Billboard Review: "Like You'll Never See Me Again"
Alicia Keys' early body of work sometimes had a tendency to paint her as precious chanteuse, sounding self-consciously "important" and measured. With "No One," the opening bid from fourth album "As I Am," out Nov. 13, the 27-year-old began to act her age, loosening up and delivering a youthful hit drenched with soul-soaked effervescence and a cool beat as appealing to the kids as the Sunday champagne-brunch crowd. Sure enough, it topped the R&B/hip-hop singles chart and reached the top five at top 40. "Like You'll Never See Me Again" is also appreciably less polished, with a series of riffs packed with such genuine emotion, you can visualize Keys waving her arm to the heavens in the studio. Production with Kerry Brothers, who accompanies the majority of tracks on the new disc, adds playful bells that sound like raindrops, finger snaps—and enough creamy harmonies to remind that
Keys, no matter how loose, is the premier R&B female talent of our time. A year from now, the singles will still be popping from this project. —Chuck Taylor