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Love Behind the Melody
Love Behind the Melody
Studio album by Raheem DeVaughn
Released	January 15, 2008
Length	65:51
Label	Jive; Zomba;
Producer	Mark Batson; Blaq Smurph; Carvin & Ivan; Bryan-Michael Cox; Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez; Kwamé; One Up Entertainment; Jack Splash; Scott Storch; Chucky Thompson;
Raheem DeVaughn chronology
Singles from Love Behind the Melody
	"Woman"; Released: September 25, 2007; "Customer"; Released: 2008; "Text Messages"; Released: 2008;

Love Behind the Melody is the second studio album by American R&B singer Raheem DeVaughn. It was released on January 15, 2008 through Jive Records. The album was preceded by three singles, "Woman", "Customer" and "Text Messages".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100^[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	^[2]
Allmusic	^[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[4]
PopMatters	8/10^[5]
USA Today	^[6]

Upon its release, Love Behind the Melody received rave reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 83, which indicates "universal acclaim," based on nine reviews.^[1]

AllMusic editor Andy Kellman called the album "a significant improvement over The Love Experience in every respect – somehow displaying an increase in both modesty and ambition, as well as offering a more refined yet bolder set of material. Whether or not DeVaughn goes gold, you can bank on at least a couple major R&B artists going into the studio throughout the remainder of 2008 wanting to come out with something as hot and imaginative as this."^[3] Steve Jones form USA Today wrote that DeVaughn's "airy vocals recall vintage R&B stars, while contemporary hip-hop and rock flavors along with artful, insightful lyrics on love and life create an intriguing sound. Over the years, the Washington, D.C., native has built an impressive word-of-mouth reputation with his live shows. Melody should give a broader audience an idea what the talk’s all about."^[6] Ebony's Shirley Henderson noted that the album was "laced with strong guitar performances and messages of social consciousness."^[7]

In his review for Vibe, Keith Murphy found that "DeVaughn does come to his senses to deliver the type of grown and love-starved balladry he excels at on the alluring "Desire," a slow cut that owes more to the romanticism of Will Downing than today’s lay-and-slay R&B male vocalists [...] Finally, the lover-man is back."^[8] The Boston Globe found that "after his 2005 debut, DeVaughn ups the ante with a sprawling effort that works as a showcase for his lush vocals. In an era of studio-created voices, this is a step-back-and-listen-to-him-blow disc."^[9] The New York Times critic Kelefa Sanneh called DeVaughn "a slow-jam specialist with a mellow voice and a restrained approach." While she dismissed Kenny Dope's contributions to the album as "meandering," she praised DeVaughn for his influences, writing that he "borrows judiciously from Prince, Marvin Gaye and others, relying on his voice to keep the songs on track. Even when he’s promising to “shut the club down," his delivery promises something calmer and sweeter than a wild night out."^[10]

Chart performance

Love Behind the Melody debuted and peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200, selling about 45,000 copies in its first week.^[11] It also debuted atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.^[12]

Track listing

*Love Behind the Melody* track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Hello Love (Intro)"	Raheem DeVaughn James Preston Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez	Gonzalez	0:59
2.	"Woman"	DeVaughn Carl "Chucky" Thompson	Thompson	4:28
3.	"Love Drug"	DeVaughn Scott Storch	Storch	4:58
4.	"Energy" (featuring Big Boi)	DeVaughn Antwan Patton Storch	Storch	3:24
5.	"Friday (Shut The Club Down)"	DeVaughn Kwamé Holland Smokey Robinson Ronald White	Kwamé	3:39
6.	"Customer"	DeVaughn Ivan Barias Carvin Haggins Johnnie "Smurf" Smith Kristal Oliver	Carvin & Ivan	4:05
7.	"Mo' Better"	DeVaughn Jack Splash	Splash	7:39
8.	"Woman I Desire (Interlude)" (featuring Malik Yusef)	DeVaughn Yusef Preston Gonzalez	Gonzalez	2:14
9.	"Desire"	DeVaughn Selan Lerner Gonzalez	Gonzalez	5:29
10.	"Midnight (Interlude)"	DeVaughn Preston Gonzalez	Gonzalez	1:30
11.	"Marathon" (featuring Floetry)	DeVaughn Natalie Stewart Lerner Gonzalez	Gonzalez	5:45
12.	"Butterflies"	DeVaughn Mark Batson	Batson	3:10
13.	"She's Not You"	DeVaughn Rich Shelton Kevin Veney Loren Hill	One Up Entertainment	4:14
14.	"Can We Try Again? (Interlude)"	DeVaughn Preston Gonzalez	Gonzalez	0:52
15.	"Try Again"	DeVaughn Batson	Batson	3:36
16.	"Empty"	DeVaughn Bryan-Michael Cox	Cox	4:50
17.	"Four Letter Word"	DeVaughn Courtney Dwight	Blaq Smurph	4:45
Total length:				65:51

Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)^[13]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"Text Messages"	DeVaughn B.D. Terry C. Lewis Clarence Williams Jerry Vines John Davis N. Bain	Big Bob Capt'n Curt Chris Symfonikz	3:23
19.	"Customer (Remix)" (featuring R. Kelly)	DeVaughn Barias Haggins Smith Oliver	Carvin & Ivan	4:01
20.	"Rich Girls" (featuring Too Short)	DeVaughn Todd Shaw Batson	Batson	3:33
21.	"Woman" (music video)			3:56
22.	"Interview"

Reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"Text Messages"	DeVaughn Terry Lewis Williams Vines Davis Bain	Big Bob Capt'n Curt Chris Symfonikz	3:23
19.	"Customer (Remix)" (featuring R. Kelly)	DeVaughn Barias Haggins Smith Oliver	Carvin & Ivan	4:01