Bring It On | |
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Studio album by Alistair Griffin | |
Released | 12 January 2004 |
Recorded | 2003 |
Genre | Pop |
Label | UMTV |
Producer | Danny Schogger, Deacon Smith, Ian Curnow |
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
The Guardian |
Bring It On is the debut album by British singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin. Released in January 2004 on the UMTV label, it reached #12 in the UK album charts.
Alistair Richard Griffin is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Already an established songwriter, he first became famous as a solo artist through his appearances on the BBC television show Fame Academy 2 in 2003, where he was mentored by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. He subsequently had two top twenty hit singles and a top twenty album in the UK.
The album consists mainly of original songs written or co-written by Griffin, together with the three most popular covers he had sung live on Fame Academy 2 . Also included is the duet of "My Lover's Prayer", featuring Robin Gibb. "A Heart Can't Lie" was co-written with Louise Griffiths, a fellow Fame Academy contestant.
Robin Hugh Gibb was a British singer, songwriter and record producer, who gained worldwide fame as a member of the pop group the Bee Gees. Their younger brother Andy was also a singer. Robin Gibb also had his own successful solo career.
Louise Griffiths is an English singer, songwriter, model and actress.
Bring It On received mixed reviews, with some critics dismissing it as a product of manufactured reality pop, even though most of the songs had actually been written before Griffin entered the show. Despite being criticised for its bland production, Bring It On was variously described as "ludicrously catchy", "polished pop" and "so cheesy that it is actually cool somehow". Most praised the quality of the songwriting, with one reviewer commenting "...he has come up with a debut that is better than those of his contemporaries. There's no pouting, no worthiness, just gentle pop songs about the flush of first love and the warmth of summer romance.."
Two of Griffin's own compositions have also been covered by Dutch artists; "You and Me" appears on the #1 album Impressed previously released in 2003 by Jim Bakkum, runner-up in the Dutch series of Pop Idol , and "Hungry For Love" became a hit single for rock band Di-rect in the Netherlands in 2005.
Jimmy Johannes Bakkum is a Dutch singer, actor, stage actor and television personality. Rising to nationwide fame after becoming runner-up in the first season of Dutch singing competition series Idols, he has released five albums and made a career in musicals and film. In television, he appeared in a Dutch version of Dancing with the Stars, which he won.
Di-rect is a rock band from The Hague, the Netherlands, which was formed in 1999. The current line-up consists of Jamie Westland (drums), Frans "Spike" van Zoest (guitars), Bas van Wageningen (bass) and Marcel Veenendaal.
"In Your Smile" and "Feeling Alive", featuring Griffin as guest vocalist, appear on Ultra's second studio album, The Sun Shines Brighter , released October 2006.
The Sun Shines Brighter is the second studio album from English band Ultra, released in October 2006, seven years after their debut album Ultra. The lineup consists of James Hearn, vocals and piano; Michael Harwood, vocals and guitar; Nick Keynes, bass; and Jon O'Mahony, drums and percussion.
The first single to be released from the album was the double A-side "Bring It On/My Lover's Prayer" (December 2003) which charted at #5 in the UK. The second single, "You and Me (Tonight)" was released in March 2004 and charted at #18. Acoustic versions of "Bring it On" and "In Your Smile", together with a dance remix of the title track were also included as B-sides.
In the music industry, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular. In other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album.
"You and Me (Tonight)" is the second single release from English singer Alistair Griffin from his debut album Bring It On (2004).
Electronic dance music (EDM), also known as dance music, club music, or simply dance, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres made largely for nightclubs, raves and festivals. It is generally produced for playback by disc jockeys who create seamless selections of tracks, called a mix by segueing from one recording to another. EDM producers also perform their music live in a concert or festival setting in what is sometimes called a live PA. In Europe, EDM is more commonly called 'dance music', or simply 'dance'.
Shortly afterwards, Griffin parted company with UMTV and no further single releases were made.
The Bee Gees were a pop music group formed in 1958. Their lineup consisted of brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful as a popular music act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers of the disco music era in the mid-to-late 1970s. The group sang recognisable three-part tight harmonies; Robin's clear vibrato lead vocals were a hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B falsetto became their signature sound during the mid-to-late 1970s and 1980s. The Bee Gees wrote all of their own hits, as well as writing and producing several major hits for other artists.
Odessa is the sixth studio album by the Bee Gees, originally released on 30 March 1969. Regarded as the most significant of the group's Sixties albums, it was released as a double vinyl record, initially in an opulent red flocked cover with gold lettering. An ambitious project, originally intended as a concept album on the loss of a fictional ship in 1899, it created tension and disagreements in the band regarding the album's direction; finally, a dispute over which song to release as a single led to Robin Gibb temporarily leaving the group. The album was not well received by the public or the music press on release, and led to a decline in the group's fortunes until their disco period in the mid 1970s.
Ultra was an English male pop boy band, which was most successful in the late 1990s. The original line-up consisted of James Hearn (vocals), Michael Harwood (guitar), Jon O'Mahony (drums) and Nick Keynes (bass).
Still Waters is the twenty-first studio album by the pop group the Bee Gees, released on 10 March 1997 in the UK by Polydor, and on 6 May the same year in the US by A&M.
This second series of Fame Academy was broadcast in the UK over thirteen weeks from July to October 2003. It was won by Alex Parks. The judging panel of the show consisted of Richard Park, Carrie Grant, David Grant and Robin Gibb during the live shows. Jonathan Ross was a judge on the final giving his opinions on the acts.
To Whom It May Concern is a 1972 album by the Bee Gees. Released in October 1972, it was the follow-up, and continued the melancholic and personal sound of its predecessor Trafalgar. The album was recognized as "a farewell to the old Bee Gees" as the album marked the end of an era for the group in several ways: it was their last album to be recorded solely at IBC Studios, in London, their last with conductor and arranger Bill Shepherd who had guided them since 1967, and their last under their first contract with Robert Stigwood. Some of the songs were old ones finished up or rewritten for the occasion. To Whom It May Concern has sold approximately 350,000 copies worldwide.
"I've Gotta Get a Message to You" is a song by the Bee Gees. Released as a single on 7 September 1968, it was their second number-one single on the UK Singles Chart and their first US Top 10 hit.
"How Deep Is Your Love" is a pop ballad written and recorded by the Bee Gees in 1977 and released as a single in September of that year. It was ultimately used as part of the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever. It was a number three hit in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 on 25 December 1977, ended the 10-week reign of Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" and stayed in the Top 10 for a then-record 17 weeks. The single spent six weeks atop the US adult contemporary chart. It is listed at number 22 on the 55th anniversary edition of Billboard's All Time Top 100. Alongside "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever", it is one of the group's three tracks on the list. The song was covered by Take That for their 1996 Greatest Hits album, reaching number-one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks.
Universal Music TV is a London-based record label that was formed in 1998, and is owned by Universal Music Group. UMTV specialises in producing compilation albums and occasional single releases. It was founded when Seagram acquired PolyGram and merged the company's record labels under the same umbrella, replacing the PolyGram TV label.
"Bring It On" is the debut single from British singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin, and is also the title track and first release from his debut album, Bring It On. It was released in December 2003 as a double A-side with "My Lover's Prayer", a duet with Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees and reached #5 in the UK Singles Chart.
Eyes That See in the Dark is the fifteenth studio album by Kenny Rogers, first released by RCA Nashville in August 1983.
"Mr. Natural" is a song by the Bee Gees, written by Barry and Robin Gibb. On 29 March 1974, it was released as a single and also released on the album of the same name in 1974. It was backed with a folk rock number "It Doesn't Matter Much to Me". The group's first single which was produced by Arif Mardin.
Fame Academy is a British television programme that ran for two series, in 2002 and 2004. The show was produced for the BBC in a reality television format. The winners of the show, David Sneddon and Alex Parks, were awarded music recording contracts to allow them to release music and live like top recording artists for a year. Sneddon had a run of three top-20 hits, including his debut single "Stop Living the Lie", which peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in January 2003. David Sneddon signed to major music publisher Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2009 as a songwriter. Parks' debut single "Maybe That's What It Takes" charted at number three in November 2003.
How Old Are You? is the second solo album released by British pop singer-songwriter Robin Gibb in 1983, thirteen years after his debut Robin's Reign in 1970. The album was not a great success in America and failed to chart in Britain but it did spawn an international hit in "Juliet" which topped the charts in Germany. The album reached No. 6 in Germany. The album was produced by Robin and Maurice Gibb with Dennis Bryon.
"My Lover's Prayer" is a song performed by the Bee Gees, written by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb, and was released in 1997 on the album Still Waters. The track was originally written and recorded in 1995, but it was only a demo.
"Follow the Wind" is a song by the Bee Gees. Written by Barry Gibb, produced by Bill Shepherd, released as the B-side of "Wine and Women" which was charted in Australia. It was later included on The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs (1965). It was one of the folk rock songs on the album the others are "I Don't Think It's Funny", "And the Children Laughing" and "I Was A Lover, A Leader of Men".