Battleground (album)

Battleground
Studio album by The Wanted
Released 4 November 2011 (2011-11-04)
Recorded January–September 2011
Genre Pop, R&B, dance pop
Length 43:32
Label Island
Producer Steve Mac
The Wanted chronology
The Wanted
(2010)		 Battleground
(2011)
Singles from Battleground
  1. "Gold Forever"
    Released: 13 March 2011 (2011-03-13)
  2. "Glad You Came"
    Released: 10 July 2011 (2011-07-10)
  3. "Lightning"
    Released: 16 October 2011 (2011-10-16)
  4. "Warzone"
    Released: 26 December 2011 (2011-12-26)
  5. "Invincible"
    Released: 19 February 2012 (2012-02-19)

Battleground is the second studio album released by British boyband The Wanted on 4 November 2011 through Island Records. The album has sold 104,000 copies so far.

Contents

Background

In January 2011, the group began work on their second studio album with previous songwriter and producer Steve Mac. In February 2011, it was revealed the group would be releasing the official Comic Relief single for 2011. In April 2011, the group embarked on their first headline tour, playing 16 dates in 12 different UK cities. The tour was in support of their debut album The Wanted but whilst on tour, the group previewed a song from their new song, "Lightning". The track was co-written by the band and Ed Drewett. In May 2011, the band confirmed they had signed a record deal with American label Def Jam which could see their second album released in the US. Max George confirmed on 28 September that the album was complete and the following day, Nathan Sykes confirmed the album would be released with the title Battleground.

2012 Repacked Edition

When first announced for sale, the tracklisting for Battleground included seven tracks do not appear on the final tracklisting of the album.[1] As such, these tracks went unreleased. The band announced on 8 November 2011, that a repackaged version of the album will be issued in 2012[2], containing the seven unreleased tracks, plus a new duet, "Jealousy", with Barbadian singer Rihanna. The album will also include a further new track, "Chasing The Sun", written for the band by rapper Example.[3]

Singles

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [4]
4Music [5]
BBC Music (positive)[6]
Digital Spy [7]
OK! Magazine [8]
Virgin Media [9]

The album received mostly favorable reviews from music critics. Jon O'Brien wrote for Allmusic that "Battleground, is disappointingly a little more pedestrian than its predecessor", writing that "Battleground should still consolidate their position as heirs to the boy band throne, but with the likes of One Direction now snapping at their heels, they'll have to rediscover their inventive streak in the future if they are to ever take the crown."[10] Nick Levine wrote for BBC that the album is "a solid pop platter that's not lacking in personality – even if the latter does manifest itself in a smattering of lyrics clunkier than testing day at the seat belt factory."[6] Robert Copsey wrote for Digital Spy that "Though the end result shows that they may have taken the battle of the boybands a touch too seriously, much to their credit they come out the other side largely unscathed."[7] David Griffiths wrote for 4Music that "it's an album which wisely leaves the listener wanting more and suggests that this is a band with a very bright future."[5] Matthew Horton wrote a mixed review for Virgin Media that "It's a curiously bloodless affair though, with none of the boys yet to establish an identity, and too much sails past without leaving an impression."[9] This Must Be Pop chose Last To Know as their Song of the Day.[11]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number four in Ireland, becoming their first top ten album in the country.[12] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number five.[13] It sold 47,530 copies in its first week. Although debuting at one position lower than their debut album, its sales where 22.91% copies higher.[14] It has since been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 100,000 copies in the UK.[15]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Glad You Came"   Steve Mac, Wayne Hector, Ed Drewett Mac 3:18
2. "Lightning"   Mac, Hector, Drewett Mac 3:26
3. "Warzone"   Jack McManus, Harry Sommerdahl, Max George, Nathan Sykes Phat Fabe, Sommerdahl 3:38
4. "Invincible"   Fabian Torsson, MacManus, George, Sykes Torsson, MacManus 3:09
5. "Last to Know"   Heather Bright, Pär Westerlund, Joakim Olovsson, Björn Olovsson Paro, Tortuga[16] 3:34
6. "I'll Be Your Strength"   Brian Higgins, Uzoechi Emenike, Matt Gray, Owen Parker, Miranda Cooper, Jay McGuiness, Sykes, Toby Scott Xenomania 3:25
7. "Rocket"   Diane Warren Warren 3:15
8. "I Want It All"   Guy Chambers, Siva Kaneswaran, Daniel Kaneswaran Chambers 3:21
9. "The Weekend"   Tom Parker, Sykes, Chris Young Young 3:08
10. "Lie To Me"   Parker, Eliot Kennedy, Nina Woodford, James Jayawardena Kennedy 3:44
11. "Gold Forever"   Mac, Hector, Claude Kelly Steve Mac 3:58

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Irish Albums Chart[12] 4
Spanish Albums Chart[18] 56
UK Albums Chart[13] 5

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Gold 100,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Ireland[20] 4 November 2011 CD, digital download Island Records
United Kingdom[21] 7 November 2011
Brazil[22] 22 November 2011 Universal Music

References

  1. ^ http://thewantedunofficial.blogspot.com/2011/07/album-2-tracklist-revealed.html
  2. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a355567/the-wanted-tease-new-album-battleground-deluxe-version.html
  3. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a349923/the-wanted-plan-duet-with-female-us-star.html
  4. ^ "The Wanted - Battleground - Review - Allmusic". Allmusic. 7 November 2011. http://www.allmusic.com/album/battleground-r2316310. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  5. ^ a b "News: The Wanted - Battleground - 'The Wanted continue to break the boyband mould on their latest album'". 4music. 7 November 2011. http://www.4music.com/news/reviews/1973/The-Wanted-Battleground. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  6. ^ a b "BBC - Music - Review of The Wanted - Battleground". BBC. 10 November 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/fr28. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  7. ^ a b "The Wanted: 'Battleground' - Album review - Music Review - Digital Spy". Digital Spy. 7 November 2011. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/albumreviews/a349993/the-wanted-battleground-album-review.html. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  8. ^ "Review: The Wanted, Battleground". OK! Magazine. 1 November 2011. http://www.ok.co.uk/music/view/41614/Review-The-Wanted-Battleground/Review-The-Wanted-BattlegroundReview-The-Wanted-BattlegroundReview-The-Wanted-Battleground. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  9. ^ a b "The Wanted - Battleground - Virgin Media". Virgin Media. 1 November 2011. http://www.virginmedia.com/music/reviews/the-wanted-battleground.php. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  10. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named allmusic; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text
  11. ^ http://www.thismustbepop.com/2011/11/my-songs-of-week.html
  12. ^ a b "Chart Track". Irish Albums Chart. GfK. http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p%2Fmusicvideo%2Fmusic%2Farchive%2Findex_test.jsp&ct=240002&arch=t&lyr=2011&year=2011&week=45. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
  13. ^ a b "Archive Chart". UK Albums Chart. The Official Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/2011-11-12/. Retrieved 2011-11-19. 
  14. ^ Jones, Alan (14 November 2011). "UK Album Chart Analysis: Susan Boyle LP sells 73k units". Music Week. http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1047461. Retrieved 19 November 2011. 
  15. ^ "British certifications – Wanted". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Wanted in the field Search. Select Artist in the field Search by. Click Go
  16. ^ http://mrradarmusic.com/publishingproducer-management
  17. ^ http://mrradarmusic.com/publishingproducer-management
  18. ^ http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Wanted&titel=Battleground&cat=a
  19. ^ "British album certifications – Wanted – Battleground". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Battleground in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  20. ^ http://itunes.apple.com/ie/album/battleground/id472632645
  21. ^ http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/battleground/id472632645
  22. ^ http://www.livrariacultura.com.br/scripts/resenha/resenha.asp?nitem=29002124&sid=8960163391395238849254474
The Wanted
Studio albums
The Wanted · Battleground
Singles
Related topics