Life for Rent

Life for Rent
Studio album by Dido
Released	29 September 2003 (2003-09-29)
Recorded	The Ark, The Church, Cubejam and Wessex Studios
Genre	Pop, trip hop
Length	54:02
Label	Arista, Cheeky
Producer	Dido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, Rick Nowels
Dido chronology
No Angel (1999) Life for Rent (2003) Safe Trip Home (2008) Singles from Life For Rent "White Flag" Released: 1 September 2003 "Life For Rent" Released: 1 December 2003 "Don't Leave Home" Released: 12 April 2004 "Sand in My Shoes" Released: 13 September 2004

Life for Rent is the second studio album by the British singer-songwriter Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid 2002.^[1] It was certified 7x Platinum by the BPI;^[2] and sold over 12 millions copies worldwide, making it the fourth best selling album worldwide of 2003. The album became the seventh best-selling album of the 2000s on UK, making Dido the only singer to have two albums in the Top 10 list.

Contents 1 Commercial success 2 Critical response 3 Singles 4 Track listing 5 Album credits 5.1 Personnel 5.2 Production 6 Charts and certification 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

Commercial success

Life for Rent is the fastest selling album by a female artist, passing five million sales mark in just two weeks. It sold 102,500 on the first day, and 400,351 in the first week.^[3] According to the IFPI, it was the fourth best selling album worldwide of 2003.^[4] Also, according to the BPI, Life for Rent was the best selling album of 2003 in United Kingdom;^[5] and the seventh best selling album between 2000 and 2009 in the country.^[6] The album spent ten weeks at the top of the UK albums chart.^[7] It remained on the chart for 54 weeks.^[8][9] Also, spent 18 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the European Top 100 Albums chart.^[10] In the United States, Life for Rent debuted and peaked at number four. By October 2003, the album had sold over a million and half copies.^[10] In Australia the album debuted at number one on the ARIA albums chart, was one of the biggest selling albums of 2003 and went on to be certified six times platinum for sales of over 420,000.^[11] With this, Dido matched the huge success of her previous effort, No Angel. Dido's "Life for Rent Tour" was taken around the world in 2004.^[10] The album was nominated for "Best British Album" at the 2004 BRIT Awards along with Daniel Bedingfield's Gotta Get Thru This, Blur's Think Tank and The Coral's Magic and Medicine, but they were all beaten by The Darkness's Permission to Land. "White Flag" was awarded the 2004 Ivor Novello Award in the category "International Hit of the Year". Also, in same year, Life for Rent earned Dido's first Grammy nomination, at the 46th Grammy Awards, in the category "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for the song "White Flag".

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[12]
BBC	(mixed) [13]
Blender	[14]
Robert Christgau	[15]
entertainment.ie	[16]
Entertainment Weekly	(B) [17]
The Guardian	[18]
PopMatters	(positive) [19]
Rolling Stone	[20]
Slant Magazine	[21]

According to review aggregator Metacritic, the album has received generally positive reviews, scoring 69 out of 100 points based on 12 reviews.^[22] Jason MacNeil, from PopMatters, gave a very positive review, finishing with: "this record seems to outweigh the previous album in terms of quality and depth".^[19] Alexis Petridis wrote "It would be nice to report that Dido's second album is strong enough to reveal her detractors as snobs, who hate the notion that her music appeals to 'ordinary' people ... Sadly, it proves a little more complicated than that".^[18] MSN Music critic Robert Christgau gave a "Choice-cut symbol", which represents "a good song on an album that isn't worth your time or money",^[23] selecting "Mary's in India" as the only "good song" on the album.^[15] Barry Walters, of Rolling Stone, declared "Like No Angel ... isn't groundbreaking, but it has its own kind of integrity.^[20] "Life for Rent doesn't offer anything that drastically different from Dido's debut album [No Angel], ... she's unassuming and gentle, but her songs are so melodic and atmospheric they easily work their way into the subconscious" was the review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, from Allmusic.^[12] Andrew Lynch, from entertainment.ie noted: "Life For Rent is no masterpiece, but it has the same kind of sweet, unassuming, girl-next-door charm that made its predecessor such a smash hit".^[16] Derryck Strachan, BBC Music reviewer wrote " ... she treads a fine line between credibility and popularity ... But, she hasn't put a foot wrong with this album. On the positive side that means more well-crafted folk-pop tunes, on the negative side she hasn't moved forward", also said "Although Dido played a significant part in older brother Rollo's band, ... Faithless, it would be misleading to say that the groups success brought her fame".^[13]

Singles

• "White Flag", was released as the lead single from the album. The song was well-received by critics who reviewed the album. It became a major worldwide hit, reaching number one in Australia and Europe.^[24] It peaked at number two in the United Kingdom, being held off the top spot by The Black Eyed Peas' "Where Is the Love?", and became her highest-charting single to date there.^[25] At year-end UK charts, the song peaked at number 12.^[5] It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became her second Top 20 on the chart.^[26] It reached number two on the U.S Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks, and stayed on the chart for 66 weeks.^[26] The song references a past relationship with Bob Page. In an interview with British newspaper The Sun, Dido said "the song is an apology to Page for breaking his heart. 'It was a big decision not to get married...'".^[27] The video featured the TV actor David Boreanaz. The song ranked on Blender's list "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" at number 317.^[28]

• "Life for Rent" was released as the second single from the album. It peaked within the top ten in the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart.^[29][30][31] The music video featured Dido singing in several rooms, and was directed by Sophie Muller.^[32]

• "Don't Leave Home", was released as the third single, and was a track written by Dido and her brother. The main theme of the song is the use of drugs, where the drugs "sing" to the consumer: "When I've been here for just one day / You'll already miss me if I go away / So close the blinds and shut the door / You won't need other friends anymore".^[33] The song debuted and peaked at number 25 in the UK.^[34] The track "Stoned" was remixed and issued as the B-side to the single, but soon became a club hit and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Songs.^[35]

• "Sand in My Shoes" was released as the fourth and last single from the album. It became an American club hit reaching number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.^[35] It debuted and peaked at number 29 in the UK.^[36]

Track listing

Album credits

Personnel

• Dido Armstrong - vocals
• Pauline Taylor - background vocals
• Rusty Anderson - guitar
• Dave Randall - guitar
• Rick Nowels - guitar, keyboards
• Adam Zimmon - acoustic guitar
• Paul Herman - acoustic guitar
• Aubrey Nunn - bass
• Sister Bliss - keyboards, piano
• Mark Bates - harmonium, keyboards, percussion
• Carlos Paucar - percussion
• Mako Sakamoto - drums
• Andy Treacy - drums

Production

• Producers - D. Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, R. Nowels
• Programmers - D. Armstrong, Sister Bliss, DJ Pnut, Steve Sidelynk

Charts and certification

Chart	Peak position	Certification	Sales/ shipments
Argentinian Albums Chart	—	3× platinum[38]	120,000+
Australian Albums Chart	1[39]	6× platinum[11]	420,000+
Austrian Albums Chart	2[39]	Platinum[40]	30,000+
Belgium Albums Chart (Flanders)	1[39]	2× platinum[41]	100,000+
Belgium Albums Chart (Wallonia)	1[39]	2× platinum[41]	100,000+
Brazilian Albums Chart	—	Gold[42]	50,000+
Canadian Albums Chart	2[43][44]	3× platinum[45]	300,000+
Denmark Albums Chart	1[39]	Platinum[46]	30,000+
European Top 100 Albums	1[47]	5× platinum[48]	5,000,000+[49]
Finland Albums Chart	3[39]	Gold[50]	17,400+[50]
French Albums Charts	1[51]	2× platinum[51]	645,000+
German Albums Charts	1[52]	3× platinum[53]	600,000+
Hungarian Albums Chart	7[54]	Gold[55]	15,000+
Italian Albums Chart	2[39]	Platinum[56]	100.000+
Mexican Albums Charts	4	Gold[57]	75,000+
Netherlands Albums Chart	1[39]	Platinum[58]	80,000+
New Zealand Albums Chart	1[39]	4× platinum[59]	60,000+
Norwegian Albums Chart	2[39]	2× platinum[60]	80,000+
Russian Albums Chart	—	Platinum[61]	20,000+
Swedish Albums Chart	1[39]	Platinum[62]	60,000+
Swiss Albums Top 100	1[39]	3× platinum[63]	120,000+
UK Albums Chart	1[30]	7× platinum[2]	2,866,350[64]
U.S. Billboard 200	4[43][44]	2× platinum[65]	2,100,000+[66]
U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums	12[67]

Preceded by The Official Fiction by Something for Kate	Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album 6 October 2003 – 19 October 2003	Succeeded by Just As I Am by Guy Sebastian
Preceded by Sacred Love by Sting Talkie Walkie by Air	European Albums Chart number-one album 18 October 2003 – 14 February 2004 (first run) 21 February 2004 – 28 February 2004 (second run)	Succeeded by Talkie Walkie by Air Feels Like Home by Norah Jones
Preceded by Absolution by Muse Guilty by Blue Friday's Child by Will Young Friday's Child by Will Young	UK number one album 11 October 2003 – 7 November 2003 (first run) 22 November 2003 – 28 November 2003 (second run) 20 December 2003 – 9 January 2004 (third run) 17 January 2004 – 30 January 2004 (fourth run)	Succeeded by In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 by R.E.M. Number Ones by Michael Jackson Friday's Child by Will Young Call Off the Search by Katie Melua

See also

• List of number-one albums from the 2000s (UK)
• Live at Brixton Academy (Dido album)

References

External links

• Dido official website
• Life For Rent at Dido.com

Dido Albums Odds & Ends · No Angel · Life for Rent · Safe Trip Home Singles "Here with Me" · "Don't Think of Me"  · "Thank You" · "Hunter" · "All You Want" · "White Flag" · "Life for Rent" · "Don't Leave Home" · "Sand in My Shoes" · "Look No Further"  · "Don't Believe in Love"  · "Quiet Times" · "It Comes and It Goes"  · "Everything to Lose" · "If I Rise"  · Featured singles "Stan" · "One Step Too Far" · "Do They Know It's Christmas?" · "Sing" Related articles Discography · Dido flip

UK best-selling albums (by year) (1990–2009) 1990: ...But Seriously (Phil Collins) · 1991: Stars (Simply Red) · 1992: Stars (Simply Red) · 1993: Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell (Meat Loaf) · 1994: Cross Road (Bon Jovi) · 1995: Robson & Jerome (Robson & Jerome) · 1996: Jagged Little Pill (Alanis Morissette) · 1997: Be Here Now (Oasis) · 1998: Talk on Corners (The Corrs) · 1999: Come on Over (Shania Twain) · 2000: 1 (The Beatles) · 2001: No Angel (Dido) · 2002: Escapology (Robbie Williams) · 2003: Life for Rent (Dido) · 2004: Scissor Sisters (Scissor Sisters) · 2005: Back to Bedlam (James Blunt) · 2006: Eyes Open (Snow Patrol) · 2007: Back to Black (Amy Winehouse) · 2008: Rockferry (Duffy) · 2009 : I Dreamed a Dream (Susan Boyle) Complete list · (1956–1969) · (1970–1989) · (1990–2009) · (2010–2029)

UK Christmas number-one albums in the 2000s 1 (The Beatles, 2000) · Swing When You're Winning (Robbie Williams, 2001) · Escapology (Robbie Williams, 2002) · Life for Rent (Dido, 2003) · Greatest Hits (Robbie Williams, 2004) · Curtain Call: The Hits (Eminem, 2005) · Beautiful World (Take That, 2006) · Spirit (Leona Lewis, 2007) · The Circus (Take That, 2008) · I Dreamed a Dream (Susan Boyle, 2009) Complete list · 1960s · 1970s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · 2010s