Characters is the twenty-first studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released in late 1987 on Tamla Records. The album features six singles, including the Grammy-nominated "Skeletons" (No. 19) and "You Will Know" (No. 77), which both reached number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart (the former being the most-recent American top-40 hit of Wonder's career). The album also contained a duet with Michael Jackson, "Get It" (No. 80), that was a minor hit.
Highly anticipated like his last album, 1985's In Square Circle, Characters debuted at number one on the US Billboard Top R&B Albums chart for seven weeks, while peaking at No. 17 on the US Billboard 200. With this, Characters became Wonder's first album since Music of My Mind not to reach the top 10 of the charts. In the UK, it also fared less well, reaching only No. 33, the first album to miss the top 20 since Music of My Mind, which had failed to chart in 1972.
What is more, Characters featured three singles that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 â "Get It" (No. 80) (duet with Michael Jackson), "Skeletons" (No. 19), and the ballad "You Will Know" (No. 77) â with each of these songs being hits on the Billboard R&B singles charts, along with two other singles: "My Eyes Don't Cry" (No. 6, R&B) and "With Each Beat of My Heart" (No. 28, R&B). The album's final single, "Free", hit No. 49 on the UK Pop Singles chart.
With an Aâ Robert Christgau of the Village Voice wrote: "Nine lines in, he assumes the voice of God to assure sufferers that everything's gonna be all right, and instantly you lose heart. But then his chronic self-importance disappears--the worst it gets is spacy, and Stevie can make spacy a trip when he's on. Which he definitely is--melodically, rhythmically, emotionally, politically, sonically."
Lynn Van Matre of the Chicago Tribune wrote: "There are no big surprises here, just plenty of the polished, assured mix of pop, soul and funk that has kept Wonder on the charts for nearly 25 years...Wonder wrote, arranged and produced all of the songs with the exception of 'Dark `n` Lovely,' about the situation in South Africa, which features lyrics by Gary Byrd. While there is the occasional lush ballad, more of the songs are uptempo, with lots of percussive punch."
David Wild of Rolling Stone in a 3/5 stars review claimed that "even if Characters isn't quite up to the level of Wonder's best work, it is still an undeniable pleasure to have him communicating his compelling inner visions to the rest of us."
Jon Pareles of The New York Times noted: "The Characters concept is a flexible one; liner notes say it involves people's characters, written characters and the character of being positive. In practice, the lyrics are about various people â as Mr. Wonder's songs have been since he came into his own with Music of My Mind in 1972. Regardless, the concept embraces some fine songs."
Robert K. Oermann of USA Today also ranked this album at No. 28 on his list of 1987's top 50 R&B albums.
Characters earned Wonder three Grammy Award nominations in 1988âÂÂ89. The album's first single, "Skeletons", received two nominations for Best R&B Song and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 30th Grammy Awards, losing to "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers, and Smokey Robinson's "Just to See Her" respectively. Characters received a nomination at the 31st Grammy Awards for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, losing to Terence Trent D'Arby's debut album Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby.
To promote the album, Wonder performed a one-hour Characters special on MTV, in which he also performed unreleased material as well as a duet with Stevie Ray Vaughan.
All songs written by Stevie Wonder, except "Dark 'n' Lovely" (lyrics by Gary Byrd, music by Wonder).
Note: On cassette pressings, "Come Let Me Make Your Love Come Down" is moved to track six, closing side one.