Footprints (Holly Valance album)

Last updated

Footprints
Holly Valance - Footprints.png
Studio album by
Holly Valance
Released14 October 2002 (2002-10-14)
Genre
Length46:39
Label London
Producer
Holly Valance chronology
Footprints
(2002)		 State of Mind
(2003)
Singles from Footprints
  1. "Kiss Kiss"
    Released: 29 April 2002
  2. "Down Boy"
    Released: 30 September 2002
  3. "Naughty Girl"
    Released: 9 December 2002

Footprints is the debut studio album by Australian singer Holly Valance. It was released by London Records on 14 October 2002 in the United Kingdom. Valance worked with a variety of producers on the album, including Cutfather & Joe, Julian Gallagher, Jem Godfrey, Nellee Hooper, Bill Padley, Richard Stannard, and Phil Thornalley.

Contents

The album was a success in the United Kingdom, where the first single "Kiss Kiss" reached the top position on the singles chart. Footprints peaked at number nine on the UK Albums Chart, selling over 100,000 copies and being certified Gold. In Valance's home country of Australia, success was similar. Footprints reached the top fifteen, sold over 35,000 copies, and was later certified Gold. All three of its singles also reached the top 3 on the singles chart. Footprints was also successful in Japan, where the album reached number nineteen on the Oricon albums chart and sold 159,606 copies. It was later certified Gold. [1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]

Allmusic rated the album three and a half stars out of five. [2] Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian found that Valance's "Kylie impersonation lacks the self-deprecating charm of the original, without which this "project" feels like an ambitious soap starlet chancing her arm. Despite producer Nellee Hooper affixing a bit of acoustic gravitas to the likes of "Down Boy," Footprints quickly comes up against Valance's breathy mediocrity. That said, the burbling "Naughty Girl" makes it clear that Valance's primary purpose is to disturb impressionable men, making the album a triumph in that respect." [3]

In 2020, the album was reappraised by Louis Hanson, writing for Pedestrian . Hanson praised the album's "nostalgic futurism" and "there was something so fresh about the album’s sound, particularly in the Australian music industry at the time." He continued: "To listen to Footprints in 2020 is to experience pure early-2000s pop in all its glory." [4]

Singles

"Kiss Kiss" was the first single released by Valance. The single was released in April 2002 and went straight to No. 1 on the UK and Australian charts.

"Down Boy" was the second single.

"Naughty Girl" was the third and final single from the album, becoming a Top 3 hit in Australia and Top 20 single in the UK. A fourth and final single, "Tuck Your Shirt In", was scheduled for release in the UK on 10 March 2003; [5] however, the single was cancelled.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Kiss Kiss"
  • Darran Bennett
  • Welton-Jaimes [a]
3:25
2."Tuck Your Shirt In"
 Nellee Hooper 3:19
3."Down Boy" Rob Davis Hooper3:26
4."City Ain't Big Enough"
3:38
5."Cocktails and Parties"
  • Tom Nichols
  • Johnson Somerset
  • Cutfather
  • Joe
4:02
6."Whoop"
  • Padley
  • Godfrey
3:24
7."Hush Now"
Fredro3:33
8."All in the Mind"
  • Fiona Gordon
  • Gerard Saunders
Hooper3:47
9."Harder They Come"
  • Padley
  • Godfrey
3:38
10."Help Me Help You"
  • Thornalley
  • Anders Kallmark [a]
3:36
11."Naughty Girl"
  • Thornalley
  • Anders Kallmark [a]
3:23
12."Connect"
  • Gallagher
  • Stannard
3:10
13."Send My Best"
Boo Dan4:25
Japan and digital re-release bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)ProducerLength
14."Twist"
Korpi & Blackcell3:46
North American digital release bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
14."Kiss Kiss" (Wise Buddah Remix)3:26
15."Kiss Kiss" (Jay Wobble Remix)5:17
16."Kiss Kiss" (Agent Sumo 2 Mix)7:43

Notes

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ) [10] Gold100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [11] Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2002年11月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. November 2002 Edition](PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). 518. Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan: 7. 10 February 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Footprints". Allmusic . Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 Sullivan, Caroline (11 October 2002). "Holly Valance: Footprints". The Guardian . Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  4. ↑ Hanson, Louis (3 June 2020). A Loving Ode To Holly Valance’s ‘Footprints’, The Real MVP Of 2002 Aussie Pop Pedestrian. Retrieved on 2 February 2025
  5. ↑ Dominic Robinson. "Dominator's UK Charts Digest February 1st 2003". dvdfever.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 February 2003. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Holly Valance – Footprints". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  7. ↑ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2002年11月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. November 2002 Edition](PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). 518. Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan: 7. 10 February 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  8. ↑ "Holly Valance | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "2002 UK Year-End Chart" (PDF). UKChartsPlus . Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  10. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – Holly Valance – Footprints" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan . Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "British album certifications – Holly Valance – Footprints". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 17 October 2020.
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