"The Real Thing" is the eighth studio album by American recording artist Vanessa Williams, released on June 2, 2009 on Concord Records. It features productions by Keith Thomas, Kenneth Edmonds, Rob Mathes, Rex Rideout, and Guy Sigsworth, and songs written by Stevie Wonder and Babyface. The Real Thing achieved moderate success, peaking at #91 on the Billboard 200. It also reached #1 on the Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, #2 on the Top Jazz Albums chart and #36 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The four singles lifted from the album were "Breathless", "Just Friends", "Close To You" and "The Real Thing." "The Real Thing" was originally intended to be a "Brazilian-type" record. However, when Vanessa Williams contacted Babyface for the album production, it was revealed the album would have a more R&B sound. She considered the album a combination of different influences, such as classical, jazz and latin music. The Real Thing was also produced by Keith Thomas, Rob Mathes and Rex Rideout, and features songs written by Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Bebel Gilberto, Phil Galdston, and Babyface. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.