Exposed is the fourth studio album by American singer Chanté Moore. It was released by Silas Records and MCA Records on November 14, 2000, in the United States. Recorded between January and August 2000, the album saw Moore working with a range of new collaborators, including duo Tim & Bob, Bryan Michael Cox, and executive producer Jermaine Dupri whose sound took her work further into the contemporary R&B genre and introduced a more "edgy and street-oriented" emphasis to her music.
Upon release, Exposed earned largely positive reviews with most critics praising Moore's vocal performance while others criticised her shift in sound. It debuted and peaked at number fifty on the US Billboard 200 and became her second album to reach the top ten of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Exposed was preceded by its lead single "Straight Up", a top 20 success in Belgium and the United Kingdom. Further singles released from the album were "Bitter" and "Take Care of Me" featuring rapper Da Brat.
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Exposed has an average score of 66 based on 4 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[2] Steve Kurutz from Allmusic stated that Exposed "makes a bid to capture some of that trademark funkiness. Moore has a great set of pipes, a mix of the throaty take charge style of Toni Braxton and the soft vulnerability of Janet Jackson, an undeniable sexiness, and a real emotional conviction that lends the songs an authenticity absent in many current releases."[3]
Entertainment Weekly's Craig Seymour called the album a "sweet throwback to sophisticated '70s soul divas like Angela Bofill and Deniece Williams." He remarked that "sultry soprano Chanté Moore retains her poise and romanticism even while working with hip-hop producers like Jermaine Dupri and Tim & Bob."[4] Michael A. Gonzales from Vibe remarked that while "Moore has always been considered the perfect quiet-storm queen [...] Exposed attempts to change her good-girl image to that of a more world-weary woman."[7]Ebony editor Lynn Norment noted "Moore reveals more of herself and her heart on Exposed, which offers songs that declare female independence while asserting sensuality and sass."[8]
Less impressed, Adenike Adenitire from NME found that songs "such as "Take Care of Me", and "I'm Keepin' You", have a guarded and helpless feel to them. She sounds even less confident and seems to provide a glimpse of inner pain." Adenitire further added: "Trying to be something you are obviously not does have its downfalls, the main one being – true colours are never easy to hide."[5] In the December 30, 2000 issue of Billboard, contributor David Nathan listed Exposed at number three on his Critic's Choice year-end listing. He noted that the "long-awaited mainstream breakthrough album shows [Moore] can compete with the best of 'em'."[9]
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