| Stand Still | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 10 January 2011 | |||
| Recorded | October – November 2010 | |||
| Genre | Indie pop | |||
| Length | 33:17 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Martin Terefe | |||
| Emma's Imagination chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Stand Still | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| The Guardian | [2] |
Stand Still is the debut studio album by Scottish female singer-songwriter Emma Gillespie, recorded under the moniker Emma's Imagination, released in 2011.
Gillespie competed and won the TV talent contest Must Be the Music , aired on Sky 1 in August and September 2010. Unlike other TV talent contests, this show put an emphasis on giving the acts control over their careers. Additionally, every song performed on the show was available to download from iTunes and Sky Songs with 100 per cent of the net profits of the songs and merchandise going to the musicians. As the winner of the show on 19 September 2010, Emma's Imagination received a £100,000 cash fund rather than a record contract. Emma's Imagination performed two songs on the show, "This Day" on the semi-final and "Focus" on the final at the Wembley Arena.
Emma's Imagination quickly signed with Future Records, [3] a label created by Gary Barlow, becoming only the third act signed to the label after Camilla Kerslake and Aggro Santos, and recorded the album with producer Martin Terefe in Kensal Town Studios in North London over a period of four weeks.
Gillespie spoke about the recording process: "It was done so we had enough time for it not to be a rush, but brisk enough so we couldn’t overthink anything. I had a lot of the arrangements in my head and of course all the songs were written, so it was mainly about fleshing out the skeletons. It’s not a pop album as such, but it’s not folk. I think it fits perfectly in the middle. There’s a thread that runs through the album that I think people will really like and the songs are diverse too without sounding like they don’t belong together." [4]
The 10-track album features 8 original songs, among them re-recorded versions of the two songs she performed on Must Be the Music, "This Day" and "Focus", and two covers: the Academy Award-winning song "Falling Slowly", originally from the film Once , and "Drive", originally by Bic Runga.
Released in January 2011, the album received mixed reviews from critics. While complimenting Gillespie's voice, most of the criticism went to Terefe's production, with The Guardian awarding it 2/5 stars, stating: "Producer Martin "KT Tunstall" Terefe has filled out the songs with anodyne strings and mid-tempo pop-rock arrangements; the creeping, trip-hoppish Puddy Muddle stands out as one of the only items of interest." [5] Similarly the BBC review declared: "Gillespie has a decent voice and her songs are sincere if soppy. Producer Martin Terefe, who’s steered James Morrison, K.T. Tunstall and Jason Mraz to success, has dressed her trilling and strumming lightly, with soporific, innocuous, featureless arrangements and "tasteful" strings." [6]
Jon O'Brien from Allmusic gave the album a more favourable review, awarding it 3.5/5 stars. It complimented Gillespie's voice and original songs, but criticised the re-recorded "This Day" losing the simplicity of the original version, and her choice of covers, stating "Considering her success was built on her ability to write her own songs, it's disappointing that Stand Still also contains two rather pointless cover versions. They might not be the unimaginative "Unchained Melody"-style karaoke standards dumped on most X-Factor winners, but renditions of Bic Runga's "Drive" and Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova's Oscar-winning duet "Falling Slowly," as respectful and competently performed as they are, offer nothing new on the originals." [7]
The album peaked at #14 in the UK and spent 3 weeks on the chart. This was Emma's Imagination's only album with the label, as Gary Barlow closed down Future Records in 2012, and Gillespie continued to record as an independent artist.
"This Day" and "Focus" were released as singles during the time of her competing on the talent show, in acoustic guitar versions. These peaked at #10 and #7 in the UK singles chart, respectively.
In November 2010, "Faerie Lights" was released as a promotional free download single on download sites as a teaser for the album.
The first proper lead single for the album was the re-recorded "This Day", released a week prior to the album, and the final single was "Brighter Greener", released in March 2011.
All tracks composed by Emma Gillespie; except where indicated
The digital versions of the album also feature an interview with Emma's Imagination as a bonus track.
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 14 |
Briolette Kah Bic Runga, recording as Bic Runga, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist. Her first three studio albums debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Album charts. Runga has also found success internationally in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom with her 1997 song "Sway".
Glen James Hansard is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top ten of the Irish Album Charts. In the 2000s, he was one half of folk rock duo The Swell Season before releasing his debut solo album, Rhythm and Repose, in 2012. His 2015 second album Didn't He Ramble was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland. She has released eight studio albums internationally: Eye to the Telescope (2004), Drastic Fantastic (2007), Tiger Suit (2010), Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon (2013), Kin (2016), Wax (2018), Nut (2022), and a collaboration album with American musician Suzi Quatro, Face to Face (2023). She has also appeared in two episodes of the comedy series This is Jinsy on Sky Atlantic.
"Something Good" is a song written, produced, and performed by New Zealand singer Bic Runga. The song was released in New Zealand in 2002 and reached number four on the RIANZ Singles Chart. In 2003, "Something Good" received the Best Solo Video award from Juice TV. On 21 June 2004, the song was released in the United Kingdom as a maxi-single but failed to chart.
Beautiful Collision is the second solo album by New Zealand artist Bic Runga, released on 1 July 2002 in New Zealand, 15 July 2002 in Australia, and 5 November 2002 in the United States.
"Sway" is a song by New Zealand singer Bic Runga. It was released as the second single from her debut studio album, Drive (1997), in 1997. The song peaked at No. 7 in New Zealand and No. 10 in Australia, earning gold certifications in both countries. At the 32nd New Zealand Music Awards, the song won three awards: Single of the Year, Best Songwriter, and Best Engineer. In 2001, it was voted the sixth-best New Zealand song of all time by members of the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). A music video directed by John Taft was made for the song.
"Get Some Sleep" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriter Bic Runga. It was released in June 2002 as the lead single from her second studio album, Beautiful Collision (2002). In New Zealand, "Get Some Sleep" was the most successful song by a native artist in 2002, ranking at number six on the country's year-end chart and peaking at number three on the RIANZ Singles Chart. The song also reached number 27 in Ireland, number 78 in the United Kingdom, and number 92 in Australia.
"Listening for the Weather" is a song by New Zealand singer Bic Runga. It was released in April 2003 as the third single from her second studio album, Beautiful Collision (2002). Upon its release, it reached number 14 on the New Zealand Singles Chart, becoming her most recent top-20 hit in her home country. The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand ranked "Listening for the Weather" as the 36th-most-successful single of New Zealand during 2003.
The Swell Season is a folk rock duo formed by Irish musician Glen Hansard and Czech singer and pianist Markéta Irglová. "The Swell Season" name is derived from Hansard's favourite novel by Josef Škvorecký from 1975 bearing the same title. Their debut album, released in 2006, carried the same name.
Once is a 2007 Irish romantic musical drama film written and directed by John Carney. The film stars Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová as two struggling musicians in Dublin, Ireland. Hansard and Irglová had previously performed music as the Swell Season, and composed and performed the film's original songs.
Markéta Irglová is a Czech-Icelandic singer-songwriter, musician and actress, who starred in the film Once, which earned her a number of major awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly", with co-writer and co-star Glen Hansard.
"Falling Slowly" is an indie folk/indie rock song written, composed and performed by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. It was featured on the soundtrack of the 2007 Irish musical romance film Once, which starred Hansard and Irglová, and for which it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 80th Academy Awards. The song was also recorded by Hansard's band The Frames.
Future Records was a music imprint, based in London, England. It was founded in 2009. The label was closed in 2012.
Emma Gillespie, better known by her stage name Emma's Imagination, is a Scottish singer. She came to prominence after winning the Sky 1 TV talent contest Must Be the Music. She was signed to Gary Barlow's music label Future Records. She released her debut solo album, Stand Still in January 2011.
Martin Terefe is a Swedish record producer and songwriter, now living and working in London, who has produced Grammy, Brit and Juno award -winning albums with artists like Jason Mraz, James Morrison and KT Tunstall. He is also a member of the group Apparatjik.
Anthology is a compilation album by New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bic Runga. The album was initially set to be released on 23 November 2012, but ultimately released on 1 December 2012 in New Zealand. The album cover was revealed on 29 October 2012.
Try to Remember Everything is a compilation album by New Zealand singer-song writer Bic Runga. The album is collection of unreleased, new and rare Bic Runga recordings from 1996 to 2008. The album was released on 21 November 2008 and was certified gold in December.
Close Your Eyes is the fifth studio album by New Zealand singer-song writer Bic Runga. The album is made up of ten covers and two original tracks. Upon announcement of the album in October, Runga said: "There are so many songs I've always wanted to cover. I wanted to see if I could not just be a singer-songwriter, but someone who could also interpret songs. In the process, I found there are so many reasons why a cover version wouldn't work, perhaps because the lyrics were not something I could relate to first hand, because technically I wasn't ready or because the original was too iconic. But the songs that all made it on the record specifically say something about where I'm at in my life, better than if I'd written it myself. It was a challenging process, I'm really proud of the singing and the production and the statement".
"This Day" is a song performed by Scottish singer Emma's Imagination, from her debut album Stand Still.
Nut is the seventh studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, and the third and final album in the "soul, body and mind" trilogy. It was released on 9 September 2022, following the first two albums of the trilogy, Kin (2016) and Wax (2018). The first songs released from the album were titled "Canyons", "I Am the Pilot" and the lead single called "Private Eyes".
