Firebird | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 24 September 2021 | |||
Recorded | 2018–2021 | |||
Genre | Pop [1] | |||
Length | 52:07 | |||
Label | BMG | |||
Producer |
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Natalie Imbruglia chronology | ||||
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Singles from Firebird | ||||
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Firebird is the sixth studio album by Australian-British singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia, released on 24 September 2021. It is her first album to feature original material since 2009's Come to Life and Imbruglia's first release with the record label BMG Rights Management. [3]
The album was produced in various locations during lockdowns imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and features songs co-written by Albert Hammond Jr., Romeo Stodart, KT Tunstall, Eg White, Fiona Bevan, and Rachel Furner, among others. [4]
Upon announcement Imbruglia said "Making this album has been such a profound and satisfying experience. Having gone through a long period of what essentially was writer's block, it was sometimes hard to envisage getting to this place." [5]
The album's lead single "Build It Better" was released with an accompanying music video on 18 June 2021. [6]
The first single, "Build It Better", was released on 18 June 2021. The official video for "Build It Better" was directed by Amy Becker-Burnett, with choreography by Gregory Haney and Alex Sarmiento. [7] [8] [9] [10] "Build It Better" did not enter the Official UK Top 100 Chart, but peaked at number 67 on the Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 and at number 66 on the Official Singles Download Chart Top 100. [11] [12]
"Maybe It's Great" was released on 16 July 2021. [13] In an album review Retro Pop called the song a "synth-laden '80s pop gem". [14]
"On My Way" was released as the third single on 18 August 2021. [15]
"Nothing Missing" was released as the fourth single on 28 January 2022. Its video was released on 20 February 2022. [16] The song was co-written by KT Tunstall.
In Australia, Firebird debuted at number 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart. [17]
In the United Kingdom, the album debuted and peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. The week after Imbruglia won the third series of The Masked Singer in February 2022, Firebird re-entered the UK Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100 at number 32 on 18 February 2022. [18] Firebird went on to chart on the UK Album Downloads Chart Top 100 for six weeks. [19]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [20] |
Evening Standard | [21] |
The Guardian | [22] |
Retro Pop | [14] |
Riff Magazine | 5/10 [23] |
The Sydney Morning Herald | [24] |
Evening Standard called the album "A perfect mix of nostalgia and rebirth, even in 2021 Imbruglia deserves her place in the spotlight." [21]
Shaad D'Souza from The Guardian said the album "is delightfully unburdened: a carefree survey of pop and rock trends that re-establishes the fact that, at her best, Imbruglia is a canny lyricist and an incisive, whip-smart writer of hooks." [22]
Retro Pop called the first half of the album "endearing" but said "it wears thin over the course of 14 songs, with the latter portion of the record meandering without ever gaining pace." They concluded saying "There's no doubt about it, Natalie Imbruglia is a brilliant pop star, and it's unfortunate she settled on such an exhaustive release – because buried within Firebird is a stellar 10-track album." [14]
Rachel Alm from Riff Magazine said "Many of the songs on Firebird sound very close to contemporary country and could have even benefited from leaning into that a bit more." Alm added "The second half of the album is mostly piano ballads... [and] for an album that started out so upbeat, it seems to run out of steam by the end. All in all, though, it's a nice taste of '90s nostalgia by Natalie Imbruglia." [23]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Build It Better" |
| 3:23 | |
2. | "Nothing Missing" |
|
| 3:14 |
3. | "What It Feels Like" |
|
| 3:53 |
4. | "On My Way" |
|
| 3:36 |
5. | "Maybe It's Great" |
| 3:54 | |
6. | "Just Like Old Times" |
|
| 3:39 |
7. | "When You Love Too Much" |
|
| 3:07 |
8. | "Not Sorry" |
|
| 3:11 |
9. | "Human Touch" |
|
| 4:16 |
10. | "Change of Heart" |
|
| 3:47 |
11. | "Invisible Things" |
|
| 3:14 |
12. | "Dive to the Deep" |
|
| 3:54 |
13. | "River" |
|
| 4:04 |
14. | "Firebird" |
|
| 4:55 |
Total length: | 52:07 |
Notes
Chart (2021) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [25] | 30 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [26] | 54 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [27] | 3 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [28] | 69 |
UK Albums (OCC) [29] | 10 |
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [30] | 4 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [31] | 2 |
Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Various | 24 September 2021 | BMG | [32] [33] |
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian-British singer-songwriter and actress.
White Lilies Island is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia. It was released by RCA Records on 5 November 2001 in most international territories and on 5 March 2002 in the United States. For this album, Imbruglia collaborated with songwriter, Gary Clark, with whom she co-wrote majority of the album materials. Other collaborators include Phil Thornalley, who was a major contributor of her previous album, as well as Ian Stanley, Matt Wilder and Patrick Leonard. Attempting to take more control of her creative direction, Imbruglia admitted that she suffered from writer's block, perfectionism and isolation during the recording process. She co-wrote 64 songs potentially intended for the album. The album is named after the location of Imbruglia's home in Windsor.
Left of the Middle is the debut studio album by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia. It was released by RCA Records on 24 November 1997 in the United Kingdom, followed by most international territories in early 1998. Primarily writing and recording the album in the UK, Imbruglia worked with a number of English producers, including Phil Thornalley, Andy Wright and Nigel Godrich, and at the final stage of the album production, she traveled to Nashville, the US and co-wrote a song with American songwriter Matt Bronleewe. Left of the Middle is an alternative pop album which incorporates element of electronic sound. The lead single "Torn" (1997) was a worldwide commercial success and has since been named as one of the Best Songs of 1990s by several publications, including Rolling Stone, and Pitchfork.
Counting Down the Days is the third studio album by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia. It was released by Brightside Recordings on 4 April 2005 in the United Kingdom. Her debut with the label, Imbruglia reteamed with Gary Clark to work on her next project, but also consulted a wider range of producers to collaborate with her, including Eg White, Martin Harrington, Ben Hillier, Ash Howes, Daniel Johns, David Kosten, Stephen Lipson, Paul Mac, and Ian Stanley. The album's lead single, "Shiver" (2005) was a commercial hit, particularly in the UK, and officially became the UK’s most broadcast song of 2005 according to PPL.
"Shiver" is a song by British rock band Coldplay which appeared on the band's debut album Parachutes (2000), and was released as the album's lead single in the United Kingdom and second single in the United States following the single "Yellow". As a single it reached number 35 on the UK Singles Chart, number 26 on the US Alternative Airplay, and 57 on the Australian ARIA Charts. Its critical reception has been generally positive.
"Shiver" is a song by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia, released as the first single from her third studio album, Counting Down the Days (2005), on 21 March 2005. The song reached No. 19 in her native Australia and at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart. It also peaked at No. 1 in Hungary and No. 6 in Italy.
"Counting Down the Days" is the second and final single from Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia's third album, Counting Down the Days (2005). The song reached number 23 in the UK and number 52 in Australia. There are two versions of the song: the first one is the album version found on Counting Down the Days, while the second one is the single version found on the CD single. The main difference between the single and album versions is that the single version does not have a pre-chorus.
"Beauty on the Fire" is the third and final single from Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia's second studio album, White Lilies Island (2001). The single charted at No. 26 in the United Kingdom, No. 27 in Italy, and No. 78 in Australia. The single re-entered the charts in 2008 after it was used in an episode of BBC One's Holby City.
"Wrong Impression" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia. The song was written by Imbruglia and Gary Clark and was released as the second single from Imbruglia's second studio album, White Lilies Island (2001), on 11 January 2002. The single reached the top 10 on both the UK and New Zealand singles charts and found moderate success in Australia, the United States, and Europe.
"That Day" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia, released as the first single from her second album, White Lilies Island (2001). In Australia, the song reached number 10, while in the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 11. The song also charted well in Italy, peaking at number 14, and in Sweden, where it reached number 34. RCA Records chose not to release "That Day" in the United States, where "Wrong Impression" served as the album's lead single instead.
"Torn" is a song written by Scott Cutler, Anne Preven—who composed all of the lyrics—and Phil Thornalley in 1991 as a solo song for Preven. It was recorded and performed live during this period, but not given its first formal release until 1993, when Danish singer Lis Sørensen released the song in Danish under the title "Brændt".
"Big Mistake" is a song by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia. It was written by Imbruglia and Mark Goldenberg for Imbruglia's debut album Left of the Middle (1997). The song was released as the album's second single on 2 March 1998 by RCA and BMG. Although less successful than "Torn", "Big Mistake" still proved to be a hit in certain territories, reaching number two in Iceland and the United Kingdom, number five in Spain and number six in Australia. It was not released in the United States or Canada.
"Wishing I Was There" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia, released on 25 May 1998 as the third single from her debut album, Left of the Middle (1997). The track was produced by Phil Thornalley and was co-written by Imbruglia, Thornalley and Colin Campsie. The single reached number five in Canada, Hungary, and Iceland, became a top-20 hit in the United Kingdom, and entered the top 30 in Imbruglia's native Australia.
"Smoke" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia. It was released on 5 October 1998 as the fourth and final single from her debut album Left of the Middle. The single reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 13 on the Icelandic Singles Chart, and No. 42 on the Australian Singles Chart. The video for "Smoke" was directed by Matthew Rolston. There are two versions of the video; one of which contains additional visual effects including Imbruglia's face appearing and disappearing within animated smoke.
The discography of Natalie Imbruglia, an Australian pop/rock singer, consists of six studio albums, one compilation album, one extended play, and eighteen singles. Imbruglia debuted in 1994 as an actress on the Australian soap opera Neighbours. In 1996, she began composing songs and signed a recording contract with RCA Records in the United Kingdom.
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