| Alexis Jordan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Alexis Jordan | ||
| Released | February 25, 2011 (see release history) |
|
| Recorded | January 1, 2007-October 15, 2010 | |
| Genre | Dance-pop, pop, R&B | |
| Length | 40:33 | |
| Label | StarRoc, Roc Nation, Columbia | |
| Producer | StarGate (also exec.), Sandy Vee, Nightwatch, Espionage | |
| Singles from Alexis Jordan | ||
Alexis Jordan is the self-titled debut studio album by American recording artist Alexis Jordan. It was released from February 25, 2011. After being signed to rapper Jay-Z's Roc Nation label in March 2010, Jordan began working with Norwegian production duo Stargate on the album. The album was preceded by the lead single, "Happiness" on September 7, 2010. The album and singles proved to be successful in the United Kingdom, with both singles and the album all peaking within the top-ten.
Contents |
In an interview with Digital Spy Alexis Jordan revealed that one of the tracks on her new album is dedicated to her fans. She described the song "Say That" as a "thank you" to her fans who have stood by her over the past two years.
"I would say it's one of those records that is dedicated to my fans," she told Digital Spy. "I'm saying, 'say that it's us' - that even if things don't work out - then at least we still have each other!
"I have to thank my fans on this record because they've been more supportive than I could have ever imagined. This is the song where I'm asking them to stay with me."
Discussing the sound of the track, she said: "This is my country one, but there's also a bit of reggae in there too. It's one of the earlier tracks I recorded that I loved to death. I kept it aside right at the beginning of the project, so it's stayed with just me for a very long time!"[1]
"Happiness" was released as the album's lead single on September 7, 2010. It peaked at number three in the UK and Australia, while it became a top-ten hit in Belgium (Flanders), New Zealand, and Poland. The song also peaked at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. In the United States, "Happiness" debuted on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart at number forty.[2] It climbed the chart in subsequent weeks and peaked at the top position for the week, July 17, 2010.[3] The song held the position for one week before losing it to Wynter Gordon's "Dirty Talk".[4] Also in the US, the song reached number one on the Hot Dance Airplay chart.[5] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted, and peaked, at #3 for the week ending November 13, 2010.[6][7] It made its Irish debut at number thirty-six[8] and peaked at number thirty-one.[9] On the European Hot 100 Singles chart, "Happiness" reached number thirteen.[10] In Australia, the song debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number twenty-five on December 19, 2010,[11] before peaking at number three in its sixth week on the chart. It has since been certified triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for sales of 210,000 units. In April 2011, the song reached number one for ten weeks in the Dutch Top 40 and at this moment the biggest hit of the year in the Dutch top 40 staying there for thirty weeks.[12]
"Good Girl" was released as the second single from the album on February 18, 2011. On February 24, 2011 "Good Girl" debuted at number eighteen in Ireland, and has since peaked at number fifteen.[13] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number six on February 27, 2011, becoming Jordan's second top-ten single in the UK.[14] In the United States, the song debuted at number fourteen on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart on the issue dated March 19, 2011. It reached the top of the chart on the issue dated April 30, 2011, becoming Jordan's second consecutive number-one hit in the US.[3]
"Hush Hush" was released as the third single from the album. It was released on June 12, 2011 in the United Kingdom.[15] The song peaked at number 36 in Ireland,[16] and 66 in the UK from strong downloads from the album, almost one month before the official release.
"Say That was released as the fourth official single a video for the song was released online October 26, 2011.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| BBC Music | (positive)[17] |
| The Border Mail | [18] |
| The Guardian | [19] |
| The Observer | (negative)[20] |
| OK! | [21] |
| Virgin Media | (mixed)[22] |
The album received mixed to positive reviews from most music critics with many comparing the sound of the album to Barbadian R&B recording artist Rihanna. Natalie Shaw of BBC Music categorized the album as bubblegum pop while praising its lyrics, "Her lyrics are unbridled enough to melt an ice-cold heart – she sings about wanting to walk in high heels, and how she enjoys listening to her crush’s voice as he talks to her on the phone. While this may sound unbearably twee, it’s that very focus on a pure, single-minded crush that makes it; the mood and upbeat tempo of this album as a whole has all of the excitement of that very feeling."[17] The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan dismissed Alexis Jordan's voice writing, "Jordan is reputed to have a voice worth hearing, but here it's been AutoTuned or buried under layers of Stargate's trademark clattery beats, to the point where any distinctiveness is lost."[19] Matthew Laidlow of Virgin Media felt the album was sufficient for a debut release but criticized the lack of a consistent dance-pop sound, "Instead [...] there is a collection of songs that just cast the impression the producers working with Alexis Jordan tried all sorts of sounds to suit her, couldn’t nail a distinct style and just put the collective efforts on the album."[22] Hermione Hoby of The Observer gave the album a negative review saying, "Jordan's only 18 but has worked for almost half a decade to release this debut. [...] So it's a shame that she doesn't have much more to say here than "I want to walk in the club with my high heels on." Like Jordan's naughty-girl/good-girl shtick, these tunes are depressingly predictable."[20] In his review for The Border Mail, Jamie Horne compared the songs "Habit" and "How You Like Me Now" to Rihanna, noting the latter song's similarity to "Umbrella" (2007). He found the album "dancefloor friendly" commenting how Jordan "seems to be joining R&B stars like Chris Brown, Rihanna and Usher [who] have all upped their BPMs of late.[18] OK! Magazine gave the album a positive review writing, "It’s jam-packed with ridiculously catchy electro-infused pop that’s likely to get stuck in your head for days. Highlights include Good Girl, Hush Hush and Happiness, any of which would shoot straight to the top of the charts if released by Girls Aloud or The Saturdays."[21]
The album debuted at number twenty-eight in Ireland on March 4, 2011. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number nine on March 6, 2011. The album also debuted at number eleven in Australia. On April 30 2011, the album debuted at number 80 on the Dutch Album Chart. In its 13th week the album shot from 72 to 23, reaching it's peak of 21 two weeks later.[23]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Happiness" | Deadmau5, Autumn Rowe, Petr Brdicko, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen | StarGate, Deadmau5 | 4:03 |
| 2. | "Good Girl" | Rowe, Eriksen, Brdicko, Hermansen, Sandy Wilhelm, Espen Lind, Amund Björklund | StarGate, Sandy Vee | 3:56 |
| 3. | "How You Like Me Now" | August Rigo, Eriksen, Hermansen | StarGate | 3:13 |
| 4. | "Say That" | Johntá Austin, Eriksen, Hermansen, Lind, Björklund | StarGate | 3:23 |
| 5. | "Love Mist" | Eriksen, Hermansen | StarGate | 3:19 |
| 6. | "Habit" | Crystal Johnson, Eriksen, Hermansen | StarGate | 3:35 |
| 7. | "Hush Hush" | Rowe, Bond, Brdicko, Eriksen, Hermansen, Wilhelm | StarGate, Sandy Vee | 3:43 |
| 8. | "High Road" | Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen, Thijs de Vlieger, LaShawn Daniels | Nightwatch | 3:07 |
| 9. | "Shout Shout" | August Rigo, Bond, Eriksen, Hermansen, Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley | METI & Rigo, Mix by: StarGate | 4:08 |
| 10. | "Laying Around" | Shaffer Smith, Eriksen, Hermansen | StarGate | 4:01 |
| 11. | "The Air That I Breathe" | Lind, Björklund, Claude Kelly | Espionage | 4:06 |
| German second edition additional track[24] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | |||||
| 12. | "Happiness" (Dave Audé Mix) | Deadmau5, Autumn Rowe, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen | StarGate, Deadmau5 | 3:23 | |||||
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart[25] | 11 |
| Australian Urban Albums Chart[26] | 5 |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[27] | 87 |
| Dutch Albums Chart[28] | 21 |
| Irish Albums Chart[29] | 28 |
| Polish Albums Chart[30] | 62 |
| Scottish Albums Chart[31] | 9 |
| Swiss Albums Chart[32] | 96 |
| UK Albums Chart[33] | 9 |
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland[34] | February 25, 2011 | CD, digital download |
| United Kingdom[35][36] | February 28, 2011 | |
| Australia[37] | March 4, 2011 | |
| Germany[38] | April 29, 2011 | |
| Poland[39] | May 16, 2011 | CD |
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