Destiny (No Angels album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Destiny
Destiny cover
Studio album by No Angels
Released April 13, 2007
Recorded January-March 2007;
Sound Studio N
(Cologne, Germany);
Ghost Studios,
Sound State Studio
(Stockholm, Sweden)
Genre Pop
Length 49:24
Label Polydor/Universal
Producer Pelle Ankarberg, Arnthor Birgisson, Boogieman, Thorsten Brötzmann, Ghost, GrooveFactory, Tobias Gustafsson, Jiant, Kriss K & Ivar, Adrian Newman, Vincent Pontaré, Roland Spremberg, Snowflakers, Twin, Michel Zitron
Professional reviews
No Angels chronology
Acoustic Angels
(2004)		 Destiny
(2007)		 Very Best of No Angels
(2008)
Destiny Reloaded
Destiny Reloaded
Singles from Destiny
  1. "Goodbye to Yesterday"
    Released: March 16, 2007
  2. "Maybe"
    Released: June 15, 2007
  3. "Amaze Me"/"Teardrops"
    Released: October 19, 2007
  4. "Disappear"
    Released: February 29, 2008

Destiny is the fourth studio album by German pop group No Angels, released by Polydor Records and Universal Music Domestic on April 13, 2007 (see 2007 in music). Primarily produced by production teams Mute8 and Twin, with additional contribution from Max Martin, Steve Mac, Adrian Newman and Tobias Gustafsson among others, it was the band's first commercial album release since their break-up in the fall of 2003. The album peaked at number 4 on the German albums chart, and reached number 14 in Austria and number 22 in Switzerland. On March 14, 2008, a re-release edition of the album, branded Destiny Reloaded, was released.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Production and songs

Following their secret reformation in mid-2006 and several early meetings in Stockholm, Sweden at the end of the year the No Angels finally entered the Sound N recording studios in Cologne, Germany in January 2007 to intensify work on their then-untitled fourth album. Although the band members each had written or pre-recorded songs for the album, they eventually decided not to record self-written material since Benaissa, Diakovska, Mölling, and Wahls found themselves struggling to find a stylistic "main thread" within their own songs.[2] Instead, the band focused on collecting and selecting adaptable songs with a "typical but contemporary No Angels sound,"[2] of which some were penned exclusively for the group by various producers and songwriters from Sweden, England, and Australia.[2]

With most of the album's instrumentals being produced in absence of the band, all vocals for the album were recorded simultaneously in two studios and control rooms to get all the vocals done in around eighteen days and meet the deadline.[3] In-house studio engineers Nico Schütte and Tobias Eichelberg were consulted for recording at the Sound Studio N,[3] with the first half of the album recorded in mid-January 2007 and the rest wrapped in late February 2007, interrupted by several promotional appearances.[2] In the end, thirteen out of a total of sixteen tracks made it to the final tracklisting.[2]

The album's opening track, "Goodbye to Yesterday," was an eleventh-hour addition to Destiny`s recording list,[4] handed in by longtime contributors Niclas Molinder, Pelle Ankarberg and Joacim Persson. It was eventually selected as the album's lead single out of a total of seven candidates,[5] and the first song confirmed to be appearing on the album, reaching the top 5 of the German Singles Chart upon its release.[6] Molinder and Persson's other offerings on the album include guitar-driven "Back Off" and the album's second single "Maybe," a cover version of Norwegian singer Trine Rein's Melodi Grand Prix 2007 entry.[4] The quartet worked with producer Ghost on "I Believe in You," and Arnthor Birgisson on "I Had a Feeling," both being remakes of the same-titled songs on Agnes Carlsson's 2006 album Stronger. As reported, latter track occupied the longest work until complementation.[4]

"Been Here Before" was written and produced by Itchycoo band members Tobias Gustafsson and Mia Bergström. It has been described as the moxt experimental record on the album,[4] radiating "pure sexyness," according to Mölling.[4] Steve Mac and Karen Poole contributed "Amaze Me," the album's third single; while newcomer Adrian Newman produced the "spheric" mid-tempo ballad "What If."[4] "Make a Change," the group's favourite song on the album, is an English language remake of French girl band L5's single "Reste Encore" (2003); it was one of the first song first songs assuredly to be included on the album, alongside "Misguided Heart" and "I Don't Wanna Talk about It."[4] Dana Glover track "A Reason" has been described as a highbrow track, comprising a complex musical mixture by the likes of Tori Amos and Amanda Marshall,[4] and a perfect introduction of the album's last song, "The Rhythm of My Heart."[4]

[edit] Style and lyrical content

The No Angels have described the album as more of a "continuation" of earlier projects instead of a musical reorientation in the course of the reunion,[7] containing "powerful up-tempo songs, beat-driven tracks and empathic ballds" in similar style of the band's pre-disbandment releases.[8] However, although incorporating elements of rock, soul and dance music, the songs are mainly affected by keyboards and string instruments.[9] Commenting on the albums lyrics and their tendency to post-break up issues, Benaissa said: "I'd say, we're offering a broad range [of topics] with different directions [...] We just chose [the songs] for their statements, their energy and the feeling.[10]

Although the quartet had several titles for the album in mind at one time or another, including "platitudinous und boring"[11] names such as Comeback, Reunion, Chapter Four and New Beginning, the longplayer was eventually named after a song called "Destiny Calls."[11] The record failed to make the cut on the final tracklisting, but widely served as a metaphor for the band's "emotional relation" to the band:[11] "For us, it really was a fateful encounter when we went to the [Popstars] audition," Nadja Benaissa told in an interview with Netzeitung. "Ever since our whole lives have changed."[11]

[edit] Release and reception

Destiny received a mixed reception from music critics, with most professional reviewers praising the quartet for their "unmistakable singing pleasure" and "strong vocal performance" on the album,[9] also citing the band's modern understanding of "solid pop music."[12] Others called the album a "well-produced comeback missing a big bang,"[13] with laut.de and CDStarts especially critizising the abundance of fillers on Destiny[9] and the songwriters' tendency for semi-plagiarism on songs such as "Been Here Before" and "Make a Change."[12] Released on April 13, 2007, Destiny debuted at number 4 in Germany, number 14 in Austria and number 22 in Switzerland, making it the band's first regular studio album release not to reach the top position on the German Media Control Charts and the top 10 in Austria and Switzerland respectively; Billboard ranked the album fourteenth on its European Albums Chart.[14] As of June 2007, the album has sold about 30,000 copies domestically, also making it the No Angels' lowest selling album to date.[15]

Although scheduled to spawn a fourth single,[16] the original album produced three singles only: Redfly-penned "Goodbye to Yesterday", the album's lead single and the band's first release after a three years absence, reached number 4 in Germany, and peaked within the top 20 in Switzerland and Lithuania and the top 30 in Austria. By contrast, follow-up "Maybe," a Trine Rein cover, and a third single, consisting of "Amaze Me" and a previously unreleased cover of Womack & Womack's "Teardrops," both saw moderate impact on the charts with peak position of numbers 36 and 62 in Germany and Austria, and number 25 respectively, becoming the band's lowest-charting singles to date. While plans for a planned Special Winter Edition of the album were eventually scrapped, both a Limited Pur Edition, containing the previously unreleased single "Disappear," and a Reloaded edition of the album, including a second disc, were released on March 14, 2008 and re-entered the German albums chart at number 75.[1]

[edit] Covers and samples

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Goodbye to Yesterday" (Niclas Molinder, Joacim Persson, Pelle Ankarberg, David Jassy) - 3:29
  2. "I Believe in You" (Johan Ekhé, Negin Djafari, Ulf Lindström) - 3:36
  3. "Been Here Before" (Tobias Gustafsson, Mia Bergström, Haakan Nils Ingvar Glante) - 3:04
  4. "Amaze Me" (Steve Mac, Karen Poole) - 3:47
  5. "Maybe" (Maryann Morgan, Molinder, Persson, Ankarberg) - 3:23
  6. "I Had a Feeling" (Jörgen Elofsson, Arnthor Birgisson) - 3:30
  7. "Make a Change" (Christina Rumbley, Peter Ibsen, Sacha Skarbek) - 3:37
  8. "Back Off" (Molinder, Persson, Ankarberg, Jassy) - 4:25
  9. "What If" (Adrian Newman) - 4:10
  10. "I Don't Wanna Talk about It" (Ivar Lisinski, David Clewett, Negin) - 4:26
  11. "Misguided Heart" (Steve Robson, Hannah Robinson) - 4:08
  12. "A Reason" (Derek Bramble, Lindy Robbins, Dana Glover) - 4:13
  13. "The Rhythm of My Heart" (Andreas John, Erik McHoll, Hanne Sorvaag, Adrian Zag, Alexah Carlton, Mario Novack) - 3:00

[edit] Special Pur Edition

(Released on March 14, 2008)

  1. "Disappear" (Remee, Hanne Sorvaag, Thomas Troelsen) - 3:22
  2. "Goodbye to Yesterday" - 3:29
  3. "I Believe in You" - 3:36
  4. "Been Here Before" - 3:04
  5. "Amaze Me" - 3:47
  6. "Maybe" - 3:23
  7. "I Had a Feeling" - 3:30
  8. "Make a Change" - 3:37
  9. "Back Off" - 4:25
  10. "What If" - 4:10
  11. "I Don't Wanna Talk about It" - 4:26
  12. "Misguided Heart" - 4:08
  13. "A Reason" - 4:13
  14. "The Rhythm of My Heart" - 3:00

[edit] Destiny Reloaded

(Released on March 14, 2008)

CD
  1. "Disappear" - 3:22
  2. "Been Here Before" - 3:04
  3. "Teardrops" (Single Version) - 3:08
  4. "Amaze Me" - 3:47
  5. "I Believe in You" - 3:36
  6. "I Had a Feeling" - 3:30
  7. "Maybe" (Tomasino Remix) - 3:23
  8. "Make a Change" - 3:37
  9. "Back Off" - 4:25
  10. "Been Here Before" (Tomasino Remix) - 3:04
  11. "Misguided Heart" - 4:08
  12. "I Don't Wanna Talk about It" - 4:26
  13. "Maybe" - 3:23
  14. "Secret's Out" (Celetia Martin, Mats Berntoft, Magnus Wallbert) - 3:13
  15. "What If" - 4:10
  16. "Goodbye to Yesterday" - 3:29
  17. "A Reason" - 4:13
  18. "Ain't Gonna Look the Other Way" (Tracy Ackerman, Anders Bagge, Per Åström) - 3:50
  19. "The Rhythm of My Heart" - 3:00
Bonus DVD
  1. "No Angels - Live in Concert"
  2. "No Angels - The New Videocollection (incl. Making-ofs)"
"Goodbye to Yesterday"
"Maybe"
"Amaze Me"
"Teardrops"
"Disappear"
  1. "No Angels - Photo Slideshow"

[edit] Leftover tracks

  • "Destiny Calls" [11]

[edit] Charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart [14] 14
European Top 100 Albums Chart [17] 14
German Albums Chart [14] 4
Swiss Albums Chart [14] 22

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b "Tracklist des Destiny Re-Releases". NoAngels-Inside. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Wir haben keine Lust zu warten". 1Live.de. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
  3. ^ a b "No Angels - Destiny". Tobymusic.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Track by Track". 104.6 RTL. Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
  5. ^ No Angels @ Viva Live. Youtube. Retrieved on 2007-02-01.
  6. ^ German chart history. chartsurfer.de. Retrieved on 2007-03-31.
  7. ^ "Der No Angels Chat - jetzt online nachlesen!". The Dome. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  8. ^ "Out now: "Destiny" - das Comeback-Album der No Angels ab heute erhältlich!work=Pop24. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  9. ^ a b c "No Angels - Destiny". LAUT. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  10. ^ "Was verdienst DU denn?". laut.de. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Alle ist so woah, yeah, uh, Baby!". Netzeitung. Retrieved on 2007-05-22.
  12. ^ a b "Destiny review". CDStars. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  13. ^ "CD-Kritiken". T-Online.de. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  14. ^ a b c d Destiny Performance. A-Charts.us. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
  15. ^ "Die "Popstars" gehen am Donnerstag bei ProSieben in die sechste Runde". Sat & Kabel. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
  16. ^ "Popgruppe No Angels bei Volle Kanne". ZDFmediathek. Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
  17. ^ Chart Archive. Billboard.biz. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
v • d • e
No Angels
Nadja Benaissa · Lucy Diakovska · Sandy Mölling · Jessica Wahls
Vanessa Petruo
Studio albums
Elle'ments (2001) · Now... Us! (2002) · Pure (2003) · Destiny (2007)
Other albums
Singles
Tours
Related articles
Languages