Now... Us! | ||||
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Released | 24 June 2002 | |||
Length | 47:18 | |||
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No Angels chronology | ||||
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Singles from Now ... Us! | ||||
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Now... Us! is the second studio album by German girl group No Angels. It was released by Polydor and Cheyenne Records on June 24, 2002, in German-speaking Europe. Recorded after the release of the band's majorly successful debut album Elle'ments (2001), the group consulted work by frequent collaborators Thorsten Brötzmann, Peter Ries, and Leslie Mándoki as well as international songwriters and producers such as Anders Bagge, Figge Boström, Dennis Dowlut, Mousse T., Pontus Söderqvist, and Quiz & Larossi, while taking a wider role in contributing own lyrics and melodies to the album.
Upon its release, Now... Us! received a mixed reception from music critics, many of whom praised band for their vocal performances and the inclusion of self-penned solo songs but found the material too generic and cliché-addled. Commercially, it became No Angels's second album to debut atop the German Albums Chart and was eventually certified double platinum by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI), finishing twelfth on the national year-end chart in 2002. Now... Us! also opened at number two and number four in Austria and Switzerland, where it reached gold status respectively.
The album spawned three singles, including the band's third non-consecutive number-one "Something About Us", summer-lite "Still in Love with You" and funk-influenced "Let's Go to Bed", A pop version of its fourth single, the Alison Moyet cover "All Cried Out", appeared on a Special Winter Edition reissue of the album, released in November 2002. To promote Now... Us!, No Angels embarked on the Four Seasons Tour, covering Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, in fall 2002. It would remain the group's final album as a quintet after Jessica Wahls's departure in 2003 and their reformation as a quartet in 2007.
In 2000, No Angels beat 4,500 other hopefuls in the German version of the RTL II talent show Popstars . Recruited to join a girl pop band, the quintet signed a recording deal with Polydor–Zeitgeist and Cheyenne Records and became overnight hits, with their debut single "Daylight in Your Eyes" emerging as the biggest-selling single of the year 2001 in Germany. [1] For the production of their English language parent album, Cheyenne consulted a small group of German-based musicians to work on Elle'ments , including Thorsten Brötzmann, Peter Ries, Leslie Mándoki, and Peter Plate. [2] Selecting songs from the Universal Music Publishing Group catalogue, the producers would either take over production duties from Scandinavian musicians or submit self-written songs for recording. [3]
A pop record with different genres such as Europop, teen pop, electro, and dance, Elle'ments combined elements from pop rock, drum and bass, and contemporary R&B, [2] but while it became one of the fastest-selling German albums in music history, [4] No Angels still struggled with the clichés and prejudices generally associated with their manufactured band image, which made them appear as externally controlled reality TV products rather than ambitious artists. [5] [6] Frustrated by both the public perception and the group's A&R-dominated musical development, band member Vanessa Petruo asked for a release from her contract after her first year with the band, [7] but had her mind changed when Cheyenne Records decided on supporting her wish for more creative control and thus offered the band to contribute own songs to their next album. [7]
In February 2002, after a short break from public, No Angels began work on their second album in Munich and Hamburg. [8] Complying their wishes to take a bigger in the production of their sophomore effort, Cheyenne Records arranged for them to reteam with Thorsten Brötzmann, Peter Ries, and Leslie Mándoki, all of whom had contributed to their debut album Elle'ments, to work on new songs. [8] Brötzmann and his co-producer Joachim "Jeo" Mezei oversaw production on the Anders Bagge-penned R&B song "Lovestory" as well as "Now That We Found Love", one of five solo songs on the album. Lead sung by band member Vanessa Petruo, it chronicles a woman's desire to love-making with her new lover. [8] Petruo also collaborated with the duo and songwriter Alex Geringas on the uptempo song "Something About Us" which blends contemporary R&B and dance-pop with soft Latin-pop and was conceived as response to what the band felt was intense and sometimes unfair and inaccurate media criticism at the time, predominantly resulting from the clichés and prejudices generally associated with their manufactured band image. [5]
Ries produced "Three Words", a Quiz & Larossi-written rock pop-tinged track that was later included on the album's reissue, and worked with Sandy Mölling on her solo song "Say Goodbye", an R&B-flavored uptempo song which she co-wrote over a demo track by British singer Celetia Martin. [8] Mándoki contributed the uplifting mid-tempo track "Push Me to the Limit" and worked with Wahls on her solo song "Shield Against My Sorrow", a downtempo ode to a loved one. [8] "Atlantis", his production of No Angels's cover version of the same-titled 1968 song, which the band had re-recorded with original singer Donovan for the closing credits of the Walt Disney Feature Animation picture Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), was also included on the track listing. [8] Lucy Diakovska collaborated with producers Oliver Fahrenheit and Christian Kelvin on her solo song "Stay", a piano-driven ballad on which she demands her lover to stay for another night with her; [8] while Nadja Benaissa teamed with Daniel Troha on "Come Back", another piano ballad that has her asking for a loved one to return. [8]
Apart from their previous collaborators, Polydor also consulted Mousse T and frequent collaborators Oliver Dommaschk and Marco Quast from production duo Royal Garden Sound to work with the band. Known for his mixture of the house and funk genres, Mousse reteamed with Errol Rennalls, his co-writer on the hit singles "Horny '98" (1998) and "Sex Bomb" (2000), on "Let's Go to Bed", a mid-paced pop song that contains heavy elements of psychedelic soul and references to a celebration of sexual lust and conquest. [9] Dommaschk and Quast contributed album opener "Anchor Your Love" a beat- and guitar-heavy uptempo pop song which they co-wrote with Kaidy-Ann Morgan and that has the protagonist wondering about how she can retains a man's love. [8] Swedish producers Pontus Söderqvist and Nick Nice from songwriting collective LaCarr produced "Still in Love with You", a Latin pop ballad which has the female protagonist thinking deeply over her relationship with her love interest from whom she parted, and "Autumn Breeze", penned by the Australian band Disco Montego, consisting of the Dowlut brothers Dennis and Darren. [8]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
CDStarts | 2/10 [10] |
laut.de | [11] |
Media reception for Now... Us! was generally mixed. Although most professional reviewers praised the band for the inclusion of self-written material and a "less conventional" and more mature pop sound with "major influences of contemporary R&B and soul," [11] laut.de editor Joachim Gauger declared the album as "teen-pop" on "average level," [11] He felt that the self-composed lyrics "always seem wooden and clichéd and don't really touch the listener," but complimented the other songs on Now... Us! which he considered at the level of American pop productions. [11] Matthias Eisen from CDStarts cited the album "dissembling [...] cheesy and clichéd," sharply criticizing the cover songs on Now... Us!. [10] MusikWoche found that the album was "clearly superior to the songs of their debut album. With Now ... Us!, No Angels take a promising first step on the way to the seriously increasing pop act, which still has a lot to expect for the girls' future careers." [12]
Upon its release, Now... Us! became the band's second consecutive studio album to top the German Albums Chart, [13] while also reaching number two and number four on the Austrian and Swiss Albums Charts, respectively. [14] [15] After spending 33 weeks inside the Offizielle Top 100, it was ranked twelfth on the German year-end chart and awarded platinum by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI). [16] Although "2 Get Over U" was planned to be released a special Christmas single with UK popstars Hear'Say at times, [17] it was eventually shelved following the moderate success of their single "Pure and Simple" (2001) throughout German-speaking Europe. [18] It was replaced by lead single "Something about Us" and its B-side "Like Ice in the Sunshine." [8] "Something about Us" became the band's third non-consecutive number-one hit on the German and Austrian Singles Chart within a period of 16 months, and reached a peak position of 11 on the Swiss Singles Chart. [8] Second single, "Still in Love with You", reached the top 5 in Germany and Austria. Third single "Let's Go to Bed" ended the run of No Angels' consecutive top ten songs in Germany, and failed to chart on the Swiss Hitparade. A previously unreleased fourth single, the Alison Moyet cover "All Cried Out" was included on the November 2002 released Special Winter Edition reissue of the album. [8]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Anchor Your Love" |
| Royal Garden Sound | 3:38 |
2. | "Something About Us" |
| 3:26 | |
3. | "Still in Love with You" |
|
| 3:31 |
4. | "Push Me to the Limit" |
| Mándoki | 3:23 |
5. | "Say Goodbye" |
| Peter Ries | 3:37 |
6. | "Like Ice in the Sunshine" |
|
| 2:57 |
7. | "Lovestory" |
|
| 3:35 |
8. | "Shield Against My Sorrow" |
| Mándoki | 3:29 |
9. | "Autumn Breeze" | D. Dowlut |
| 3:32 |
10. | "Now That We Found Love" |
| Brötzmann | 3:34 |
11. | "Stay" |
| 4:09 | |
12. | "Let's Go to Bed" |
| Mousse T. | 3:32 |
13. | "2 Get Over U" |
|
| 3:24 |
14. | "Lost in You" |
|
| 3:28 |
15. | "Come Back" |
| Troha | 4:02 |
16. | "Atlantis 2002" (with Donovan) | Mándoki | 4:01 | |
Total length: | 47:18 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "All Cried Out" (Pop Version) |
| 3:38 | |
2. | "Still in Love with You" (Single Version) |
|
| 3:31 |
3. | "Something About Us" (Latin Radio Edit) |
|
| 3:26 |
4. | "Three Words" | Ries | 3:48 | |
5. | "Let's Go to Bed" (Single Edit) |
| Mousse T. | 3:32 |
6. | "Say Goodbye" |
| Ries | 3:37 |
7. | "Lovestory" |
|
| 3:35 |
8. | "Stay" |
|
| 4:09 |
9. | "Autumn Breeze" | Dowlut |
| 3:32 |
10. | "2 Get Over U" |
|
| 3:24 |
11. | "Shield Against My Sorrow" |
| Mándoki | 3:29 |
12. | "Anchor Your Love" |
| Royal Garden Sound | 3:38 |
13. | "Now That We Found Love" |
| Brötzmann | 3:34 |
14. | "Like Ice in the Sunshine" |
|
| 2:57 |
15. | "Come Back" |
| Troha | 4:02 |
16. | "Daylight in Your Eyes" (Big Band Version) |
| Till Brönner | 3:44 |
Total length: | 56:58 |
Notes
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Now... Us!. [19]
Performers and musicians
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Technical and artwork
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Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Austria (IFPI Austria) [26] | Gold | 15,000* |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [27] | Gold | 20,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Edition(s) | Format | Label |
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Austria | 24 June 2002 |
|
| |
Germany | ||||
Switzerland | ||||
Austria | 18 November 2002 |
| ||
Germany | ||||
Switzerland |
No Angels are an all-female pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originated on the debut season of the German adaptation of the talent series Popstars and were one of the first television-cast acts to achieve sustainable success throughout Central Europe in the early 2000s. Following a major success with record-breaking single "Daylight in Your Eyes" and debut album Elle'ments in 2001, a series of hit records established their position as one of the most successful female band vocalists to emerge in the early decade. With four number-one hits, four number-one albums and record sales of more than 5.0 million, they became one of the most successful acts in German music history, winning three ECHOs, a World Music Award, a NRJ Music Award, two Comets, a Bambi and a Goldene Kamera.
Vanessa Anneliese Petruo-Zink is a German former singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. Born and raised in Berlin within a family of actors, she had minor roles in television and as a voice actress before she rose to fame as one of the members of the girl group No Angels, which were formed in 2000 on the German television talent show Popstars, becoming one of the best-selling girl groups of European origin of all time. Throughout her musical career, Petruo scored four number-one hits, including "Something About Us", which she co-wrote, and sold over five million albums and singles worldwide.
Pure is the third studio album by all-female German pop group No Angels. It was released by Cheyenne Records and Polydor on 25 August 2003. Conceived after the departure of original member Jessica Wahls, the project marked No Angels's first studio release as a quartet and their final album before their temporary disbandment in fall 2003. The remaining four members reteamed with frequent collaborators Thorsten Brötzmann and Peter Ries to work on the majority of the album, with additional songwriting and production contribution from Tobias Lundgren, Perky Park, Nigel Rush, Stephan Ullman, and Twin.
When the Angels Swing is a live album by German girl group No Angels. It was released by Cheyenne Records and Polydor on 29 November 2002 and recorded in promotion of a special one-off big band concert at the Berlin Tränenpalast on 2 October 2002. Musicians Jens Kuphal and Till Brönner were consulted to re-arrange songs from the group's first two albums Elle'ments (2001) and Now... Us! (2002) for the album which was inspired by the New York City Stork Club and several 1940s swing standards.
Elle'ments is the debut studio album by German girl group No Angels. It was first released by Polydor–Zeitgeist and Cheyenne Records on 12 March 2001 in German-speaking Europe. After winning the inaugural season of the reality talent contest Popstars in late 2000, Polydor consulted a small team of German-based musicians to work with the quintet, including Thorsten Brötzmann, Peter Ries, Leslie Mándoki, and Peter Plate. Elle'ments is a pop record with an inclusion of styles such as dance, R&B, Latin and rock. Conceptually, the album centered on the idea of the classical elements, and during that time was compared to English girl group the Spice Girls' Forever (2000) era.
The Best of No Angels is a compilation album by German girl group No Angels. It was released by Polydor–Zeitgeist and Cheyenne Records on 1 December 2003 in German-speaking Europe, coinciding with the group's first disbandment. A best-of album, it features all the singles from their first three studio albums Elle'ments (2001), Now... Us! (2002) and Pure (2003), as well as three additional album cuts from each album, including production from Thorsten Brötzmann, Leslie Mándoki, Mousse T., Perky Park, Peter Plate, Peter Ries, Ulf Leo Sommer, and Twin.
"Atlantis" is a song written and performed by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. Produced by Mickie Most for Donovan's seventh studio album Barabajagal (1969), the song tells of a mythological antediluvian civilization based on the fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works Timaeus and Critias, with much of the verses spoken as a quiet monologue.
"Still in Love with You" is a song performed by German group No Angels. Penned and composed by Figge Boström and Johan Lindman of Swedish songwriting collective La Carr, it was co-produced by Pontus Söderqvist and Nick Nice for the band's second studio album Now... Us! (2002). A mid-paced latin pop ballad, it showcases a more mature side from the band, with its instrumentation consisting essentially of flamenco guitars and bongo drums. Lyrically, the track finds the female protagonist thinking deeply over her relationship with her love interest from whom she parted; however, she still pines for him and feels self-conscious for doing so.
"Something About Us" is a song by German female pop band No Angels. It was chiefly written by band member Vanessa Petruo along with frequent collaborator Thorsten Brötzmann and Alexander Geringas for the group's second studio album Now... Us! (2002), and created as a response to what the band felt was intense and sometimes unfair and inaccurate media criticism at the time, predominantly resulting from the clichés and prejudices generally associated with their manufactured band image. Produced by Brötzmann and co-producer Jeo, the uptempo track incorporates elements of both the contemporary R&B and dance-pop genre as well as Latin-pop and church music during the bridge.
"Let's Go to Bed" is a song performed by German pop group No Angels. It was written by Mousse T. and frequent collaborator Errol Rennalls and recorded for the band's second studio album Now... Us! (2002), while production was handled by the former. Musically, the track is a mid-paced pop song that is set in retro style. It contains heavy elements of psychedelic soul and funk music, with its instrumentation led by a bass guitar. "Let's Go to Bed" contains lyrics that reference to a celebration of sexual lust and conquest, leading up to a desire to invite a love interest to come to bed.
Mama Lilla Would is the first album by German singer–songwriter Vanessa Petruo. It differs from her previous work, replacing her indie pop sound with a mixture of soul, funk, alternative rock and baroque pop. It was released on 25 November 2005 by Universal Island. Primarily produced by the Oja Tunes, it failed to enter the top 100 of the German Albums Chart. Its lead single, "Hot Blooded Woman", peaked at #59 on the Media Control Charts. Petruo's previous single, "Drama Queen", which peaked at #11, was not included on the album.
"Daylight in Your Eyes" is the debut single by German girl group No Angels. It was written by Tony Bruno and Tommy Byrnes and initially recorded by American rock band New Life Crisis. A Tony Moran-produced remix of their version appeared on MTV Party to Go Remixed (2001), but as their record company, Tommy Boy Entertainment, folded soon after, the group's original recording failed to receive a wider release, and the song was eventually sold separately abroad. There, "Daylight in Your Eyes" was purchased by Epic Records and re-recorded by the singer Victoria Faiella for her debut album with the label.
"No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" is a song by German pop band No Angels. It was written by Pete Kirtley, Tim Hawes and Liz Winstanley for the group's third studio album, Pure (2003), while production was helmed by Nik Hafemann along with Arno Kammermeier, Peter Hayo, and Walter Merziger who are credited under their production moniker Perky Park. The mid-tempo pop track incorporates minor pop rock and soft rock elements; the song's instrumentation includes drums and guitars. Lyrically, it deals with picture-perfect illusions in a relationship.
"Someday" is a song performed by all-female German group No Angels. Written and composed by Swedish musicians Thomas Jansson and Niklas Hillbom, it was produced by frequent collaborator Thorsten Brötzmann for the band's third studio album Pure (2003). A latin-flavored pop song, the midtempo ballad's instrumentation includes flamenco guitars, castanets and synthesizers. Lyrically, "Someday" speaks of a woman realizing that her relationship has come to an end, though she is hopeful that she and her love interest will be able to resume their romance in another time and place.
"Feelgood Lies" is a song by all-female German pop band No Angels. It was written by Pelle Ankarberg, Charlie Dore, Niclas Molinder, Maryann Morgan and Joacim Persson for the group's third studio album Pure (2003), while production was helmed by Molinder and Persson under their production moniker Twin, with Ankarberg serving as co-producer. A dark urban dance pop song that is built upon a heavy guitar riff and uplifting strings, the subjects of "Feelgood Lies" are revenge and karma. Not wanting to feel broken-hearted, the female protagonist warns a love interest to check his alibis.
"When the Angels Sing" is a song recorded by German pop group No Angels. It was written by Peter Ries and Charlemaine Thomas-Schmidtner and produced by the former for the band's debut studio album, Elle'ments (2001). A midtempo pop ballad, "When the Angels Sing" features a cascading piano arrangement and dominant drum pattern. Lyrically, it finds the group, as the protagonists, thinking deeply over their relationship with their love interests from whom they parted, still pining for them.
"Reason" is a song by German girl band No Angels. It was written by Thorsten Brötzmann and Alexander Geringas and produced by the former for their debut studio album Elle'ments (2001). "Reason" is a piano-led pop ballad with soft string arrangements and lyrics that talk about reminiscing past memories with a loved one. One of the slower songs on the album, its original version, entitled "That's the Reason", served as the closing track on both the original version of Elle'ments as well as its Special Winter deluxe edition.
Destiny is the fourth regular studio album by all-female German pop group No Angels, released by Polydor Records and Universal Music Domestic on 13 April 2007 in German-speaking Europe. A comeback release, it marked the return of No Angels after the group had gone into hiatus in autumn 2003, which allowed each member to launch solo careers. Primarily produced by production duo Twin, with additional contribution from Jiant, Max Martin, Adrian Newman, and Thorsten Brötzmann as well as several new producers, it was the first album to feature No Angels's third lineup, excluding original band member Vanessa Petruo.
"Drama Queen" is a song by German pop singer Vanessa Petruo. Written by Petruo, Alexander Geringas, and Thorsten Brötzmann, it was released by Polydor and Cheyenne Records on 26 April 2004 as Petruo's first solo single following the disbandment of her group No Angels in fall 2003. The pop song achieved moderate success on the charts, peaking at number eleven in Germany, number 35 in Austria and number 88 in Switzerland. "Drama Queen" marked Petruo's only release with the label and her former No Angels management.
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