| Love.Live.Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by N-Dubz | ||||
| Released | 29 November 2010 (See release history) |
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| Recorded | 2010 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop,[1] R&B,[2] grime[1] | |||
| Length | 51:29 | |||
| Label | All Around the World, Def Jam, Island | |||
| Producer | Dappy, Fazer, Bodyrox, Fuego, Isha Erskine, Jean Baptiste, Jim Jonsin, Junior Edwards, Krunk-A-Delic, Max Gousse, Mr Hudson, Parker & James, Salaam Remi, Skepta, Soundz, Staybent, Tyron TY$ Griffin, Josh Franceschi, Chad Gilbert, Mark Hoppus | |||
| N-Dubz chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Love.Live.Life | ||||
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Love.Live.Life is the third studio album by British hip hop group N-Dubz, released on 29 November 2010, as a collaboration by All Around the World and Island Records.
Contents |
"We'll never use American accents. I hate when singers go there and do that. You lose respect from British fans."
The group began recording the album following the success of Against All Odds.[4] Following the success of the group's MOBO Award-winning single "Playing with Fire",[5] the group announced that they would be embarking on a trip to the United States in an attempt to secure a record deal for themselves there.[6] The group, however, were banned from travelling to the country because of visa issues which were later resolved in early February.[7] Def Jam Recordings boss L.A. Reid, a big N-Dubz fan, then arranged a meeting with the group with the intention of signing the trio to his label.[7] In May 2010, it was announced that the group had secured a five-album recording deal with Def Jam,[8] and that they would be flying to Los Angeles to record their third studio album with American producers Dr. Luke and Jim Jonsin.[9] The group recorded the album with American producers Salaam Remi, Jean Baptiste Kouame and Jim Jonsin on the album who are well-known for their work with the likes of Amy Winehouse, The Black Eyed Peas and Beyoncé Knowles.[10] The producers recording with the album issues with the group's British slang on the tracks and as a result the group improved their vocabulary but put their creative foot down and in the end lost none of their roots on the album.[10] Words like "Blood" and "You get me?" were removed from the final edit of the album, but the group's trademark phrase "Na, na, niii" remained as the group did not want to lose the respect they had earned from their British fans.[3] The making of the album was released on DVD.[11]
"We Dance On" was released on May 20, 2010, as the album's lead single. It peaked at #5 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was also included on the soundtrack to the film Streetdance 3D. "Best Behaviour" was released on October 17, 2010 as the second single from the album. It peaked at 10 in both the UK and Scotland, and became a top 40 hit in Ireland.[12] The song also appears on Skepta's album Doin' It Again. "Girls" was released as the album's third single on December 12, 2010. It peaked at 19 on the UK Singles Chart.[13] A fourth track from the album, "So Alive" was released as single on February 6, 2011. The album's fifth and final single, "Morning Star" was released on March 14.
Music Videos for "Took It All Away" and "Cold Shoulder" were recorded and released in promotion of the album. "Took It All Away" features clips from the video game Little Big Planet. "Cold Shoulder" features footage of the Love.Live.Life tour.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [14] |
| Daily Mirror | [15] |
| Evening Standard | [16] |
| NME | [17] |
| The Guardian | [18] |
| The Independent | [19] |
| The Observer | [20] |
| The Scotsman | [1] |
| Yahoo! Music | [21] |
The album has received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. Gavin Martin of the Daily Mirror gave the album a three star rating, deeming it upbeat and boisterous. Martin felt that "[the album's] quality wavers but Transatlantic studio muscle and tracks like 'Toot It and Boot It' may see an advance on [N-Dubz's] U.S. ambitions."[15] While David Smyth from the Evening Standard said that with the release of the album, "[N-Dubz are] in too much of a hurry to develop their frantic, hip-pop sound, though the finger-clicking R&B of 'Toot It and Boot It' and name-check for Lil' Wayne in 'Girls' show a definite Americanisation in their music." Smyth complimented how when the group keep things simple, like on "Love Sick", they show a great ear for a good tune. He, however, criticised how tracks on the album sound like three songs playing at once, "suitable [only] for a teenager's minimal attention span."[16] Andy Gill of The Independent deemed the album as "a fairly predictable fare," highlighting "So Alive" as its best track: "The best piece on here is 'So Alive,' blessed with bullient bonhomie which despite the lingering attitude, proves engagingly infectious."[19] Fraser McAlpine from NME said of the album: "What N-Dubz try to express as anthemic wisdom always seems to come out braggier and shoutier than they mean to."[17] Killian Fox of The Observer felt that for all the album's dynamism, it feels like a formula-driven move, and its insistence on having fun wears thin.[20] While Fiona Sheperd of The Scotsman said that Love.Live.Life oscillates between processed mulch such as "Love Sick" and more successful grime crossover tracks like "So Alive". Sheperd further deemed the album as "still just kids' stuff."[1]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | N-Dubz, Z. Anderson | Fazer | 1:25 |
| 2. | "Best Behaviour" | N-Dubz, Mr Hudson, | Fazer, Mr Hudson,Ccolaco | 3:57 |
| 3. | "Took It All Away" | N-Dubz | Fazer, Martin Anderson | 3:39 |
| 4. | "Living for the Moment" | N-Dubz, U. Yancy, K. Coby | Soundz, Josh Franceschi | 4:54 |
| 5. | "Love Live Life" | Jean Baptiste, Ryan Buendia, C. Gibson, Nick Marsh, Michael McHenry | Free School | 3:57 |
| 6. | "Scream My Name" | N-Dubz, B. Reckless, I. Wroldsen, N. Walka, M. Gousse, Z. Anderson | Fuego, Max Gousse, Mark Hoppus | 3:03 |
| 7. | "Love Sick" (featuring Ny) | I. Wroldsen, P. Ighile, K. Abrahams, D. Warde | Parker & James | 3:50 |
| 8. | "Toot It & Boot It" | Dappy, K. Jackson, T. Griffin, M. Newman, N. Lee Jr., T. Bluechel | Tyron TY$ Griffin, Max Gousse, Chad Gilbert | 4:03 |
| 9. | "Skit" (featuring Fearless) | Dappy, Fearless | Fazer, Mazer | 2:38 |
| 10. | "So Alive" (N-Dubz vs Skepta) | N-Dubz, Skepta | Skepta, Ccolaco | 3:38 |
| 11. | "Girls" | N-Dubz, J. Jonsin, Z. Anderson | Jim Jonsin | 2:50 |
| 12. | "Cold Shoulder" | N-Dubz, S. Remi, H. Beliewe, U. Yancy | Salaam Remi, Staybent, Krunk-A-Delic | 3:13 |
| 13. | "Morning Star" | Jean Baptiste, Ryan Buendia, Nick Marsh, S. Gordon, Michael McHenry | Free School | 3:07 |
| 14. | "Outro" | N-Dubz, Z. Anderson | Fazer | 1:30 |
| 15. | "We Dance On" (featuring Bodyrox) | N-Dubz, N. Bridges, L. Caporoso, N. Clow, J. Pearn | Bodyrox | 2:53 |
| Love.Live.Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tour by N-Dubz | ||||
| Location | United Kingdom | |||
| Associated album | Love.Live.Life | |||
| Start date | April 11, 2011 | |||
| End date | May 21, 2011 | |||
| Shows | 22 | |||
| N-Dubz tour chronology | ||||
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The Love.Live.Life.Tour commenced on 11 April 2011 in the Isle Of Wight. A DVD of the tour was released on 22 August 2011. The DVD was recorded during the concert at the O2 Arena on 30 April 2011.[22]
| Date | Country | City | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 11, 2011 | England | Isle Of Wight | Ryde Arena |
| April 12, 2011 | Margate | Margate Winter Gardens | |
| April 13, 2011 | Grimsby | Grimsby Auditorium | |
| April 14, 2011 | Doncaster | Doncaster Dome | |
| April 16, 2011 | Northern Ireland | Belfast | Waterfront Hall |
| April 17, 2011 | Ireland | Dublin | Olympia Theatre |
| April 19, 2011 | England | Nottingham | Nottingham Royal Centre |
| April 21, 2011 | Scotland | Glasgow | SECC |
| April 22, 2011 | England | Newcastle | Metro Arena |
| April 23, 2011 | Bournemouth | Bournemouth BIC | |
| April 24, 2011 | Plymouth | Plymouth Pavillions | |
| April 26, 2011 | Brighton | Brighton Centre | |
| April 28, 2011 | Manchester | MEN Arena | |
| April 29, 2011 | Birmingham | LG Arena | |
| April 30, 2011 | London | The O2 | |
| May 6, 2011 | Bristol | O2 Academy Bristol | |
| May 7, 2011 | Leicester | O2 Academy Leicester | |
| May 8, 2011 | Leeds | O2 Academy Leeds | |
| May 9, 2011 | Liverpool | O2 Academy Liverpool Rescheduled | |
| May 12, 2011 | Oxford | O2 Academy Oxford Rescheduled | |
| May 20, 2011 | England | Oxford | O2 Academy Oxford |
| May 21, 2011 | England | Liverpool | O2 Academy Liverpool |
Setlist
Supporting Acts