A Girl Like Me (Emma Bunton album)

Last updated

A Girl Like Me
Emma Bunton - A Girl Like Me album cover.png
Studio album by
Emma Bunton
Released16 April 2001 (2001-04-16)
RecordedJuly 1999 – October 2000
Studio
Length45:40
Label Virgin
Producer
Emma Bunton chronology
A Girl Like Me
(2001)		 Free Me
(2004)
Singles from A Girl Like Me
  1. "What Took You So Long?"
    Released: 2 April 2001
  2. "Take My Breath Away"
    Released: 27 August 2001
  3. "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight"
    Released: 10 December 2001

A Girl Like Me is the debut solo studio album by English singer Emma Bunton, released on 16 April 2001 by Virgin Records. Following the release of the Spice Girls' third studio album, Forever (2000), the group announced that they were beginning an indefinite hiatus and would be concentrating on their solo careers in regards to their foreseeable future. [1] Recording sessions for Bunton's first solo album took place from July 1999 to October 2000 at several recording studios.

Contents

A Girl Like Me debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, selling 21,500 copies in its first week. The album spawned three singles: "What Took You So Long?" (which topped the charts in the United Kingdom and New Zealand), "Take My Breath Away" and "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight". The album also features Bunton's collaboration with Tin Tin Out, a cover of "What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. On 7 September 2001, A Girl Like Me was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. [2]

Promotion

A Girl Like Me was preceded by lead single "What Took You So Long?." A pop rock song about men taking longer than women to realise they are in love, it was commercially released in the United Kingdom on 2 April 2001, in two single versions. [3] Initial reviews of "What Took You So Long?" from critics were mostly positive, many of whom praised the song's melody and Bunton's vocal delivery. [4] It debuted at the top of the UK Singles Chart, with sales of 76,000 copies. [5] This made Bunton the fourth member of the Spice Girls to top the chart as a solo artist. [6] It spent two weeks at number one and three weeks inside the top 10, [7] ending at the 41th position on the 2001 year-end chart. [5] The song was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in April 2001. [2]

"Take My Breath Away," co-written and produced by Steve Mac, was issued as the album's second single on 27 August 2001. It reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and became a top twenty hit in Italy. [5] Critical reception towards the song was fairly positive, with NME describing it as "pure summer in a bottle." [8] "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight," co-written and produced by Rhett Lawrence, was released as the album's third and final single on 10 December 2001. It debuted and peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the album's lowest-peaking single. [5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Chart Attack 2.5/5 [10]
NME 6/10 [8]

A Girl Like Me garnered a lukewarm reception from music critics, who praised its catchy songs, but were critical of its generic nature. Deborah J Elliot of Musical Discoveries was positive about the album, calling it a " very nice listen" that showed Bunton "growing out of her pig tails from the days of the Spice Girls, into a grown woman", and singled out the singles as well as the tracks "Better Be Careful", "High on Love", "A World Without You", "Been There, Done That" and "Spell It Out" for praise. [11] Ian Wade of Dotmusic was also positive towards the album: he praised tracks such as the lead single, "Better Be Careful" and "A World Without You", but was critical of the more R&B cuts such "Been There, Done That". In the end, he concluded: "Overall, A Girl Like Me, is a thoroughly likeable affair, much like Emma herself, and should put an end to her enforced toddlerism Baby years once and for all". [12]

Stewart Mason of AllMusic felt that Bunton's singing voice lacked depth but that it worked with the well-crafted and addictive pop songs, concluding that it "isn't an album for the ages, but it's better than 'not bad.'" [9] Timothy Park of NME gave the album a 6/10 rating. He said that there were great tracks such as "Take My Breath Away" and "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" that Bunton performs adequately, but concluded that "A Girl Like Me, like Emma, is very sweet but, like Emma also, it has no balls." [8] Erik Missio of Chart Attack said he saw promise in the album but felt disappointed by its attempts to resemble the Spice Girls' sound. [10] Stephen Robinson of Hot Press criticised the tracks for being overly sweet and borrowing from other genres but being unoriginal with them, calling it "another album to chuck aboard the pop blandwagon." [13]

In a retrospective article about the album, Quentin Harrison of Albumism wrote: "Behind Bunton’s ever-sunny disposition is the mind of a mature songstress capable of operating comfortably within the confines of a superpower like the Spice Girls or breaking out by herself. Regarding the latter point, it all began with A Girl Like Me, an understated blueprint to the fetching adult pop approach that Bunton wielded to consolidate a staunch, cross-generational, record buying base over the course of her next three albums." [14]

Commercial performance

A Girl Like Me debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart in the week ending 28 April 2001, selling 21,500 copies in its first week. [15] On 7 September 2001, the album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. [2] It became the 147th best-selling album in the United Kingdom for 2001. [16] Lukewarm sales of A Girl Like Me ultimately led to Bunton losing her contract with Virgin Records in 2002. [17]

Track listing

A Girl Like Me track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."What Took You So Long?"
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
3:59
2."Take My Breath Away"
Mac3:34
3."A World Without You"
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
4:53
4."High on Love"
  • Bunton
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
  • Harrington
  • Ash Howes
  • Sharon Murphy
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
3:49
5."A Girl Like Me"
  • Bunton
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
4:01
6."Spell It O.U.T."
Frampton3:12
7."Sunshine on a Rainy Day"
 Tin Tin Out 4:17
8."Been There, Done That"
  • Bunton
  • Frampton
  • Braide
Frampton3:05
9."Better Be Careful"
  • Bunton
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
  • Harrington
  • Howes
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
3:19
10."We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight"
Lawrence3:23
11."She Was a Friend of Mine"
  • Bunton
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
3:34
12."What I Am" (with Tin Tin Out)
Tin Tin Out4:34
Total length:45:40

Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of A Girl Like Me. [18]

Musicians

  • Emma Bunton – vocals
  • Ash Howes – programming (tracks 1, 4)
  • Steve Mac – arrangement (track 2)
  • Ulf Forsberg – string concertmaster (track 3)
  • Henrik Janson – string arrangements, string conducting (track 3)
  • Ulf Janson – string arrangements, string conducting (track 3)
  • Simon Hale – string arrangements (tracks 4, 9); brass arrangements (track 9)
  • StoneBridge – keyboards (track 5)
  • Andrew Frampton – arrangement, string arrangements (track 6)
  • Chris Braide – arrangement (tracks 6, 8)
  • Nick Ingman – string arrangements (track 6)
  • Lawrence Johnson – additional vocal arrangement (track 7)
  • Rhett Lawrence – arrangement, programming, guitar (track 10)
  • Ramón Stagnaro – guitar (track 10)

Technical

  • Richard "Biff" Stannard – production (tracks 1, 4, 9)
  • Julian Gallagher – production (tracks 1, 4, 9)
  • Ash Howes – recording (tracks 1, 4, 9); mixing (track 4); engineering (tracks 4, 9)
  • Alvin Sweeney – additional recording, Pro Tools (track 1); additional engineering (tracks 4, 9)
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (track 1)
  • Jan "Stan" Kybert – mix engineering, Pro Tools (track 1)
  • Matt Fields – mixing assistance (track 1)
  • Steve Mac – production, mixing (track 2)
  • Chris Laws – engineering (track 2)
  • Evan Rogers – production (tracks 3, 5, 11)
  • Carl Sturken – production (tracks 3, 5, 11)
  • Al Hemberger – engineering (tracks 3, 5, 11)
  • Mick Guzauski – mixing (track 3)
  • Tom Bender – mixing assistance (track 3)
  • Stefan Boman – string engineering (track 3)
  • StoneBridge – additional production, mixing (track 5)
  • Andrew Frampton – production (tracks 6, 8)
  • Daniel Frampton – engineering (tracks 6, 8)
  • Brad Gilderman – mixing (tracks 6, 8, 11)
  • Steve Price – string recording (track 6)
  • Tin Tin Out – production, mixing (tracks 7, 12)
  • Rhett Lawrence – production, recording engineering, mixing (track 10)
  • Jason Bonilla – recording engineering (track 10)
  • Will Catterson – recording engineering (track 10)
  • Evan Lloyd – engineering assistance (track 10)
  • Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado – mixing (track 10)
  • Dylan "3D" Dresdow – mixing (track 10)

Artwork

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for A Girl Like Me
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [29] Gold35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [2] Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

A Girl Like Me release history
RegionDateLabel
United Kingdom16 April 2001 Virgin
Australia14 May 2001 EMI

Notes

  1. ↑ Tracks 1, 4 and 9
  2. ↑ Track 2
  3. ↑ Tracks 3, 5 and 11
  4. ↑ Strings on track 3
  5. ↑ Tracks 6 and 8
  6. ↑ Track 7
  7. ↑ Track 10
  8. ↑ Track 12

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References

  1. ↑ "Spice Girls dismiss comeback plan". BBC News . 18 February 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "British album certifications – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". British Phonographic Industry. 7 September 2001.
  3. ↑ "Emma Bunton - What Took You So Long?". Smash Hits. No. 583. EMAP. 4 April 2001. p. 55. ISSN   0260-3004.
  4. ↑ Robinson, Peter (12 September 2005). "Reviews: Emma Bunton: What Took You So Long?". NME. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Myers, Justin (14 April 2016). "Number 1 this week in 2001: Emma Bunton's debut solo single hits the Top". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  6. ↑ "Bunton celebrates solo success". BBC Online. 8 April 2001. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  7. ↑ "The Official Charts Company – Emma Bunton – What Took You So Long?". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Mark, Timothy (18 April 2001). "Emma Bunton : A Girl Like Me". NME . Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  9. 1 2 Mason, Stewart. "A Girl Like Me – Emma Bunton". AllMusic . Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  10. 1 2 Missio, Erik (16 April 2001). "Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Chart Attack . Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ↑ Elliot, Deborah J. "Review Digest - Review of A Girl Like Me at Musical Discoveries". Musical Discoveries. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  12. ↑ Wade, Ian. "EMMA BUNTON - 'A GIRL LIKE ME' (VIRGIN)". Dotmusic. Archived from the original on 20 June 2001. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  13. ↑ Robinson, Stephen (26 April 2001). "A Girl Like Me". Hot Press . Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  14. ↑ Harrison, Quentin. "Emma Bunton's Debut Solo Album 'A Girl Like Me' Turns 20 | Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  15. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  16. 1 2 "UK Year-End Charts 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus . p. 6. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  17. ↑ "Spice Girls dismiss comeback plan". BBC News. 13 February 2003. Archived from the original on 23 May 2004. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  18. ↑ A Girl Like Me (liner notes). Emma Bunton. Virgin Records. 2001. LC03098.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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  22. ↑ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 18, no. 19. 5 May 2001. p. 20. OCLC   29800226 – via World Radio History.
  23. ↑ "Emma Bunton: A Girl Like Me" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
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  25. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
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  27. ↑ "Charts.nz – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  28. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  29. ↑ "ARIA Hitseekers – Week Commencing 25th June 2001" (PDF). The ARIA Report (591): 16. 25 June 2001. Retrieved 31 July 2019– via National Library of Australia.
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