"She cites The Velvet Rope as her favorite Janet Jackson album and seems to have learned from other mononymous R&B women who followed Jackson -- from Aaliyah to Cassie to Ciara -- yet she's too much her own artist to be dismissed as a sound-alike ... Mostly low-lit, slinking in tempo, and stitched together with several interludes, its obvious touchstones seem to be The Velvet Rope and the 1993 album that preceded it, though it's a track from 1986's Control, "Funny How Time Flies," that is used as the basis for "How Many Times." It's one of many bedroom slow jams that reward repeated listening. They're all laced with small details, subtle twists, and gradual intensification, exemplified by "Cold Sweat," a ballad seemingly composed with a group of at least four members in mind for its array of vocals".