The album was released by Motown Records, Jackson's second studio album for the label as a solo artist, in August 1972. As part of promotion for the album, "Ben" was released as the album's lead and only single in July 1972. "Ben" was a commercial success worldwide, generally charting within the top 10 and top 20 positions on the music charts. The song peaked at number 1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, which was Jackson's first, of what would be 13 songs, to top that chart during his career as a solo artist. "Ben" also charted on "Billboard"s Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number 3 and 5. "Ben" charted within the top 10 on the Dutch Top 40 chart, peaking at number 2 and number 7 on the U.K. Singles Chart, as well as charting at number 14 in Australia. "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" was planned to be released as the second single from the album, but was cancelled for unspecified reasons.