Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic is the twenty-third studio album by American recording artist Prince, who was at the time going by the unpronounceable "Love Symbol" (as shown on the album cover). Released on November 9, 1999 by NPG Records and Arista Records, the album was issued shortly after the release of The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (1999). It includes several guest appearances, including by Gwen Stefani, Eve, and Sheryl Crow; Prince also completed a cover of Crow's 1996 single "Everyday Is a Winding Road". A pop and R&B album, it departs from the soul genre found on Prince's previous efforts. The album received generally mixed reviews from critics, who enjoyed the guest appearances on the album, but were confused by Prince's attempts at harnessing the pop music market. Commercially, the album peaked at number eighteen in the United States and number five in Canada, becoming his most successful album in over three years, with similar results elsewhere. By the end of 1999, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album's first and only single, "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold", peaked at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the album's only song to chart. Second and third singles, duets "So Far, So Pleased" and "Hot Wit' U", were planned for released in summer 2000, but were both cancelled after the album's lukewarm commercial success. Instead, two promotional singles were released, "Baby Knows" and "Man'O'War". To promote the album, Prince hosted a pay-per-view event, entitled Rave Un2 the Year 2000 which would later be released on DVD. Background and release Development of the album began in 1988, under the working title Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic. However, when the recording and writing sessions proved to be unfruitful, the entire project was abandoned. A majority of the songs written for the album were originally made for Prince's previous works, such as Lovesexy (1988) and Graffiti Bridge (1990). In June 1998, Prince resumed the project, creating a "reworked" version of the title track, and enlisting help from other musicians, such as Gwen Stefani, Eve, and Sheryl Crow. Recording sessions took place in Prince's hometown of Chanhassen, Minnesota at Paisley Park Studios, as well as at Electric Lady Studios and O'Henry Sound Studios, both in California. The production for the record concluded in September 1999, nearing two months to its scheduled release date. A