Full Circle (Boyz II Men album)

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Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	54/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Blender	[4]
Dotmusic	7/10[5]
E!	C–[6]
Entertainment Weekly	C[7]
The Guardian	[8]
Q	[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Slant Magazine	[11]

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Full Circle received mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 54 based on eight reviews.^[2] Britt Robson from The Washington Post observed that Boyz II Men signal a return to form on Full Circle, embracing a "tried and true" approach. She suggested the album reflects maturity, arguing the group focuses on deepening rather than broadening their established style.^[12] Writing for Dotmusic, Diana Evans described the album as "decent" with "flawless vocals, opulent harmonies, and easy, reliable melodies," though "not extraordinary." She praised the ballads as effective while criticizing some uptempo tracks as "trying too hard," concluding it is "good, value-for-money stuff" but unlikely to elevate their legacy further.^[5] BBC critic Buki Bakare described Full Circle as a "return to form" to restore their "signature style." He concluded that the album overall "reaffirms the group's position as leading practitioners of romantic R&B," delivering “quality material for both longtime fans and general audiences."^[13]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted that the album mixes "early-'80s funk-influenced hip-hop" with "adult contemporary balladry," but said it "doesn't mesh particularly well." He added the material is "well-sung" yet "not particularly distinguished," concluding it is "pleasant enough" but "not that memorable," and "quite a disappointment."^[3] Similarly, Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani wrote that Full Circle "doesn't exactly transport" them back to earlier successes, though it reunites them with Babyface and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. He noted its "typical R&B" lyrics and said attempts to modernize are "hit or miss," with efforts to fit in causing their style to "blend away."^[11] More critical assessments came from Dave Simpson of The Guardian, who said the album "barely deviates" from their formula and is "immaculate" yet "soullessly produced,"^[8] and Entertainment Weekly's Jon Caramanica who found the material "garishly produced and lyrically insipid," arguing it portrays the group "in decline."^[7] Writing for Rolling Stone, Ernest Hardy similarly similarly criticized the album as "top-heavy on slow-groove laments" with "sophomoric" lyrics and a "slightly dated" production, noting the group's "creative rut" and concluding the album "only digs them in deeper."^[10]

In February 2003, Boyz II Men were nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for R&B/Soul Album Group, Band or Duo for Full Circle.^[14]

Full Circle achieved moderate commercial success worldwide. In the United States, the album opened and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 83,000 units.^[15] It marked Boyz II Men's fifth top ten entry on the chart.^[16] The album also reached number 5 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.^[17] By October 2011, Full Circle had sold 350,000 copies domestically.^[18]

Internationally, it entered the top 30 in several countries, including Canada (number 29),^[19] Germany (number 29),^[20] and Japan (number 11),^[21] while also charting in France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Australia.^[22] On genre-specific charts, the album performed well on the Canadian R&B Albums chart (number 6) and the UK R&B Albums chart (number 13). ^[23][24]

Sample credits

• "Woman Don't Cry" contains replayed elements from "Lean On Me" (1972) as written and performed by Bill Withers.