The album earned largely mixed reviews from music critics, some of which felt that it was inferior to It debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, with first week sales of 51,000 units. Lessons in Love spawned several singles, including "Girls Around the World" which peaked at number 13 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It was Lloyd's last album to be released on The Inc. Records.
The album was originally to be titled Sexual Education but was later changed to Lessons in Love for a more suitable title.[1] Lloyd commented on the title in an interview with Blues & Soul: "The title concept derives from a schoolboy fantasy of mine, where I become a professor of a classroom full of gorgeous girls, and I feel the best thing I can give them that's really worth having is lessons in love!" he said about the issues worked into the tracks.[1] Following their participation on previous album Street Love (2007), the singer re-teamed with producers Big Reese and Jasper Cameron to work on the majority of the album, with additional production resulting from collaborations with Polow Da Don, Adonis Shropshire, James "JLack" Lackey, Oak Felder, and others.[1]
The first single, "How We Do It (Around My Way)" features rapper Ludacris, peaked at number seventy-seven on Billboard's US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[2] It also peaked at number seventy-five on the UK Singles Chart. "Girls Around the World" was the album's second single. It features the rapper Lil Wayne. The single was sent to US radio stations for airplay consideration on May 12, 2008.[3] It peaked at sixty-four on Billboard's Hot 100 and thirteen on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[4] The third and final single was "Year of the Lover". The single version featured rapper Plies. It only peaked at number one on the Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles. "I Can Change Your Life" was supposed to be the fourth single from the album, but was cancelled due to the lackluster chart performance of "Year of the Lover".
Lessons in Love received mixed or average reviews from critics. It holds a 60 out of 100 from Metacritic.[5] In his review for New York Daily News, Jim Farber wrote: "Lloyd comes off as randy, rather than skeevy, in part because his music avoids the low-down grind. By current R&B;'s slovenly standards, this is brisk stuff. But the crowning element remains Lloyd's light voice. His flutter offers just the right stroke."[10]HipHopDX critic Crystal Craboy felt that "even though his short but sweet LP borders on being too sexy for his young fan base, there is a saving grace that lies within. Lloyd sings of sexuality within the confines of true love, a concept his counterparts have all but forgotten. And that within itself, takes Lessons in Love to the top of its class."[16] Alex Macpherson from The Guardian felt that Lloyd "rarely strays far from a seducer's template, but the way in which he sells the cliche is compelling."[9]
Rolling Stone's Christian Hoard gave the album three out of five stars, saying, "Throughout Lessons in Love, Lloyd sounds like he's actually having fun dishing out come-ons, adding an emphatic exuberance to each one."[12]AllMusic editor Andy Kellman wrote that Lessons in Love "cannot be dismissed, but Lloyd will have to really change it up with his fourth album to evade a real holding pattern."[7] Sal Cinquemani, writing for Slant Magazine, remarked that Lessons in Love was "largely comprised of heavy-beated, midtempo ballads—a trend that is, admittedly, preferable to the schmaltzy AC ballads of the '90s and the drippy baby-makin’ jams of the recent past."[13]PopMatters noted hat "the greatest tragedy behind Lessons in Love is that the album’s sporadic moments of charm and promise make it incredibly tricky to dismiss Lloyd’s efforts altogether."[11]
Mark Edward Nero from About.com found that Lessons in Love was "not a complete waste of time, but unless you're a lovesick teenage girl, there aren't many songs that merit repeat listening. After breaking through with a very entertaining album last year, Lloyd has unfortunately taken a half-step back this time out."[6]Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson noted that Lloyd "is blessed with a bright, soulful falsetto — the kind of voice that can elevate even mediocre material. Unfortunately, he’s forced to demonstrate that talent all too often on his third LP Lessons in Love. For the most part, this is a bland blur of midtempo grooves and sub-R. Kelly metaphors."[8]New York Times critic Jon Caramanica called the album "disappointing." He found that "unlike its predecessor, which gave Lloyd's tender alto room to breathe, much of the production here is gooey and distracting, too dense for Lloyd to make a dent in."[17] Marguerite French of UGO Networks Lloyd's newest album has all of the fun and freaky elements of R&B [...] Still, the lyrics and concepts are often laughable [...] "Have My Baby" and "Love Making 101" are some bright points, but more often than not the album tips the balance away from poetic seduction and into an embarrassingly bare description of some very private things."[14]
Lessons in Love debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, with first week sales of 51,000 units.[18] It was Lloyd's second top ten album on the US Billboard 200 and his first to top the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[19]
