While recording the album, Kelly coached her as they worked several hours in the studio. She often sang the songs multiple times in order to achieve "excellence". When discussing the hectic hours recording the album Aaliyah said, "We put in a lot of hours; as far as the music, we’d be in there all night making sure it was perfect. There were times when I was tired, but I knew I had to push on if I wanted to come off.” Kelly claimed that Aaliyah was "one of the best young artists" he had worked with. During the recording process for the album the record label was out of the loop in regards to the type of songs that was being recorded. Executives from the label didn't hear the album until it was finished and they were impressed with the finished product. Sledge said "When we finally heard the album we were blown away because the album was dope. It was basically like listening to an R. Kelly album, but with a little girl singing". The original release date for the album was June 14, but due to the instant success of the lead single's accompanying video on MTV it prompted the label to release the album earlier on May 24.