadelphia Inquirer gave Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? 3.5 of our four stars, writing, "...[t]his powerhouse tenor vocalist, pianist, and songwriter also is capable of great tenderness, nuance, and understatement."
Commercial performance
Upon its release, Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? reached number one on iTunes' R&B/Soul Albums chart. The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart dated December 27, 2014, earning 87,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, including 84,117 copies sold. It also debuted at number two on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it Michelle's second consecutive number-one album on the chart. The album also peaked at number one on Billboard's Top R&B Albums chart. The album achieved the highest-selling first-week debut for a female R&B artist in the United States in 2014.
