Reason | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 10 March 2003 | |||
Recorded | November 2001 – December 2002 | |||
Genre | Pop [1] | |||
Length | 48:28 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Producer |
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Melanie C chronology | ||||
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Singles from Reason | ||||
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Reason is the second solo album by English singer Melanie C, released on 10 March 2003 by Virgin Records. It was the follow-up to Northern Star , and reached number five on the UK Albums Chart, selling 30,876 copies in its first week. Although not performing as well as Northern Star, Reason was certified Gold in the United Kingdom, with 101,889 copies sold. The album has sold 500,000 copies worldwide. The album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. Most reviews for the album were mixed.
After the success of Northern Star, Melanie C was considered the only member of the Spice Girls to have established a steady successful career as a solo artist. At this time, she was the only member of the Spice Girls to still have a contract with Virgin Records, since the rest of the Spice Girls had departed from Virgin as solo artists. [2]
Chisholm had spent most of 2000 and 2001 touring around the world in promotion of Northern Star , and planned to enter the studio at the end of 2001 to start recording her next album. [3] During this time, things for Chisholm proved to be difficult, as she was diagnosed with depression in 1999. She later revealed that it was difficult for her to handle the publicity and hard work during the Spice Girls days, and some days she would eat too little and exercise to the point of exhaustion. [4] At the end of 1999, Chisholm's depression worsened and she spent days in bed, unable to cope with her day-to-day routine. After being diagnosed with depression she was prescribed antidepressants for 18 months, and also dealt with an eating disorder and a hostile media reaction questioning different topics from her weight to her sexuality. [5]
During the early stages of Reason's recording sessions in November 2001, Virgin Records executives were worried about the musical style of the album, as Chisholm's biggest hits from her debut album were an R&B single ("Never Be the Same Again") and a dance single ("I Turn to You"), and Chisholm had insisted that she wanted to keep making pop rock albums. According to The Sun , a record company source stated that "both Mel and Virgin have agreed that she should keep to the rock vibe that helped her 1999 album, Northern Star, do so well. But that is where their agreement ends". Chisholm had already stated that she wanted to work with new producers, while retaining some of the producers that had worked on her debut album. The original release date for the album was set for October 2002 but it was delayed until March 2003, resulting in a number of articles in newspapers questioning her relationship with her record company, reporting that she was under pressure to lose weight. On an official statement published on her site, Chisholm stated that her relationship with Virgin was "fantastic", the recording sessions were going well and that she had not been forced to delay the release of the album or to lose weight. During the recording sessions for the album, a total of 40 songs were recorded. [6] On 12 November 2002, the album title was revealed on her official site.
In January 2003, Chisholm gave an official track-by-track review to the press, revealing the album's track list, which was quite different to the final track list. [7] Chisholm stated that she was happy with having some of the Northern Star composers and producers on Reason as well as working with new ones, like David Arnold, Tore Johansson and Peter Vettese. Originally the album included 11 tracks with the following order: "Here It Comes Again", "On the Horizon", "Reason", "Lose Myself in You", "Let's Love", "Home", "Soul Boy", "Do I", "Water", "Positively Somewhere" and "Wonderland". "Melt" and "Yeh, Yeh, Yeh" were last-minute additions to the album's track list, while "Wonderland" was removed and released as a B-side of the "On the Horizon" DVD single. On 23 January 2003 a group of journalists were invited to the album's listening party and an interview. Virgin executives stated that they hoped "this will be the record that will crack the USA and rival the Avril Lavignes of the world". It was also revealed that there were six versions of the album that all the relevant record company people had, in order to decide which one flowed the best. "Here It Comes Again", which was actually one of the first songs of the album to be recorded, served as the first single.
For the album and single covers, Chishom and Virgin commissioned Sean Ellis as the official photographer. [8]
While working on the album, Chisholm recorded "Independence Day" for the soundtrack of the film Bend It Like Beckham ; the song was later included on the Japanese edition of Reason. She also wrote the song "Help Me Help You" for Holly Valance, which was included on Valance's debut album Footprints .
Reason was released on 10 March 2003. Prior to the album's release Chisholm made appearances on TV shows including CD:UK and V Graham Norton , while she gave some interviews to magazines like the Times Magazine , Attitude and Marie Claire . [9] She also performed a four-song set at HMV London. [10] The set list included her past number-one singles "Never Be the Same Again" and "I Turn to You", as well as the first single from Reason, "Here It Comes Again", and the album track "Positively Somewhere". Promotion also included an exclusive webcast on 24 February 2003 performing four songs, which were the same as the HMV setlist, with the exception of "I Turn to You" being replaced by "Goin' Down". [11] During the webcast Chisholm did a 30-minute interview, where she answered questions from fans from all over the world. [12] She stated that she considered releasing "On the Horizon", "Positively Somewhere", "Reason" and "Melt" as singles. She also stated that she had decided to leave "Wonderland" off the album at the last minute because she thought it was a dark song that was at odds with the album's positive vibe. Chisholm embarked on the Reason Tour in order to promote the album, starting on 24 April 2003 and including 25 shows in Europe.
In September 2003, Chisholm took part on The Games , a British reality sports game show that aired on Channel 4, in promotion of the album, where she was badly injured. [13] Her injury changed the song that was selected to be the third single: "Yeh Yeh Yeh" was originally planned but after her injury, "Melt" was chosen to be launched along with "Yeh Yeh Yeh" as a double A-side, because she could do a small number of performances and "Melt" as a ballad, requiring minimum movement, was thought to be easier to promote. Her injury prevented her from fully promoting her last single and the album further.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [14] |
Drowned in Sound | 3/10 [15] |
The Guardian | [1] |
Reason received mixed reviews. AllMusic gave the album two and a half stars out of five, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine stating that "[the songs] are colourless and characterless, sounding as if their main goal is to get on pop radio." He called the album "a real disappointment after the very good, very promising Northern Star ." [14] Johnny Dee, writing for The Times , remarked that the songs on Reason "are often crushingly tedious (in spite of its title, the bombastic "Here It Comes Again" never even arrives); and dated (the sensual ballad "Soul Boy" is impardonably Lisa Stansfield-esque)." [16] The Guardian gave Reason two out of five stars, with Alexis Petridis stating that the album "settles on a direction, sounds confident and efficient and wrings the last drops of originality out of Melanie C." [1] Drowned in Sound described the album as "just bland in the extreme. Mel doesn't have the vocal range to pull what she’s trying to do." [15]
In a positive review, Alexis Kirke from MusicOMH called the album a "perfectly packaged piece of pop. Together with Melanie C's carefully tailored new image and press diplomacy, it gives her a truly sporting chance of escaping the gravitational pull of Planet Spice once and for all. The more mature nature of this album will attract a new tween crowd, and they – when combined with Mel’s previous fan-base – will provide Miss Chisholm with the foundation for a successful solo pop career for a few years to come." [17] In his retrospective review for Albumism, Quentin Harrison wrote: "The overarching feel of her second LP began embracing a brighter, tighter sound than the looser, magnetic truculence of Northern Star. Facing down her own personal demons and the presence of a then-budding relationship had a hand in shaping Reason. The songwriting, excellent throughout, is the biggest indicator of Melanie C's refreshed mindset." [18] In a 2009 interview with The Guardian, Chisholm stated that she thought that the songs on Reason "could have been stronger." [19]
Reason debuted at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart on the issue dated 22 March 2003. [20] Sales began to decline in the second week, with the album falling to number 19, appearing on the chart for three more weeks before falling out. The release of the second single "On the Horizon" in June 2003 boosted the sales of the album, with the album reappearing on the UK Albums Chart for two weeks at number 81 and 99. The final single, "Melt"/"Yeh, Yeh, Yeh", did not help the album re-chart in the top 100. Reason entered the chart for the last time on 17 January 2004, completing an eight-week appearance. Because of the poor sales, Virgin Records decided to drop Melanie C at the end of 2003. In an interview with The Guardian in 2007, Chisholm stated that she had "mixed feelings" about being dropped after the poor sales of Reason, but stated that she knew that Virgin Records "were starting to lose faith in me, so I was actually quite relieved to go." [21]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Here It Comes Again" |
| De Vries | 4:17 |
2. | "Reason" |
| Vettese | 4:20 |
3. | "Lose Myself in You" |
| Damian LeGassick | 4:12 |
4. | "On the Horizon" |
|
| 3:36 |
5. | "Positively Somewhere" |
| Damian LeGassick | 3:44 |
6. | "Melt" |
|
| 3:44 |
7. | "Do I" |
| Patrick McCarthy | 3:34 |
8. | "Soul Boy" (Edyta Górniak cover) | Paul Buchanan | Gary Clark | 4:27 |
9. | "Water" |
|
| 3:37 |
10. | "Home" |
| LeGassick | 4:38 |
11. | "Let's Love" |
|
| 3:23 |
12. | "Yeh Yeh Yeh" |
| Lawrence | 4:20 |
Total length: | 48:28 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
13. | "Independence Day" |
| Kennedy | 4:20 |
14. | "Love to You" |
| Clark | 4:36 |
Chart (2003) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [22] | 71 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [23] | 39 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [24] | 69 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [25] | 36 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [26] | 13 |
Irish Albums (IRMA) [27] | 47 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [28] | 9 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [29] | 38 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [30] | 21 |
UK Albums (OCC) [31] | 5 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [32] | Gold | 100,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Melanie Jayne Chisholm, professionally known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ, records businesswoman, actress, tv personality, fitness model and writer. As one of the five members of the Spice Girls, she was nicknamed Sporty Spice and throughout her career her combined sales surpass 135 million records. As a member of the group she released the biggest-selling debut single of all time with "Wannabe" and the biggest-selling album in music history by a girl group with Spice, becoming part of the best-selling girl group of all time with over 105 million records sold and of the second global cultural and media phenomenon after Beatlemania. As a band member she holds, together with The Beatles, the record for consecutive UK Christmas number ones, with three singles. She is considered by many critics as the vocal epicenter of the band thanks to her wide vocal range, vocal agility, impressive versatility and her unique and distinctive tone.
"2 Become 1" is a song by the British girl group the Spice Girls. Written by the group members, together with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard during the group's first professional songwriting session, it was produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album, Spice (1996). "2 Become 1" is an R&B-influenced pop ballad that features instrumentation from a guitar, an electronic keyboard and string instruments. The lyrics focus on the bonding of two lovers, and also address the importance of contraception. Its Big TV!-directed music video, which features the group performing against time-lapse footage of Times Square in New York City, was completely shot against a blue screen at a studio in London. The backdrop was later superimposed.
"Too Much" is a song by English girl group the Spice Girls from their second studio album, Spiceworld (1997). The group members co-wrote the song with its producers, Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins—the songwriting and production duo known as Absolute—while the group was shooting scenes for their film Spice World.
Northern Star is the debut solo album by the English singer Melanie C, released on 18 October 1999 by Virgin Records. Chisholm and her team recruited several producers, including William Orbit, Rick Nowels, Marius de Vries and Craig Armstrong and Rick Rubin. Chisholm co-wrote every song.
"Let Love Lead the Way" is a song by British girl group Spice Girls, from their third studio album, Forever (2000). It was written by the band members, with additional writing by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins III and Harvey Mason Jr., while production was handled by Darkchild and Mason Jr. The track was released as a double A-side single with "Holler" on 23 October 2000 in the United Kingdom by Virgin Records, and served as the lead single from Forever. "Let Love Lead the Way" is an R&B ballad which lyrically finds the group singing words of encouragement for the future to a girl, which some critics believed was directed to Geri Halliwell, former member of the group. Group member Melanie C described the track's lyrics as being "just about love conquering all".
Beautiful Intentions is the third solo album by English singer Melanie C. This is the first album release on Chisholm's self-founded label, Red Girl Records after being dropped by Virgin Records. The album was a big commercial success in Europe charting in the top 20 in Austria, Germany, Scotland, Switzerland and Portugal. It achieved Gold certifications in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and a Platinum certification in Portugal. The album saw the release of hit singles "Next Best Superstar" and "First Day of My Life" which went on to become the most downloaded song of all time in Germany. In 2006, Melanie C announced via her official website that Beautiful Intentions had outsold her previous album Reason, and was certified gold and platinum in some European countries.
"If That Were Me" is a song by English recording artist Melanie C. It was co-written and produced by Rick Nowels for her solo debut studio album Northern Star (1999). The song's lyrics address the issue of homelessness. Selected as the album's fifth and final single, "If That Were Me" was released on 27 November 2000. The song peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Melanie C's first solo single not to reach the top five. The proceeds from its sale went to the Kandu Arts charity.
"What Took You So Long?" is the debut solo single of English singer Emma Bunton from her debut solo studio album, A Girl Like Me (2001). The song was written by Bunton, Richard Stannard, Julian Gallagher, Martin Harrington, John Themis and Dave Morgan, and produced by Stannard and Gallagher in Biffco Studios in Dublin, Ireland. It was released as the album's lead single in the United Kingdom on 2 April 2001. A pop rock song, its sound is influenced by the work of AOR artists such as Sheryl Crow, Gabrielle, and the band Texas. For the lyrics, Bunton explained that the song is about men taking longer than women to realise they are in love, a concept inspired by her past romantic relationships. The song received mixed to positive reviews from music critics, with many of them praising the melody and Bunton's vocal delivery, while others were critical of its production.
"Northern Star" is a song by British singer-songwriter Melanie C. It is the title track from her debut solo album and was released as the album's second single on 22 November 1999. It was written by Melanie C and Rick Nowels. The song was produced by Marius De Vries and received positive reception from music critics. The single charted at number four on the UK Singles Chart, becoming her third top-five single. It additionally reached the top 20 in Finland, Italy, and Sweden. In the United Kingdom, the single sold 216,000 copies as of June 2017.
"Here It Comes Again" is a song by British singer Melanie C. It was released as the lead single from her second album, Reason (2003), on 24 February 2003. The single was relatively well promoted on radio, TV shows, and magazine interviews, while also going into Europe to do some promotion. The single initially hit a midweek position of No. 4, but during the week, it fell down the chart and finished at No. 7. "Here It Comes Again" went on to be the 191st-highest-selling single of 2003 in the UK.
"On the Horizon" is a song released by British singer-songwriter Melanie C. It was written by her along with Rick Nowels, Gregg Alexander, and produced by Nowels and Alexander for her second studio album, Reason (2003). Selected as the album's second single, the song reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. Melanie C performed the song during the Reason Tour.
"Melt" is a song by British singer-songwriter Melanie C. It was released as the third and final single from her second solo album, Reason (2003). The song was released as a double A-side with "Yeh Yeh Yeh" in the United Kingdom. In other countries, "Yeh Yeh Yeh" was serviced on its own as the final single. The black and white music video, directed by Jamie Vickery, features behind the scenes footage from the Reason Tour.
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