Supersize | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 19 September 2019 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 36:38 | |||
Label | Juicy Money | |||
Producer |
| |||
Shirin David chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Supersize | ||||
|
Supersize is the debut studio album by German rapper and singer Shirin David, released for digital download and streaming on 19 September 2019 by Juicy Money Records. Prior, David had primarily been a YouTuber and only ventured into music as a featured artist on Ado Kojo's 2015 top ten-hit "Du liebst mich nicht" ("You Don't Love Me"). On Supersize, David mainly collaborated with Chima Ede and FNSHRS on what reviewers categorized as pop rap and R&B songs that feature David singing and rapping. Lyrically, the album's material often delves on empowerment, hedonism, materialism and self-objectification.
Upon release, Supersize received lukewarm reviews from music critics, with them questioning David's status as a rapper and alleging that the album was released solely with the intent of generating profit from its sales. Seven singles released throughout 2019 aided the record—"Orbit", "Gib Ihm" ("Give Him"), "Ice", "Fliegst Du mit" ("Do You Fly with Me"), "On Off" featuring Maître Gims, "Brillis" and "Nur mit dir" [upper-alpha 1] ("Only with You") featuring Xavier Naidoo; "Gib Ihm" became David's first number-one on the German singles chart. Commercially, Supersize was successful in German-speaking countries, reaching number one in David's native country and becoming the first album by a German female solo rapper to achieve this feat. It further reached numbers two and three in Austria and Switzerland, respectively.
Prior to the release of Supersize, Shirin David was primarily a YouTuber and was also known to the general public due to her involvement as a judge on the 14th season of the German talent show Deutschland sucht den Superstar . [1] [2] Musically, she had only been featured on "Du liebst mich nicht" ("You Don't Love Me) by Ado Kojo in 2015, which was a top ten hit in Germany. [3] By January 2019, work on David's debut album—initially planned to be an eponymous one released on 21 June 2019—had been ongoing, with her also having signed a record deal with Universal Music Group. [2] [4]
For Supersize, David mainly collaborated with the composers Chima Ede and FNSHRS, whilst Xavier Naidoo, [upper-alpha 1] Maître Gims, Kool Savas, Sera Finale, Beatzarre and Djorkaeff also contributed on selected tracks. [5] Prior to the album release, the rapper handed out ice cream to students of selected German schools during a promotional endeavour and uploaded making-of videos related to the songs to her YouTube channel. [6] She unveiled the tracklist of Supersize in early September 2019 through her social media, [7] and the album was ultimately made available for digital download and streaming on 19 September 2019 by Juicy Money Records. [8]
The following day, Universal Music Group released a CD and Vertigo Berlin issued a box set; [9] [10] [11] the latter had been previously teased by David in an unboxing YouTube video and contains a photo calendar, a sticker set, a sample from her then-upcoming perfume Created by Shirin, a transparent makeup bag and the bare CD of the album placed in a transparent sleeve on the outside of another transparent bag. [11] [12] [13] [14] Several observers criticized the product for its extensive use of plastic. [11] Regarding the cover art, which shows David naked in a see-through crystal ball, the rapper stated: "I want my nudity to be as socially acceptable as men's". [15] [16] An editor of Extratipp commented on the image, saying that "Shirin David wants to attract attention at all costs". [15] Upon the release of Supersize, autograph sessions were held, including one at Alexanderplatz in Berlin which had to be stopped due to overcrowding. [17]
Supersize predominantly features processed singing vocals from David and explores pop rap and R&B genres. [3] [17] [18] [19] The album, built around trap beats, occasionally delves into ballads, reggaeton and 1990s-inspired music, [14] [17] [20] with David's rapping dominating on songs such as "Gib Ihm" ("Give Him") and "Ice". [21] [22] An editor of VIP.de noticed lyrical connections between "Ice" and "Gib Ihm", calling the former a continuation of the latter. [23] The album's lyrics are often sexual and portray her as a "rapper with the gangster attitude", addressing themes of empowerment, hedonism, materialism, her body and self-objectification. [14] [17] [24] [25] Nadine Lange of Der Tagesspiegel opined that David "represents a stereotypical image of women" and did not think the lyrics were of a feminist nature since the "women [in them], whom David [refers to as] hookers, bitches and whores, only appear as competitors for or as decoration [alongside the male protagonist]". [14]
"Fliegst Du mit" ("Do You Fly with Me"), whose content differs from the aforementioned, talks about David's complicated relationship with her father, who abandoned her when she was a child, and the long lasting effects his departure had on her. She referred to the song as one of her most personal ones and stated that, with it, she "wants to give other girls without a father figure a sense of belonging". [25] [26] [27] "Brillis", melodically close to France Gall's "Ella, elle l'a" (1987), has been called an "ode to friendship". [28] While "Größter Fan" ("Biggest Fan") addresses David's haters, [17] the romantic "Nur mit dir" [upper-alpha 1] ("Only with You") featuring Naidoo talks about missing a significant other, [29] and the bilingual "On Off" performed in German by her and in French by Maître Gims details an ambivalent relationship. [30]
Supersize received lukewarm reviews from music critics. Mirco Leier, writing for laut.de, questioned David's status as a rapper and hip hop artist, claiming that she utilized the genre "solely as a means to an end". While praising her vocal delivery, the production and the catchniess of "On Off" and "Brillis", Leier labelled Supersize as "harmless". He concluded: "[N]one of it feels tangible or substantial. [...] [David] makes sure to present herself as controversially as possible [...] [, but whenever she] is a topic in the media, this rarely is because of [her] music. The character Shirin David is human product placement". [24]
Der Spiegel 's Andreas Borcholte stated that "music seems to be just an accessory in this enactment" and sarcastically opined that "you could also have called the record 'Supersale'" since he believed generating profit was David's main goal. Borcholte thought the album was mediocre and generic, though he hailed "Gib Ihm" as its best track and was also moderately positive towards "Größter Fan"—which he thought Aaliyah was an inspiration for—and "Melodien" ("Melodies"). [17] In a more positive review, Theresa Hein of Süddeutsche Zeitung saw Supersize as being a "good" album and praised the emotional nature of "Fliegst Du mit". She further commended "On Off", which she likened to Beyoncé's "Baby Boy" (2003), and thought that "Gib Ihm" was inspired by "Super Bass" (2011) by Nicki Minaj and had "the best German pop refrain of the year". [25] Lange saw the tracks as "solid and well-sung" and opined that, even though "[David's] few rap lines are rather mediocre", she is "convincing". The reviewer further compared "Unsichtbar" ("Invisible") to material from Helene Fischer's catalogue. [14]
Supersize was supported by seven singles released throughout 2019—"Orbit" (25 January), [32] "Gib Ihm" (15 February), [33] "Ice" (5 April), [34] "Fliegst Du mit" (17 May), [35] "On Off" (28 June), [36] "Brillis" (23 August) [37] and "Nur mit dir" (20 September). [6] While all of them reached the top ten on the German singles chart and at least the top 15 and 30 in Austria and Switzerland, respectively, "Gib Ihm" became David's first number-one in Germany. [38] [39] [40] The Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) and the Austrian International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI AUT) awarded platinum certifications to "Gib Ihm" and gold certifications to "On Off". [41] [42] Except for "Orbit", each single received a music video; [43] "Gib Ihm" broke the record for the fastest German music video to amass one million views, achieving the feat in five hours and 52 minutes. [25] The visual for "On Off" was controversial, with David being accused of blackfishing due to the darker make-up she wore in it. [30] [44]
In July 2019, David was due to have her first-ever live performance at the Wireless Germany festival, but the gig was canceled. [30] Upon release, Supersize was a commercial success in German-speaking countries, debuting and peaking atop the German albums charts, as well as at numbers two and three in Austria and Switzerland, respectively. [38] [39] [40] The album is the first by a German solo female rapper to top the chart in Germany and is also the first by a German female rap act since Klappe die 2te (1997) by Tic Tac Toe to reach number one. [31] Six days after its release, each track on Supersize had amassed between 500,000 and four million streams on Spotify. [45] In November 2020, David deleted "Nur mit dir" and its music video from all platforms, with observers opining that it was due to Naidoo's spread of COVID-19 misinformation. [46] [47]
Credits and tracklist adapted from Spotify. [5]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Orbit" |
| FNSHRS | 3:17 |
2. | "Gib Ihm" |
| FNSHRS | 2:43 |
3. | "Gift" |
| FNSHRS | 2:59 |
4. | "Ice" |
| FNSHRS | 2:54 |
5. | "Brillis" |
| FNSHRS | 3:06 |
6. | "Größter Fan" |
| FNSHRS | 3:14 |
7. | "On Off" (featuring Maître Gims) |
| FNSHRS | 3:11 |
8. | "Fliegst Du mit" |
| FNSHRS | 4:18 |
9. | "Melodien" |
| FNSHRS | 4:33 |
10. | "Unsichtbar" |
| FNSHRS | 3:22 |
11. | "Gibt es dich?" |
|
| 3:01 |
Total length: | 36:38 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Various | 19 September 2019 | Juicy Money | ||
20 September 2019 | CD | Universal | ||
Box set | Vertigo Berlin |
Gabriele Susanne Kerner, better known as Nena, is a German singer and songwriter who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". In the same year the band re-recorded this song in English as "99 Red Balloons". Nena's re-recording of some of the band's old hit songs as a solo artist, produced by the co-composer of most of them, her former Nena band colleague and keyboard player Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, rekindled her solo career in 2002. Combined with the success of the Nena band years, she has sold over 25 million records, making her the most successful German pop singer in chart history.
Jasmin Wagner, better known as Blümchen[ˈblyːmçən], is a German pop and dance music singer and actress. Although she releases her English albums under the name Blossom, her German stage name "Blümchen" actually translates to "floret" or "small flower".
Wir sind Helden was a German pop rock band that was established in 2000 in Hamburg and based in Berlin. The band was composed of lead singer and guitarist Judith Holofernes, drummer Pola Roy, bassist Mark Tavassol and keyboardist/guitarist Jean-Michel Tourette.
Sabrina Setlur, formerly known as Schwester S., is a German rapper, songwriter and occasional actress. Her debut was in 1995 under the guidance of 3p Records executive and mentor Moses Pelham, producer of her breakthrough single "Ja Klar." Following the drop of her pseudonym and a number-one single, "Du Liebst Mich Nicht," in 1997, a series of hit records established her position as Germany's "best known and highest-selling female rap act" to date.
Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi, better known by his alias Bushido, is a German rapper, hip-hop producer, and entrepreneur. He is also the co-founder of the record label ersguterjunge.
Savaş Yurderi, known by his stage name Kool Savas, is a German rapper. Along with Taktlo$$, he formed the highly influential German rap duo Westberlin Maskulin (1997–2000). He was also a founding member of the German rap crew Masters of Rap in 1996.
Runter mit den Spendierhosen, Unsichtbarer! is a studio album by German rock band Die Ärzte. The package of the album is a plush pocket.
Giwar Hajabi, better known by his stage name X A T A R, is a German entrepreneur, publisher, rapper and producer. He is also founder and owner of the labels Alles oder Nix Records, Kopfticker Records, Groove Attack TraX and Goldmann Entertainment. Through his labels, he promoted hip hop musicians such as SSIO, Schwesta Ewa, Kalim, Eno, Mero, and Sero el Mero. In addition to his musical activities, Xatar expanded his entrepreneurial work with the fast food company Haval Grill, the hookah lounge Bar Noon, the tobacco brand Orijinal and jewelry and clothing design for Massari. He authored his autobiography Alles oder Nix: Bei uns sagt man, die Welt gehört dir in 2015. The newspaper Die Zeit calls him "The Hype Machine" pointing out that each venture becomes a business.
Grace is the debut studio album by German singer Mandy Capristo. The album was released on April 27, 2012 under the recordings of EMI, Capitol Records and Starwatch Entertainment. The project is Capristo's first solo release following the disbandment with her band Monrose whom after four years have enjoyed four successful albums and seven consecutive top-ten singles.
Takeo Ishii, Germanized as Ischi, is a Japanese yodeler active in Germany.
Die Suche geht weiter is the eleventh studio album by German pop duo Rosenstolz. Released in 2008 by Island Records, the album reached No. 1 in the German and Austrian albums charts and No. 2 in the Swiss albums chart.
Barbara Shirin Davidavičius, known professionally as Shirin David, is a German rapper, singer and former YouTuber.
Austrian rapper and dancehall musician RAF Camora has released seven studio albums, six extended plays, six mixtapes, five collaborative albums and fifty-four singles. RAF Camora was awarded for sales of 8.4 million records in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
"Nur mit Dir" is a song by German recording artist Helene Fischer. It was written by Sebastian Rätzel, Tobias Schwall, and Robert Wroblewski and produced by Thorsten Brötzmann and Roman Lüth for her self-titled eighth studio album (2017). The song was released as the album's lead single along with "Herzbeben" on 12 May 2017, while an extended play featuring seven additional remixes was released on 30 June 2017. "Nur mit dir" charted in Austria and Switzerland and peaked at number 34 on the German Singles Chart, becoming Fischer's sixth top forty entry.
German rapper Capital Bra has released eight studio albums, four extended plays (EPs) and seventy singles. In 2016, he premiered his first studio album Kuku Bra which debuted at number 32 on the German and at number 61 on the Austrian album charts. In February 2017, Capital Bra released his second studio album Makarov Komplex which peaked within the top five in Austria, Germany and in Switzerland, spawning four singles of which "Es geht ums Geschäft" entered the charts at number 76 in Germany. The limited box set of Makarov Komplex included his first EP Oh Kolleg. In May of the same year, he distributed his second EP Ibrakadabra to minor commercial success in Switzerland.
SXTN was a German hip hop duo from Berlin consisting of rappers Juju and Nura. They are known for their somewhat-mockingly provocative lyrics, that often play on stereotypical rap themes such as sex, weed-smoking, money and party lifestyles.
Loredana Zefi, also known mononymously as Loredana, is a Swiss-born Kosovan rapper. Her debut single, "Sonnenbrille", was a commercial success in Albania and German-speaking Europe, and received two gold certifications in Austria and Germany. In September 2018, Loredana signed with German subsidiary of Sony Music and released the commercially successful single "Bonnie & Clyde" with husband Mozzik. Her debut studio album, King Lori, followed in September 2019 and reached the top three in the latter countries and Switzerland. It featured several successful singles, including "Eiskalt", "Genick", "Jetzt rufst du an", as well as the rapper's first number-one single in Germany, "Kein Plan".
German musician Bausa has released two studio albums, one mixtape, one extended play (EP) and twenty-three singles.
Bitches brauchen Rap is the second studio album by German rapper and singer Shirin David, released for digital download and streaming on 19 November 2021 by Juicy Money Records. The follow-up to David's debut effort Supersize (2019), Bitches brauchen Rap was developed over the span of circa two years, mainly in collaboration with composers Juh-Dee, Frio, Young Mesh, Laas Unltd. and Ghana Beats. Around that time, the rapper was also involved in the making of her ice tea brand DirTea and in a partnership with Savage X Fenty, which led to a delay of the record. The album was classified as an old-school rap and trap album by music critics, with its themes including the mistreatment of women in the music industry and society, women's empowerment and media criticism of David.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)