Middle of Nowhere | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 6, 1997 | |||
Recorded | July – November 1996 | |||
Studio | Los Angeles, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 53:41 | |||
Label | Mercury, Polygram | |||
Producer | The Dust Brothers, Stephen Lironi | |||
Hanson chronology | ||||
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Singles from Middle of Nowhere | ||||
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Middle of Nowhere is the debut studio album by American pop rock group Hanson, and the first to be released on a major label, which was Polygram Records and Mercury Records. Released in 1997, it features slicker studio production compared to their previous indie efforts Boomerang and MMMBop . The band members were between the ages of 11 and 16 when it was released. "Yearbook", one of the album's more dramatic songs, was not performed live until the recording of Middle of Nowhere Acoustic on May 5, 2007.
Middle of Nowhere yielded five singles: "MMMBop", "Where's the Love", "I Will Come to You", "Weird", and "Thinking of You". "MMMBop" became a major hit, reaching number one in the United States and at least eleven other countries.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | [4] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [6] |
Los Angeles Times | [7] |
Music Week | [8] |
NME | 8/10 [9] |
Rolling Stone | [10] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
Spin | 8/10 [12] |
Middle of Nowhere reached number two on the Billboard 200, being kept out of the top spot by the Spice Girls' Spice . The album also reached number one in the UK, Australia, Germany, and Taiwan.
Total sales worldwide are 10 million copies. The album sold just under 4 million in the US (4 times platinum) and over 400,000 copies in UK.
The album was well received by critics. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said of the trio: "... lack of guile is Hanson's most endearing quality." [6]
All songs written by Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson and Zachary Hanson, with additional writers noted in parentheses.
Note
Hanson
Session musicians
Other
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [55] | 5× Platinum | 350,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria) [56] | Gold | 25,000* |
Belgium (BEA) [57] | Platinum | 50,000* |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [58] | Platinum | 250,000* |
Canada (Music Canada) [59] | 5× Platinum | 500,000^ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [60] | Gold | 31,809 [60] |
France (SNEP) [61] | 2× Gold | 200,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [62] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [63] | Gold | 10,000* |
Japan (RIAJ) [64] | Platinum | 200,000^ |
Mexico (AMPROFON) [65] | Gold | 100,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI) [66] | Gold | 50,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [67] | 3× Platinum | 45,000^ |
Poland (ZPAV) [68] | Gold | 50,000* |
Sweden (GLF) [69] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [70] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [71] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [72] | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI) [73] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya is the first greatest hits album by Irish singer, songwriter and musician Enya, released on 1997 by WEA. Following her worldwide promotional tour in support of her previous album The Memory of Trees (1995), Enya began selecting tracks for a compilation album in early 1997, as her recording contract with WEA permitted her to do so. The album contains songs from her debut album Enya (1987) to The Memory of Trees (1995) and two new tracks, "Paint the Sky with Stars" and "Only If...".
Snowed In is the first Christmas album by American pop rock group Hanson. It was quickly released following the success of their previous album, Middle of Nowhere, and was recorded in London. Snowed In was also the best-selling holiday album for 1997 in the United States, selling 863,000 copies that year according to Nielsen SoundScan. It has since sold a total of 1,081,000 copies in the US.
3 Car Garage: The Indie Recordings '95–'96, also known simply as 3 Car Garage, is a compilation album by American pop rock group Hanson. It consists of material from their MMMBop demo album minus four tracks. There is much confusion that 3 Car Garage contains tracks from both the MMMBop and Boomerang demo albums, when actually, only songs from MMMBop are present. The tracks that never made it from MMMBop to 3 Car Garage are the shorter version of "MMMBop", "Something New", "Incredible", and "Baby ".
This Time Around is the second studio album by American pop rock group Hanson, released in 2000. Although Hanson had several albums in between, This Time Around is their first standard studio release since 1997's Middle of Nowhere. This Time Around did not achieve the commercial success of its predecessor Middle of Nowhere. The album does not feature as many bubblegum pop style tunes as Middle of Nowhere; instead, Hanson opted to focus on a more classic rock sound, or as MTV.com stated, "stadium rock". The album also features numerous ballads, with songs such as "Sure About It" and "A Song to Sing" covering the themes of teenage insecurity and loneliness, much like "Weird" from Middle of Nowhere. Critically, This Time Around received mainly positive reviews. To date, it has sold over one million copies worldwide.
"MMMBop" is a song written and performed by American pop rock band Hanson. It was released on April 15, 1997, as the lead single from their first full-length studio album, Middle of Nowhere (1997). The song was nominated for two Grammys at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards and is the band's most successful single to date. "MMMBop" was a major success worldwide, reaching number one in at least 12 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Mezmerize is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on May 17, 2005, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Upon its release, the album received acclaim from critics. The album sold over 450,000 copies in its first week, and immediately topped the Billboard 200.
Aquarium is the debut studio album by Danish band Aqua, released on 26 March 1997. The album is best known for including the globally successful single "Barbie Girl", which went on to become a widely recognizable hit around the world, as well as the popular track “Lollipop (Candyman)”. The album also featured the songs "Doctor Jones" and "Turn Back Time". In early 1997, the release of Aquarium was initially preceded by the singles "Roses Are Red" and "My Oh My", which was released a second time in 1998.
Millennium is the third studio album by American boy band Backstreet Boys, released by Jive Records on May 18, 1999. It was a highly anticipated follow-up to both their U.S. self-titled debut album and their second internationally-released album, Backstreet's Back (1997). It was their first album to be released in both the United States and internationally in the same form, at the same time.
Crazy Hits is the debut studio album by the Crazy Frog, released on 25 July 2005. It is a collection of songs mixed with the Crazy Frog ringtone, including the remix of the song "Axel F" which appeared in the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop and "Popcorn".
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Life for Rent is the second studio album by English singer Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by her brother Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid-2002. It was certified 9× Platinum by the BPI, and sold over 12 million copies worldwide, making it the fourth best-selling album worldwide of 2003. The album became the seventh best-selling album of the 2000s in the United Kingdom, making Dido the only singer to have two albums in the top 10 list.
Destination Anywhere is Jon Bon Jovi's second solo studio album released June 16, 1997 and features music from the film Destination Anywhere released in the same year. It follows his successful 1990 soundtrack Blaze of Glory, from the film Young Guns II.
Space Jam: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture is the original soundtrack album of the 1996 film starring Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes cast. An album featuring the film's score by James Newton Howard was also released. The soundtrack was released by Warner Sunset and Atlantic Records on October 29, 1996. "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly was first released on the soundtrack.
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Invincible is the second studio album released by English boy band Five. The album was released in the United Kingdom by RCA Records on 8 November 1999, and was later released in the United States on 16 May 2000. Four singles were released from Invincible, including the UK chart-toppers "Keep on Movin'" and "We Will Rock You". The album was executively produced by Simon Cowell and Richard "Biff" Stannard. During their performance at Rock in Rio 2001, group member Scott Robinson stated that the title track "Invincible" was intended to be released as a single, but they decided against it as they were working on their third album.
Brotherhood is the debut studio album by American R&B group 3T. The album was released in 1995 through MJJ Music and 550 Music.
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The discography of Hanson, an American pop rock band. They are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their major label debut album Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations. Despite the enormous commercial success of Middle of Nowhere, the band suffered from the merger that eliminated their label, Mercury Records.
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Romanza is the first compilation album by Italian tenor singer Andrea Bocelli, released internationally in 1997.
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