Megalomania (Aqua album)

Megalomania
Studio album by Aqua
Released September 30, 2011
Recorded 2010–11
Genre Dance-pop, electro-pop
Length 39:11
Label Universal
Producer Claus Norreen, Søren Rasted, Kasper Bjørke, Lucas Secon, Frederik Thaae, Thomas Troelsen
Aqua chronology
Aquarius
(2000)		 Megalomania
(2011)
Singles from Megalomania
  1. "How R U Doin?"
    Released: March 14, 2011
  2. "Playmate to Jesus"
    Released: September 12, 2011
  3. "Like a Robot"
    Released: September 12, 2011

Megalomania is the third studio album by Danish-Norwegian pop band Aqua. The album was released physically from September 30, 2011 and digitally on October 3, 2011, more than 11 years after the release of their previous studio album, Aquarius (2000). Megalomania received mixed reviews from Danish music critics.[1][2] The album peaked at number two in Denmark, and has since been certified gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

Contents

Background and composition

After their split in 2001 Aqua announced their comeback on October 26, 2007 during a press conference. During the summer of 2008 Aqua played eight concerts in eight different cities as part of the one-day music festival Grøn Koncert in Denmark. On May 25, 2009 they released their first single since 2001, "Back to the 80's" soon followed by the greatest hits album, Greatest Hits. In February 2010 Aqua began working on their third studio album in Thailand.[3] Instead of touring that year, the band focused on writing and producing the album with the desire to create the "world's best pop album". After 18 months of songwriting and more than 100 songs recorded, the band finished the album after 12 months in the studio.[4]

As different from Aquarium and Aquarius, the album shifts from a more bubblegum pop and eurodance style to a more mature electropop and dance-pop. With some songs, they are a more mid-tempo pop style, while majority of the album is more upbeat and dance tunes.

Release

Aqua were originally set to release their third studio album, Megalomania on July 14, 2011, however the release was pushed back to September 5, 2011 with the record label citing bad timing.[5] On August 22, 2011, Aqua announced that the album would finally be released on October 3, 2011.[6]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [7]
B.T. [8]
Ekstra Bladet [9]
Gaffa [10]
Jyllands-Posten [11]
Soundvenue [12]
Politiken [12]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Jon O'Brien of Allmusic gave the album two and a half stars out of five writing: "Unsurprisingly, their previous squeaky, cartoonish pop sound is nowhere to be found on this record which, with its several expletive-laden lyrics and trashy electro production reveals a much more grown-up, if not necessarily mature, new direction. [...] They now sound like every other generic dance-pop outfit out there".[7] This Must Be Pop was much more positive: "This album doesn't stand a chance of achieving the same success Aqua had in their heyday, but for fans who appreciated their two first albums (not just the comedy value of Barbie Girl) it's a very enjoyable combination of the band's original sound and the sound of 2011."[13]

Commercial performance

The album was released physically from September 30, 2011 in Denmark through selected Bilka retail outlets, three days ahead of its scheduled release date. On October 7, 2011 the album debuted at number six, with sales of 1615 copies after only three days of sale.[14] The following week the album peaked at number two selling 2282 copies. It is the only Aqua album not to reach number one.[15] On October 17, 2011 the album was certified gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for shipments of 10,000 copies in Denmark.[16] In its third week on the chart the album fell to number twelve, selling 751 copies.[17] The album fell out of the chart after seven weeks in the top 40.[18] In its final week on the chart, the album charted at number thirty-three with 287 copies sold.[19] According the band's manager Niclas Anker, the goal is to reach platinum certification for shipments of 20,000 copies.[15]

Singles

"How R U Doin?" was released on March 14, 2011 as the lead single from the album. The song peaked at number four in Denmark, and it has since been certified gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for sales of 15,000 copies in Denmark.[20]

During their 2011 tour the band confirmed that "Like a Robot" would be released as the album's second single in the beginning of July 2011, to coincide with the album release the same month.[21] However on September 8, 2011 it was announced that "Playmate to Jesus" and "Like a Robot" would be released as two separate singles, with "Like a Robot" being the club single and "Playmate to Jesus" serving as the radio single. Both songs were released on September 12, 2011. The official music video to "Playmate to Jesus" premiered on September 23, 2011. The song debuted at number twenty-six in Denmark. In its second week on the chart, "Playmate to Jesus" reached a peak position of number thirteen. The song has been certified gold in Denmark for being streamed 300,000 times.[22] "Like a Robot" is set to be released as the album's international lead single.[23]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Playmate to Jesus"   Søren Rasted, Claus Norreen, René Dif, Lene Nystrøm Claus Norreen, Søren Rasted 4:47
2. "Dirty Little Pop Song"   Kasper Bjørke, Rasted, Norreen, Sue Brask Kasper Bjørke, Claus Norreen, Søren Rasted 3:51
3. "Kill Myself"   Rasted, Norreen, Nystrøm Claus Norreen, Søren Rasted 3:30
4. "Like a Robot"   Lucas Secon, Rasted, Norreen Lucas Secon, Claus Norreen, Søren Rasted 3:39
5. "Viva Las Vegas"   Rasted, Norreen, Brask Claus Norreen, Søren Rasted 3:24
6. "No Party Patrol"   Rasted, Norreen, Brask, Niels Rahr Claus Norreen, Søren Rasted 3:21
7. "Come n' Get It"   Rasted, Norreen Claus Norreen, Søren Rasted 3:25
8. "Sucker for a Superstar"   Rasted, Norreen, Brask Frederik Thaae, Claus Norreen, Søren Rasted 3:20
9. "Be My Saviour Tonight"   Rasted, Norreen, Nicolaj Rasted, Dif Claus Norreen, Søren Rasted 3:17
10. "How R U Doin?"   Thomas Troelsen, Rasted, Norreen Thomas Troelsen, Claus Norreen, Søren Rasted 3:21
11. "If the World Didn't Suck (We Would All Fall Off)"   Rasted, Norreen, Brask Frederik Thaae, Claus Norreen, Søren Rasted 3:22

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Danish Albums Chart[18] 2

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[16] Gold 10,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ^ Lundsteen, Caroline Thing (3 October 2011). "Anmeldere: Aqua er en træt kliché" (in Danish). DR. http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Kultur/2011/10/03/165020.htm. Retrieved 17 October 2011. 
  2. ^ Grøn, Tommy (3 October 2011). "Anmelderne: Aqua har lavet et endnu værre nummer end 'Barbie Girl'" (in Danish). Politiken. http://politiken.dk/kultur/musik/ECE1411205/anmelderne-aqua-har-lavet-et-endnu-vaerre-nummer-end-barbie-girl/. Retrieved 17 October 2011. 
  3. ^ "Aqua indspiller nyt album". GAFFA. 29 August 2009. http://gaffa.dk/nyhed/34272/. Retrieved 12 October 2009. 
  4. ^ a b "STORHEDSVANVID! Nyt album fra Aqua 3. oktober 2011: 'Megalomania"" (in Danish). Universal Music. 29 August 2011. http://www.universal.dk/nyheder/storhedsvanvid-nyt-album-fra-aqua-3-oktober-2011-megalomania. Retrieved 29 August 2011. 
  5. ^ Treo, Thomas (6 June 2011). "Ekstra Bladet - Aqua udskyder album" (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. http://ekstrabladet.dk/musik/dkmusiknyt/article1566458.ece. Retrieved 11 July 2011. 
  6. ^ "Releaseplan" (in Danish). Universal Music. http://www.universal.dk/releaseplan. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 
  7. ^ a b O'Brien, Jon. "Megalomania - Aqua | AllMusic". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/megalomania-r2319054/review. Retrieved 8 November 2011. 
  8. ^ Høeg, Henning (3 October 2011). "Aqua på lidt for dybt vand". B.T.. http://www.bt.dk/musik/aqua-paa-lidt-for-dybt-vand. Retrieved 17 October 2011. 
  9. ^ Albrechtsen, Peter (1 October 2011). "Aquas vandskade". Ekstra Bladet. http://ekstrabladet.dk/musik/dkalbum/article1630753.ece. Retrieved 1 October 2011. 
  10. ^ Wehding, Signe Bønsvig. "Aqua: Megalomania - Anmeldelse - GAFFA.dk". Gaffa. http://gaffa.dk/anmeldelse/52791. Retrieved 1 October 2011. 
  11. ^ Schütt-Jensen, Kasper (2 October 2011). "Aqua: Megalomania". Jyllands-Posten. http://kpn.dk/popmusik/records/article2564935.ece. Retrieved 2 October 2011. 
  12. ^ a b Jensen, Erik (3 October 2011). "Musikanmeldelse af Aquas ‘Megalomania’: Vellykket popchok". Soundvenue. metroXpress. http://www.metroxpress.dk/kultur/musikanmeldelse-af-aquas-megalomania-vellykket-popchok/KObkjc!ietJV0kPfOaO. Retrieved 17 October 2011. 
  13. ^ http://www.thismustbepop.com/2011/10/bumper-album-review-post.html
  14. ^ Treo, Thomas (7 October 2011). "Kandis topper - Aqua flopper". Ekstra Bladet. http://ekstrabladet.dk/musik/dkmusiknyt/article1634416.ece. Retrieved 7 October 2011. 
  15. ^ a b Treo, Thomas (14 October 2011). "Megaflop af Aqua". Ekstra Bladet. http://ekstrabladet.dk/musik/dkmusiknyt/article1638781.ece. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
  16. ^ a b "Certificeringer | ifpi.dk" (in Danish). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. http://ifpi.dk/?q=certificeringer&page=10. Retrieved 17 October 2011. 
  17. ^ Treo, Thomas (21 October 2011). "Aqua i frit fald". Ekstra Bladet. http://ekstrabladet.dk/musik/dkmusiknyt/article1641908.ece. Retrieved 21 October 2011. 
  18. ^ a b "danishcharts.com - Aqua - Megalomania". IFPI. Hung Medien. http://danishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Aqua&titel=Megalomania&cat=a. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
  19. ^ Treo, Thomas (18 November 2011). "Aqua synker dybt". Ekstra Bladet. http://ekstrabladet.dk/musik/dkmusiknyt/article1659838.ece. Retrieved 14 December 2011. 
  20. ^ "Certificeringer | ifpi.dk" (in Danish). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. http://ifpi.dk/?q=certificeringer&page=5. Retrieved 15 July 2011. 
  21. ^ Sjørvad, Rune Melchior (18 June 2011). "Lene Nystrøm: Knep mig som en robot!" (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. http://ekstrabladet.dk/musik/dkmusiknyt/article1573293.ece. Retrieved 10 August 2011. 
  22. ^ "Certificeringer | ifpi.dk" (in Danish). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. http://ifpi.dk/?q=certificeringer&page=13. Retrieved 12 December 2011. 
  23. ^ "Twitter / @lucasproduction: Aqua"Don't @#*# me like a ...". Twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/lucasproduction/status/132911880535670784. Retrieved 14 December 2011. 
  24. ^ (2011) Release notes for "Megalomania" by Aqua (liner notes). Universal Music (0602527677675).
Aqua
Studio albums
Aquarium · Aquarius · Megalomania
Compilation albums
Remix albums
Singles
DVDs
Related articles