Take the Crown | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 5 November 2012 | |||
Recorded | September 2011 – August 2012 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | Pop rock [1] | |||
Length | 43:45 (standard edition) 52:22 (deluxe edition bonus tracks) | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Jacknife Lee [2] | |||
Robbie Williams chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Take the Crown | ||||
Take the Crown is the ninth studio album released by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. The album was released in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2012 via Island Records. [4]
Take the Crown is preceded by the lead single, "Candy", a track Williams co-wrote with Gary Barlow which became his seventh solo number one single in the UK and 14th career UK number one. The album also featured the original demo version of Take That's "Eight Letters", which is entirely performed by Williams. It is his first solo album in three years after his return to Take That in 2010.
According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Take the Crown was the 36th global best-selling album of 2012, with sales of 1.2 million copies. [5] At the 2013 Brit Awards, "Candy" was nominated for British Single of the Year but lost to Adele's "Skyfall".[ citation needed ]
To promote the album, Williams started the Take the Crown Stadium Tour, which lasted from June to August 2013.
Speaking of the album, Williams has claimed: "After the Take That reunion – a busman's holiday, a break from my career which re-energised me in many, many ways – I wanted to come back with a massive solo album. My main priority was to write what I consider, and hopefully what the world would consider, to be hits. I'm very excited". [6]
The album was made available to pre-order from midnight on 3 September 2012. Music industry magazine Music Week was given the chance to listen to the record in advance and gave the following review: "Take The Crown is the big, brash, confident Robbie Williams pop record that his fans have been longing for but maybe didn't dare expect. If it had a sub-title it would be 'In Case You'd Forgotten'. Not wishing to denigrate the art of the record executive, but Island may as well have chosen the lead single by chucking a dart at the inlay sleeve. They couldn't have missed. Because there are no misses. Just hits – huge pop hits." [6]
The album's lead single, the Williams/Gary Barlow-penned "Candy", was released on 29 October 2012. The track was originally rumoured to be titled "Vertigo". Williams said of the track: "It's a summer song, very much in a similar vein to 'Rock DJ', about a girl who thinks she's great. And she might be, but she's a bit nefarious with her ways. Some songs take an age to write and some songs just fall out of your mouth completely formed, and you don't have to think about it. I don't know why that fell out of my mouth and out of my brain at that particular time – it just did." [6] Williams has stated that he did not tour his last album as he wasn't "into it that much". Williams said "I want to impress on people that I'm fully in with this one. I want to dominate the charts. I want to take on the world. I want to be a top pop star. I'm re-energised and it's called Take the Crown for that reason." [7]
The album's lead single, "Candy", premiered on 10 September 2012 and was released on 11 September in most countries and 29 October in the UK. [8] In the UK, "Candy" became Williams' first number one single since "Radio" (2004) and his seventh solo number one single. In its first week the song had sold 137,000 copies becoming the fastest-selling male artist single of the year. [9]
"Different" was released on 17 December and peaked at 64 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Be a Boy" was released on 11 March 2013 as a digital download.[ citation needed ]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 65/100 [10] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [11] |
The Daily Telegraph | [1] |
The Guardian | [12] |
The Independent | [13] |
The Independent on Sunday | [14] |
MusicOMH | [15] |
The Observer | [16] |
PopMatters | 7/10 [17] |
Slant Magazine | [18] |
Upon its release, Take the Crown received generally positive response from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 65/100 from Metacritic that indicates "generally favourable reviews". [10] Tom Hocknell from BBC Music gave Take the Crown a favourable review. He said that "The presence of producer Jacknife Lee demonstrates that Robbie's search to replace Guy Chambers and Steve Power has grown less urgent and more interesting". Hocknell felt that the album comes to life "with 'All That I Want' and the hypnotic 'Hunting for You', while 'Into the Silence' is evocative of The Joshua Tree-period U2". He also felt that Take the Crown finds Williams "sounding rather too serious, rather too often. It's safe, something of a retreat from past endeavours to a sound more suited to commercial returns in the present". [19] Andy Gill from The Independent gave the album three stars (out of five). He said that the album was "crafted with great skill, Williams and producer Jacknife Lee turning their hands to a range of styles". Gill mentioned influences such as U2 (on "Into the Silence" and "Hunting for You") and Plastic Bertrand (on "Hey Wow Yeah Yeah") as well as The Bee Gees in terms of songwriting. [13]
Alexis Petridis from The Guardian gave the album four stars (out of five). Petridis said that "You end up with an album that, had it been released as the followup to 2005's Intensive Care , would almost certainly have been the vast success that Williams wants it to be now. It's not going to win over anyone who doesn't already own at least a couple of Robbie Williams albums, but that isn't what it sets out to do". [12] Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph gave Take the Crown three stars (out of five). He said that the album is "chock-full of anthemic, highly charged pop-rock songs but the stadium-scale synth and guitar blend is a long way from cutting-edge contemporary chart music, while a recurring lyrical theme is regret for past behaviour". McCormick felt that the album is "more epic rock than playground pop" while stating that "The moment when Williams had his finger on the pulse of the pop nation is gone, leaving only a smart, accomplished entertainer singing to his fan base". [1]
In the United Kingdom, Take the Crown debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, making it Williams' tenth number one album. It also marked the second time that Williams had a number one single ("Candy") and album at the same time on the chart. The first time was in 2001 when "Somethin' Stupid" and Swing When You're Winning were number one on the singles and albums charts respectively. [20] In the UK, Take the Crown sold a total of 445,500 copies during 2012. [21] As of December 2013, the album had sold 515,207 copies in the UK. [22]
In November 2012, Robbie Williams performed three concerts at The O2 Arena in London as part of a promotional tour of the album. The concerts were all recorded and released as "instant" limited edition live albums. [23] The final night of the shows was broadcast live on the internet as well as on Sky1 and directed by Hamish Hamilton. [24] The Guardian gave the show four stars (out of five) while calling it "entertaining". It was noted that "there's not much of the big visual gimmickry that tends to mark out pop shows: it relies on Williams's personality and arsenal of hits to carry it, which they do." [25] Emily Jupp from The Independent has also given the shows four stars (out of five). She said that the show had "Spontaneous bursts of tap dancing, crotch-thrusting, bum-shaking, jokes about the Queen, carry-on style gags about sleeping with 'girls on the game', could form an entire show by themselves without any singing needed." Jupp also said that Williams is "a true entertainer, he treads a fine line between cheeky and offensive, like a racier version of Bruce Forsyth." [26] The shows also featured special appearances from Take That bandmate Gary Barlow and music producer Guy Chambers with whom Williams has not worked with since 2002. [27]
Encore
Venue | City | Tickets sold / available | Gross revenue |
---|---|---|---|
The O2 Arena | London | 54,305 / 56,325 (96%) | $7,900,231 [28] |
All production done by Jacknife Lee.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Be a Boy" |
| 4:39 |
2. | "Gospel" |
| 4:26 |
3. | "Candy" |
| 3:21 |
4. | "Different" |
| 4:52 |
5. | "Shit on the Radio" |
| 2:53 |
6. | "All That I Want" |
| 3:30 |
7. | "Hunting for You" |
| 3:58 |
8. | "Into the Silence" |
| 4:48 |
9. | "Hey Wow Yeah Yeah" |
| 2:52 |
10. | "Not Like the Others" |
| 4:15 |
11. | "Losers" (featuring Lissie) | 4:08 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "Reverse" |
| 3:56 |
13. | "Eight Letters" |
| 4:40 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Not Like the Others" (Making of the Album) | 4:30 |
2. | "Candy: Day 1" (Making of the Video) | 3:52 |
3. | "Candy: Day 2" (Making of the Video) | 4:29 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [68] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria) [69] | Platinum | 20,000* |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [70] | Gold | 10,000^ |
Germany (BVMI) [71] | Platinum | 200,000^ |
Hungary (MAHASZ) [72] | Gold | 3,000^ |
Ireland (IRMA) [73] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Italy (FIMI) [74] | Gold | 30,000* |
Netherlands (NVPI) [75] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [76] | Gold | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [77] | Platinum | 519,585 [78] |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 1,200,000 [5] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Label | Format |
---|---|---|---|
Ireland | 2 November 2012 | Universal Music | CD, digital download (standard and deluxe edition) |
Australia [79] | |||
Sweden [80] | |||
Germany [81] | Island | ||
United Kingdom | 5 November 2012 | ||
Mexico [82] [83] | 6 November 2012 | Universal Music | |
Italy [84] |
Robert Peter Williams is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, Life thru a Lens, was released in 1997, and included his best-selling single "Angels". His second album, I've Been Expecting You, featured the songs "Millennium" and "She's the One", his first and second number one singles. His discography includes seven UK No. 1 singles, and all but one of his 14 studio albums have reached No. 1 in the UK. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the UK, with two of them in the top 60, and he gained a Guinness World Record in 2006 for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day during his Close Encounters Tour.
Life thru a Lens is the debut solo album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams following his departure from Take That. Released on 29 September 1997 through Chrysalis Records, the album is influenced by Britpop, a departure from the poppier tone of the music Take That employed. The album's working name was The Show-Off Must Go On.
Sing When You're Winning is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was released on 28 August 2000 in the United Kingdom by Chrysalis Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. Following the critical and commercial success of I've Been Expecting You (1998), the North American release of The Ego Has Landed (1999) and the subsequent promotional tours for both albums, Williams reteamed with producers Guy Chambers and Steve Power to create new material for his next record. Whereas I've Been Expecting You used the Britpop genre for its overall sound, Sing When You're Winning incorporates a more post-millennial dance-pop approach while utilizing classic British rock elements.
I've Been Expecting You is the second studio album by English recording artist Robbie Williams. It was released on 26 October 1998 through Chrysalis Records. The album spawned five singles, including lead single "Millennium", which became Williams' first UK number-one hit.
Escapology is the fifth studio album recorded by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was released on 18 November 2002 through EMI Records. The album features a guest appearance by singer Rose Stone and was produced by Guy Chambers and Steve Power. The album's lead single "Feel" was released on 2 December 2002, two weeks after the album. The track was an international hit, reaching the top of the charts in Austria, Poland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and top five positions in countries such as Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Three other singles from the album were released: "Come Undone", "Something Beautiful" and "Sexed Up".
Intensive Care is the sixth studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, released on 24 October 2005 in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Stephen Duffy and Williams and was the first of Williams' albums to not be produced by longtime songwriting partner Guy Chambers. The album was supported by four singles: "Tripping", "Make Me Pure", "Advertising Space" and "Sin Sin Sin".
Swing When You're Winning is a swing cover album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, and his fourth studio album overall. It was released in the United Kingdom on 19 November 2001 and peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart.
Beautiful World is the fourth studio album by the English pop group Take That. Released on 27 November 2006, it was the band's first studio album in 11 years; it was also the band's first album to be released as a four-piece instead of the original five-piece, without Robbie Williams, who had quit the group in 1995 and was not to rejoin them until 2010. Five singles were released from the album: "Patience", "Shine", "I'd Wait for Life", the European-only single "Reach Out", and "Rule the World", which appeared on the deluxe tour edition. The album features what Take That describe as "a throwback to the 90s, but with a modern twist". Beautiful World is their first album in which every member of the band sings lead vocals on at least one song.
Nobody Else is the third studio album by English boy band Take That. It would become Take That's last studio album to be recorded before their initial disbandment in 1996.
The Circus is the fifth studio album by English pop band Take That. It was released in the United Kingdom on 1 December 2008. The album was their second, and also their last, as a four-piece, as founding member Robbie Williams returned for their sixth studio album Progress (2010), before both Williams and Jason Orange departed prior to the release of 2014's III.
Progress is the sixth studio album by English band Take That. It is the band's first album since Nobody Else (1995) to feature the original five-piece, with the return of Robbie Williams since his initial departure from the band in 1995, joined only on this album, and the final album to feature Jason Orange due to his departure from the band in 2014, which marked the final album to feature the original formation. The album was released in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2010.
Reality Killed the Video Star is the eighth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, released in November 2009. The album was produced by Trevor Horn and recorded between September 2008 and August 2009 in London and Los Angeles. It debuted in the top ten of 22 national album charts worldwide, and has received varying reviews from music critics. It incorporates elements of pop rock, dance-rock, alternative rock and adult contemporary music. Reality Killed the Video Star was viewed by critics and fans as being Williams' "comeback album" after the relative failure of his 2006 release, Rudebox.
"Bodies" is a song by English recording artist Robbie Williams. It was released on 12 October 2009 by EMI as the lead single from his eighth studio album Reality Killed the Video Star (2009). It received its premiere on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 after an interview with Williams on 4 September 2009 at 8 am. It is Williams' first single release as a solo artist since "She's Madonna" in March 2007.
In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010 is the second greatest hits compilation album by the English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, after his first greatest hits compilation, Greatest Hits, which was released in 2004. The album, which features 39 songs, was released in October 2010 and is his last album under his recording contract with EMI. The lead single of the album is "Shame", co-written by and featuring fellow Take That member Gary Barlow. The song is their first collaboration in 15 years since Williams left Take That in 1995.
English singer Gary Barlow has released six studio albums, eighteen singles, twenty-two music videos and five featured songs. Barlow has had fifteen number-one UK singles, eleven number-one albums and has written thirteen UK number-one singles, selling over 50 million records worldwide and over seven million concert tickets.
Rudebox is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, released by Chrysalis Records on 23 October 2006 in the United Kingdom. A breakaway from previous releases, the singer worked with a variety of producers on the album, including Mark Ronson, Soul Mekanik, Pet Shop Boys, William Orbit, Joey Negro, and Jerry Meehan. It also features two guest appearances from the Pet Shop Boys. Musically, Rudebox is a dance album with pop, disco, electronica and rap elements.
"Candy" is a song by English pop singer Robbie Williams, released on 11 September 2012 as the lead single from his ninth studio album Take the Crown. It was written by Williams and Gary Barlow, interpolating a riff from "Eurodans" by Terje Olsen. The song was Williams's first UK number-one single since "Radio" in 2004, and was deliberately produced in the style of other 2012 chart-toppers in a calculated attempt to re-establish his presence in the UK charts.
Swings Both Ways is the tenth studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It is his second swing album after 2001's Swing When You're Winning; unlike the latter, which had one original composition, this album features an equal mix of both covers and original material. The album marked Williams' first major work with former longtime collaborator Guy Chambers since 2002's Escapology. Chambers produced the album and co-wrote most of the album's new material with Williams.
III is the seventh studio album by English pop band Take That. It is their first studio album since 2010's Progress and the first to feature the band as a trio, following the departures of Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. The album was released on 28 November 2014. According to Gary Barlow, the album's sound is an "amalgamation of the past eight years" of Take That material.
The Heavy Entertainment Show is the eleventh studio album by English recording artist Robbie Williams. It was released on 4 November 2016 through Columbia Records. It features guest appearances from Rufus Wainwright and John Grant. The album was primarily produced by Williams' longtime songwriting partner Guy Chambers and Richard Flack, along with a variety of producers such as Stuart Price, Johnny McDaid and Gary Go.