Over the Rainbow (Connie Talbot album)

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Over the Rainbow
Cover album by Connie Talbot
Released	26 November 2007
Genre	Pop
Label	Rainbow Recording Company (Rhythm Riders)
Producer	Simon Hill and Rob May
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Digital Spy link

Over the Rainbow is Connie Talbot's debut album, and was released 26 November 2007 by Rainbow Recording Company. It received poor reviews from critics and peaked at 38 on the British charts. Despite this, additional copies of the album had to be pressed after sales were higher than expected, and it was rated gold in early December 2007 after selling over 100,000 copies in Britain alone. The recording of the album and its release was geared towards Talbot's young age, with much of the recording being done in her auntie's spare room. Public appearances were kept to a minimum, though Talbot did make some public and television appearances to promote the album, and performed in public several times. She later toured Asia in support of the album, achieving more success on the Asian charts, with the album reaching number one in three countries.

A rerelease of Over the Rainbow is due to be released on 18 June 2008 with an updated tracklist, replacing some of the Christmas themed tracks with more general covers. The first single from the album, "Three Little Birds" was released in June 2008, and a music video for the song was shot in Jamaica.

Contents 1 Recording and release 2 Publicity 3 Critical reception 4 Chart performance and sales 5 Track listing 6 2008 rerelease 6.1 Track listing 7 References

[edit] Recording and release

After briefly recording with Sony BMG, Talbot was signed to Rainbow Recording Company, an offshoot of Rhythm Riders made specifically for her.^[1] To produce Over the Rainbow, Talbot worked with John Arnison, who currently also manages Gabrielle and Billy Ocean, and Marc Marot, former managing director of Island Records.^[1] It was produced and mixed by Simon Hill and Rob May.^[2] A recording schedule was worked out so that Talbot could continue with her normal school activities while recording the album in her aunty Vicky's spare bedroom, which her mother described as "a better solution [than Sony BMG] which has not robbed her of her childhood".^[1] The final version of Over the Rainbow was recorded at Olympic Studios, on 12 October 2007.^[3] The album was released on 26 November 2007,^[4] with an initial pressing of 50,000 copies.^[5] However, an additional 120,000 had to be pressed after the album sold out in days.^[5]

[edit] Publicity

Although Arnison claimed he did not "want to put [Talbot] through the promotional grind which most artists go through because she is too young",^[1] Talbot made several public appearances after the album release, include headlining the Great Bridge Christmas and Winter Festival, which local police threatened to cancel unless crowds clamouring to reach the tent in which Talbot was performing could be brought under control.^[6] At the event, on 7 December 2007, Talbot was quoted as saying "I love it here, it’s brilliant, really fun" but had to be ushered off-stage by the police.^[6] Talbot also appeared with 9 year-old James Buckley, Dragons' Den winner, to turn on the 2007 Halifax Christmas lights.^[7] She was also responsible for the turning on of Walsall's Christmas lights, and has performed publicly in Walsall's HMV store, and in Birmingham's Centenary Square.^[8] TV appearances included GMTV and Channel 5 news, both on the day of the album's release.^[8]

In April and May 2008, Talbot toured Asia to promote Over the Rainbow.^[9] Asian press attributed her success to her videos on YouTube, with the Sun.Star mentioning that her most viewed video had been watched over 14 million times,^[10] and The New Paper saying that videos of Talbot's performances have been watched over 35 million times.^[9] The tour made stops in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, and Talbot and her family returned to England in late May.^[11]

[edit] Critical reception

The album was received mostly negatively by critics. Sharon Mawer, of All Music Guide, praised Over the Rainbow by saying "[Talbot] can sing, for a seven year old, and most of the notes (if not all of them) are in the right order and sung to the right pitch; the timing is fine too".^[12] However, she criticised the album, saying "there's no feeling, no emotion, no realization of what each song is about; they're just pretty little songs", giving the album 2/5.^[12] Nick Levine, of Digital Spy, said in a review of the album that Talbot had a "sweet, pure voice", but that there is "no nuance or depth to her performance".^[13] However, he said that "There's something inherently wrong about awarding a star rating to a seven-year-old", and that "the decidedly adult concept of musical merit should have nothing to do with [her music]", awarding the album 2/5.^[13] Reviewers in the Harlow Star agreed, saying "There's no doubt she's a sweet little girl with a nice voice, but surely there's something inherently wrong with thrusting a child into the limelight at such a young age?"^[14]

[edit] Chart performance and sales

The album peaked in the British album charts at 38,^[15] and was almost out of the charts by Christmas,^[16] despite having been tipped as a potential Christmas number one.^[17][1] However, the album was certified gold in Britain in early December,^[6] with Talbot being presented a gold disc by Phillip Schofield on daytime television programme This Morning.^[5] Following Talbot's tour of Asia, it was reported that the album had reached number one on the charts in Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong,^[11][18] as well as reaching number three in Singapore.^[11]

[edit] Track listing

The album contains no original songs, only covers of older songs, some of which Talbot performed on Britain's Got Talent.^[19]

1. "Somewhere over the Rainbow"
2. "I Believe"
3. "White Christmas"
4. "Imagine"
5. "Walking in the Air"
6. "Favourite Things"
7. "Wonderful World"
8. "Ben"
9. "I Will Always Love You"
10. "Silent Night"
11. "I Have a Dream"

[edit] 2008 rerelease

This article contains information about a scheduled or expected future album. The content may change as the album release approaches and more information becomes available.

Over the Rainbow
Cover album by Connie Talbot
Released	18 June 2008
Genre	Pop
Label	Rainbow Recording Company (Rhythm Riders)
Producer	Simon Hill and Rob May

Over the Rainbow is due to be rereleased on 18 June 2008,^[18] and was available for preorder in May, with three new tracks to replace the Christmas-themed songs on the original album.^[20][10] The new tracks will be made available from Talbot's official website so that those who bought the original need not buy the rerelease.^[20] Talbot's song "Three Little Birds", a cover of the Bob Marley song of the same name, was released as a single on 10 June 2008,^[18][21] with a music video being shot in Jamaica for the release.^[22]

[edit] Track listing

1. "Over the Rainbow"
2. "I Believe"
3. "Smile"
4. Three Little Birds"
5. "Imagine"
6. "My Favourite Things"
7. "Any Dream Will Do"
8. "What a Wonderful World"
9. "Ben"
10. "I Will Always Love You"
11. "I Have a Dream"
12. "You Raise Me Up"

[edit] References

v • d • e Connie Talbot Studio albums Over the Rainbow (2007)  · Over the Rainbow (2008) Singles "Three Little Birds" (2008)