I Cry When I Laugh | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 21 August 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2013–2015 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 49:52 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Jess Glynne chronology | ||||
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Singles from I Cry When I Laugh | ||||
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I Cry When I Laugh is the debut studio album by English singer Jess Glynne. It was released on 21 August 2015 in the United Kingdom and 11 September 2015 in the United States by Atlantic Records and Warner Music Group. I Cry When I Laugh was recorded over three years, with Glynne working with several record producers on it.
Upon release, the album received mixed reviews from music critics, but had a positive commercial performance, with it peaking at number one in the United Kingdom, and reaching the top ten in Australia, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Italy. In the United States, the album peaked at number 25 on the Billboard 200, where it spent 12 weeks on the chart.
The album was preceded by the UK top-ten singles "Right Here" and "Real Love", as well as the UK number-one singles "Hold My Hand" and "Don't Be So Hard on Yourself". The album's fifth single, "Take Me Home", was released on 3 November 2015 as the official BBC Children in Need single of 2015. The deluxe edition also includes the collaborative singles "Rather Be" (with Clean Bandit), "My Love" (with Route 94) and "Not Letting Go" (with Tinie Tempah), all of which reached number one in the UK. The album was also promoted with the Ain't Got Far to Go Tour, lasting from September to November 2015 with concerts taking place in both North America and the United Kingdom.
In August 2013, the singer signed a contract with Atlantic Records, consequently leaving her job at the time in brand management for a drinks company. [3] The same year, deep house producer Route 94 approached Glynne about rewriting and providing vocals for a song of his, called "My Love", which at the time contained a sample that he was prohibited from using. [4] It was released on DJ Annie Mac's compilation album Annie Mac Presents in October 2013 and led to Glynne’s discovery by British electronic group Clean Bandit who approached her to feature on their song "Rather Be". [4] Released as a single in January 2014, "Rather Be" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the third fastest-selling single and the most streamed song of 2014. [5] The track attained number-one and top-five positions on charts across Europe and Oceania, and was a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. In February 2014, Route 94's "My Love" was released as a single; it also debuted at number one in the UK. [6] Prior to writing the songs for the album, Glynne had broken up with her girlfriend.
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 53/100 [7] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Boston Globe | (favourable) [8] |
Digital Spy | [1] |
Evening Standard | [9] |
The Guardian | [10] |
The Independent | [11] |
musicOMH | [12] |
Spin | [13] |
I Cry When I Laugh received mixed reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a rated mean out of 100 from mainstream critics, it currently holds a score of 53, based on six reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [7] The Independent writer Andy Gill found that Glynne's "recent chart-topper "Hold My Hand" provides a fairly accurate template for her debut album, as regards both methods and themes. It’s a record of heartbreak cauterised by hope, so alongside the routine tears and recrimination is a recurrent element of recovery and optimism that sets it apart from most other soul-diva offerings." [11] John Aizlewood from Evening Standard wrote that "it’s a relentless listen, probably best served in single exhilarating portions rather than as a whole, but the kitchen sink production on "Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself" is a windswept delight and bold is always more fun than mealy-mouthed". [9] Digital Spy called I Cry When I Laugh a "mix of emotions, blending heartbroken lyrics with uplifting melodies. The overall formula isn't particularly forward-thinking, neither is it pushing the fringes of pop, but somehow it comes across as strikingly distinct I Cry When I Laugh is [...] an accomplished and uplifting debut album." [1]
Paul MacInnes from The Guardian rated the album two out of five stars and wrote that "Glynne is now being launched in her own right, with this lengthy collection intended to showcase her talents. It’s unclear quite what those are, however – not so much because Glynne lacks a distinctive voice, but more because the variety of producers and arrangements here mean it’s difficult to tell quite what her thing is." [10] Similarly, musicOMH's Andy Baber felt that "I Cry When I Laugh never really manages to become more than just a collection of singles. Admittedly, the singles are all of the highest quality [...] but there is no getting away from the fact that the album as a whole is rather underwhelming. It is great as something to dip in and out of, but I Cry When I Laugh is proof that Glynne is far from the finished article." [12] Hazel Cills, writing for Spin magazine, added that while "you’ve probably heard Glynne’s voice before you even knew who the English singer was, you might not know who she is even after hearing her debut record." She felt that the album was plagued by "scatterbrained production", "neck-deep clichés", and "relentless self-help tracks, all of which begin to blend together." [13]
Despite the mixed reception, I Cry When I Laugh was named the 16th and 10th best pop album of 2015 by Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly , [14] [15] respectively. The New York Observer placed the album at number 5 in their list of best debut albums of 2015. [16]
I Cry When I Laugh debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with combined sales of just under 60,000, giving Glynne the second fastest-selling debut album of 2015 behind James Bay's Chaos and the Calm . [17] The album has reached the top 10 in the Republic of Ireland, Australia, Italy and the Netherlands. It has also peaked at number 25 on the US Billboard 200.
The album had been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 300,000 copies and sold 583,000 copies in the UK during 2015. [18] It has since been certified 5× Platinum for sales of over 1,500,000 copies. [19] The album also received the gold certification by RIAA for sales over 500,000 copies in the United States.
Selected as the first single from I Cry When I Laugh, "Right Here" was released on 6 July 2014. It received a positive from critics who called it "a little more low-key" than Glynne's previous collaborations on Clean Bandit's "Rather Be" and Route 94's "My Love", both of which had reached the top of the UK Singles Chart in early 2014. [20] The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top ten in Belgium and Scotland. [21] It was eventually certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). "Real Love", another collaboration with Clean Bandit, was released as the second single on 16 November 2014. [22] It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number two on the German Singles Chart. [21]
"Hold My Hand" was released as the album's third single on 22 March 2015. [23] The song debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, where it became Glynne's first solo number one. [24] While it charted within the top twenty on most charts in appeared on, "Hold My Hand" also peaked at the top position in Belgium and Scotland. [24] "Don't Be So Hard on Yourself" was released as the fourth single to precede I Cry When I Laugh. Released on 14 August 2015, it gave Glynne her fifth number-one single following the number-one success of her Tinie Tempah collaboration "Not Letting Go", making her the second British female solo artist to do this after Cheryl Cole, overtaking then current record sharers Geri Halliwell and Rita Ora. [25] A music video for "Take Me Home", the album's sixth single, was released on 30 October 2015 on Glynne's official Facebook page. [26] The song is also the official BBC Children in Need 2015 single. [27] [28] "Ain't Got Far to Go" was released as the album's sixth single on 4 January 2016.
Glynne went on her Ain't Got Far to Go Tour across the United States and United Kingdom which started on 14 September 2015 and ended on 11 November 2015.
Tour dates | |||
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Date | City | Country | Venue |
North America [33] | |||
14 September 2015 | Washington, D.C. | United States | U Street Music Hall |
15 September 2015 | Boston, Massachusetts | Brighton Music Hall | |
17 September 2015 | New York City, New York | Bowery Ballroom | |
19 September 2015 | Montreal, Quebec | Canada | Le Belmont |
21 September 2015 | Toronto, Ontario | Adelaide Hall | |
23 September 2015 | Chicago, Illinois | United States | Subterranean |
24 September 2015 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Fine Line Music Cafe | |
26 September 2015 | Seattle, Washington | Barboza | |
27 September 2015 | Portland, Oregon | Doug Fir Lounge | |
29 September 2015 | San Francisco, California | The Independent | |
30 September 2015 | West Hollywood, California | Troubadour | |
United Kingdom | |||
31 October 2015 | Cardiff | Wales | The Great Hall |
1 November 2015 | Birmingham | England | O2 Academy Birmingham |
2 November 2015 | Nottingham | Rock City | |
4 November 2015 | London | The Roundhouse | |
5 November 2015 | Bournemouth | O2 Academy Bournemouth | |
6 November 2015 | Glasgow | Scotland | O2 Academy Glasgow |
10 November 2015 | Newcastle | England | O2 Academy Newcastle |
11 November 2015 | Manchester | Academy Manchester |
On 23 May 2015, Glynne performed at Radio 1's Big Weekend 2015, where she sang "Ain't Got Far to Go", "Right Here", "Real Love", "Gave Me Something", "My Love", "Rather Be", "Don't Be So Hard on Yourself", "Not Letting Go" with Tinie Tempah and "Hold My Hand". [34]
On 28 May 2016 she performed at Radio 1's Big Weekend 2016. She played "Don't Be So Hard on Yourself", "Rather Be", "Ain't Got Far to Go", "My Love", "Take Me Home", "Right Here" and "Hold My Hand".
She also performed at Glastonbury in 2016 where she sang "Don't Be So Hard on Yourself", "Rather Be", "No Rights No Wrongs", "Gave Me Something", "Not Letting Go", "My Love", "Ain't Got Far to Go", "Love Me", "Right Here", "Why Me", "Take Me Home", "You Can Find Me", "I Feel For You" and "Hold My Hand".
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Strawberry Fields (Intro)" |
| Knox Brown | 1:21 |
2. | "Gave Me Something" |
|
| 3:27 |
3. | "Hold My Hand" |
|
| 3:47 |
4. | "Real Love" (with Clean Bandit) |
|
| 3:55 |
5. | "Ain't Got Far to Go" |
|
| 3:23 |
6. | "Take Me Home" |
| Steve Mac | 4:25 |
7. | "Don't Be So Hard on Yourself" |
| TMS | 3:31 |
8. | "You Can Find Me" |
| Starsmith | 3:27 |
9. | "Why Me" |
| Knox Brown | 3:31 |
10. | "Love Me" |
| Knox Brown | 3:37 |
11. | "It Ain't Right" |
| Starsmith | 4:01 |
12. | "No Rights No Wrongs" |
|
| 4:02 |
13. | "Saddest Vanilla" (featuring Emeli Sandé) |
| Naughty Boy | 4:01 |
14. | "Right Here" |
| Gorgon City | 3:40 |
Total length: | 49:52 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
15. | "Home" |
| Bless Beats | 3:39 |
16. | "Bad Blood" |
|
| 3:09 |
17. | "My Love" (acoustic) |
| Mac | 3:02 |
18. | "Not Letting Go" (Tinie Tempah featuring Jess Glynne) |
| 3:51 | |
19. | "Rather Be" (Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne) |
|
| 3:47 |
20. | "My Love" (Route 94 featuring Jess Glynne) |
| Jones | 4:22 |
Total length: | 71:42 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Gave Me Something" |
|
| 3:27 |
2. | "Hold My Hand" |
|
| 3:47 |
3. | "Ain't Got Far to Go" |
|
| 3:23 |
4. | "Take Me Home" |
| Mac | 4:25 |
5. | "Don't Be So Hard on Yourself" |
| TMS | 3:31 |
6. | "No Rights No Wrongs" |
|
| 4:02 |
7. | "You Can Find Me" |
| Starsmith | 3:27 |
8. | "My Love" (acoustic) |
| Mac | 3:02 |
9. | "Rather Be" (Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne) |
|
| 3:47 |
10. | "Saddest Vanilla" (featuring Emeli Sandé) |
| Naughty Boy | 4:01 |
11. | "Why Me" |
| Brown | 3:31 |
Total length: | 40:23 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
12. | "Real Love" (with Clean Bandit) |
| 3:39 | |
13. | "Not Letting Go" (Tinie Tempah featuring Jess Glynne) |
|
| 3:51 |
Total length: | 47:53 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
14. | "It Ain't Right" |
| Starsmith | 4:01 |
15. | "Right Here" |
| Gorgon City | 3:40 |
16. | "My Love" (Route 94 featuring Jess Glynne) |
| Jones | 4:22 |
Total length: | 59:56 |
Notes
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [62] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [63] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI) [64] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [65] | 5× Platinum | 1,500,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [66] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Edition(s) | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ireland | 21 August 2015 |
| [67] | ||
United Kingdom | [68] | ||||
Canada | 11 September 2015 | Standard | [69] | ||
United States | [70] | ||||
Australia | 18 September 2015 | [71] | |||
Germany | 16 October 2015 | [72] | |||
France | 23 October 2015 | [73] |
The discography of Tinie Tempah, a British rapper, contains three studio albums, two extended plays, twenty-eight singles and thirty-two music videos.
The discography of R&B and soul recording artist Emeli Sandé consists of five studio albums, thirty singles and twenty-one music videos
Demonstration is the second studio album by British rapper Tinie Tempah. The album was released on 4 November 2013 as the follow-up to his commercially successful debut album, Disc-Overy (2010). In December 2010, Tempah announced he was writing for his second album, saying there would be a more electronic and live feel to it. The first two singles from the album, "Trampoline" and "Children of the Sun" were released in the run-up to the album and both managed to enter the top ten of the UK Singles Chart. The album features collaborations with producers and guest artists such as Labrinth and Diplo and sees Tempah experimenting with new musical genres.
"Rather Be" is a song by English electronic music group Clean Bandit, featuring vocals by Jess Glynne. It was released on 5 December 2013 as the fourth single from the group's debut studio album, New Eyes (2014). It also appears on the deluxe version of Glynne's debut album, I Cry When I Laugh (2015). It was co-written by band members Jack Patterson and Grace Chatto, along with Jimmy Napes and Nicole Marshall, and produced by Patterson and Chatto. Warner Music Group released a number of official remixes for download, with DJs such as All About She and Cash Cash.
Jessica Hannah Glynne is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Atlantic Records, she rose to prominence in 2013 as a featured artist on the singles "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and "My Love" by Route 94, both of which reached number one in the UK. She was considered one of the "Most Influential People Under 30" by Forbes magazine in 2019.
"My Love" is the first single by British DJ and record producer Route 94, featuring vocals by Jess Glynne. It was released in the United Kingdom on 28 February 2014, through Rinse Recordings. The song topped the UK Singles Chart, peaked at number 12 on the Irish Singles Chart and also charted in Belgium. The song was written by Glynne and Route 94, and produced by Route 94.
New Eyes is the debut studio album by English electronic music group Clean Bandit, released on 30 May 2014 by Atlantic Records in Germany and Ireland, and 2 June 2014 in the United Kingdom, after suffering from several setbacks. The album includes the singles "A+E", "Mozart's House", "Dust Clears", "Rather Be", "Extraordinary" and "Come Over". New Eyes was produced entirely by group members Jack Patterson and Grace Chatto. The album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. It is the band's only album to feature violinist and pianist Neil Amin-Smith, who left the band in 2016.
Rowan Tyler Jones, known by his stage name Route 94, is an English record producer and remixer from Richmond, London. Initially producing dubstep as Dream, Jones worked with the likes of Skream, Benga and Katy B. He then began producing house music. His single "My Love" was a commercial success, reaching number one in three charts.
"Right Here" is a song by English singer and songwriter Jess Glynne. It was written by Glynne, Jan-ai El-Goni and Matthew Robson-Scott and Kye Gibbon from electronic music duo Gorgon City, while production was handled by the latter. Inspired by 1990s dance music, the mid-tempo song fuses pop, soul and deep house. Lyrically, Glynne describes her deep satisfaction with her love life, currently having found her beloved.
English electronic music group Clean Bandit have released two studio albums, two extended plays, 22 singles, 22 music videos and 13 remixes. In December 2012, the group released their debut single "A+E", which peaked at number 100 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is the lead single from their debut album, New Eyes, which was released in May 2014. The album's second single, "Mozart's House", charted at number seventeen on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Clean Bandit's first top twenty single on the chart. "Dust Clears" was released as the third single from the album, reaching number forty-three on the UK chart. The album's fourth single, "Rather Be", features Jess Glynne and topped the UK Singles Chart, the group's first number one on the chart.
"Real Love" is a song by English electronic group Clean Bandit and English singer and songwriter Jess Glynne. It was released on 16 November 2014 as a joint single, taken from the special edition of the group's album New Eyes and Glynne's album I Cry When I Laugh. The two previously collaborated on "Rather Be". "Real Love" reached number one in Israel and in the UK Dance Chart.
Janée Bennett, known professionally as Jin Jin, is an English musician, singer and songwriter from Manchester.
"Hold My Hand" is a song by English singer and songwriter Jess Glynne. It was written by Jack Patterson, Janee Bennett, Ina Wroldsen and Glynne. The song was released on 20 March 2015 as her third solo single, following "Home" and "Right Here". A music video for the song was uploaded to Glynne's own YouTube channel on 23 February 2015. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 29 March 2015 and held that position for three consecutive weeks. It also reached number one in Wallonia (Belgium) and Israel, number seven in the Irish Singles Chart, and became Glynne's first solo chart entry on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 86 on the chart. The song was performed by Glynne on the semi-finals of The Voice UK and was also used in an advertisement for Coca-Cola in 2015. Since late 2015, it has featured in advertising for Jet2holidays, as well as being used for various in-aircraft announcements with Jet2.com. It is featured on the original movie soundtrack for the 2016 film Bridget Jones's Baby.
"Not Letting Go" is a song by British rapper Tinie Tempah. It features the vocals from British singer Jess Glynne. The song was released as a digital download in the United Kingdom on 21 June 2015 as the lead single for his third studio album Youth. It also appears on the deluxe version of Glynne's debut album, I Cry When I Laugh (2015). "Not Letting Go" samples the song "Not for Long" by American rapper B.o.B. and also contains a sample from "There's a Better Way" from Jermaine Jackson's 1982 album "Let Me Tickle Your Fancy".
"Don't Be So Hard on Yourself" is a song by English singer and songwriter Jess Glynne. It was released as the fourth single from her debut album I Cry When I Laugh on 14 August 2015. It was written by Glynne, Wayne Hector and TMS who also produced the song. Lyrically, the song tells about moving on from hard times and "not being hard on oneself."
"Ain't Got Far to Go" is a song by English singer and songwriter Jess Glynne. It was written by Glynne along with Janée "Jin Jin" Bennett, Knox Brown, and Finlay "Starsmith" Dow-Smith for her debut studio album, I Cry When I Laugh (2015), while production was helmed by Brown and Dow-Smith. The song was released as the album's sixth single on 26 February 2016. Prior to the single's release, the song charted at number 46 on the Scottish Singles Chart and number 67 on the UK Singles Chart. After the single's release, it peaked at number 45 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Take Me Home" is a song by English singer and songwriter Jess Glynne. It was released on 3 November 2015 as the fifth single from her debut studio album, I Cry When I Laugh (2015). A music video for the song was released on Glynne's Facebook page on 30 October. "Take Me Home" has peaked at number 4 on the Scottish Singles Chart as well as number 6 on the UK Singles Chart; it was also the BBC Children in Need single of 2015.
English singer Jess Glynne has released two studio albums, 19 singles and 17 music videos.
Youth is the third studio album by British rapper Tinie Tempah, released on 14 April 2017 by Parlophone and Disturbing London.
Always In Between is the second studio album by English singer Jess Glynne, released on 12 October 2018 by Atlantic Records. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and in the top forty of several other countries. It was Glynne's last album with Atlantic Records.
I Cry When I Laugh is a fairly predictable album for Glynne: it's full of dance tracks both in the vein of her work with Clean Bandit with some soulful R&B tracks and mid-tempo ballads thrown in.