| Young Foolish Happy | ||||
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| Studio album by Pixie Lott | ||||
| Released | 11 November 2011 | |||
| Recorded | January–October 2011 | |||
| Genre | Pop, soul, R&B, electropop | |||
| Length | 49:17 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | Captain Hook, Eagle Eye, Andrew Frampton, Toby Gad, Adrian Gurvitz, Mads Hauge, The Invisible Men, Patrick "Jester" Jordan-Patrikios, Brian Kidd, Steve Kipner, John Legend, The Matrix, Mr Hudson, Tim Powell, Jaz Rogers, Rusko, Richard "Biff" Stannard, Phil Thornalley, The Underdogs, Patrick Warren | |||
| Pixie Lott chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
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Deluxe edition cover
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| Singles from Young Foolish Happy | ||||
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Young Foolish Happy is the second studio album by English recording artist Pixie Lott. The album was initially scheduled for release in the United Kingdom on 7 November 2011,[1] but was eventually pushed back a week to 14 November.[2]
Contents |
Lott began work on the album in Los Angeles in January 2011.[3] In April 2011 she told Digital Spy that "[t]here are a couple of really cool collaborations on the album and I've already worked with some big people, but I can't say who they are just in case those tracks don't make the final cut", while describing the sound as "still pop stuff, but maybe a little more soulful. That's the kind of thing that I'm into. That influence is stronger on this album."[4] On 17 September 2011 Lott revealed the album title, which is inspired by The Tams' 1968 song "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy".[5] She stated, "It's a song I grew up listening to, from a young age. I grew up listening to a lot of soul music and I think this album sounds more this kind of way. It's a message that I've always really liked and I think it's important that need to people remember, it's just motivating and inspirational."[6]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [7] |
| BBC Music | unfavourable[8] |
| Daily Express | 2/5[9] |
| Daily Star | favourable[10] |
| Evening Standard | [11] |
| NME | 4/10[12] |
| Today | [13] |
| Virgin Media | [14] |
Young Foolish Happy received mixed reviews from most music critics. Kim Dawson and John Earls of the Daily Star opined that "there's nothing foolish about [the] album" and that "[s]hirking teeny-bop options for proper soul passion helps her silky voice shine, especially on bump 'n' grind new single 'What Do You Take Me For?' featuring Pusha T."[10] BBC Music's Fraser McAlpine felt that the album has "little of the magic that characterised her debut's highs" and criticised Lott for "working with songwriters who are capable of a finely tuned pastiche or two", but nevertheless cited "Nobody Does It Better" and "You Win" as "notable exceptions".[8] The Evening Standard's Rick Pearson noted that "Lott opts for a more soulful direction this time around, something that works better with her wind tunnel of a vocal. She's still guilty of imitation rather than innovation, however, particularly on the synth-heavy 'All about Tonight', which is a craven rip-off of a Katy Perry record. But an identity is the only thing that's lacking here."[11] Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine named the "Motown-mythologizing" "Stevie on the Radio" one of the "brighter, better songs [on the album], largely because it has bigger beats and hooks", but commented that "the rest of the record has the form of a blockbuster record but lacks the requisite rhythms or hooks and its scale dampens Lott's spunky personality, which was her primary charm on her debut."[7]
Duncan Gillespie of the NME, rating the album four out of ten, found "All About Tonight" and "What Do You Take Me For?" to be "quite good", but described Lott's "Jools Holland-ready retropop collaboration with Stevie Wonder" as "horrible, but still not horrible enough. Rather than righteous ire, you're left with only a sense of moral and cultural confusion, rather as if you'd caught yourself lusting after an ironing board."[12] Simon Gage of the Daily Express also gave the album an unfavourable review of two marks out of five, stating that while it is a "pretty solid album of bouncy pop numbers", artists like Adele, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry leave "artists like Pixie out in the cold", adding that the album "has all the catchiness you would expect from last year's golden girl, but this year is a very different place."[9] Virgin Media's Ian Gittins agreed, commenting that the album is "adequate, but never special: lacking Perry's raunch, Gaga's glitz, Adele's larynx or Jessie J's sass, it looks like Pixie Lott is set to remain a decidedly B-list pop star."[14] Kevin Mathews of Singaporean newspaper Today expressed that the album "contains enough vocal and rhythmic hooks to keep the pop public sated as tracks like 'Come Get It Now', 'All About Tonight' and 'Nobody Does It Better' deliver in all these departments with some aplomb. The rest of Young Foolish Happy does not stray too far from this formula, which should keep Pixie Lott in demand for the immediate future."[13]
Young Foolish Happy debuted at number eighteen on the UK Albums Chart, selling 18,503 copies in its opening week.[15] The following week, it dropped twenty-four places to number forty-two.[16] The album also entered the Irish Albums Chart at number thirty-three.[17]
"All About Tonight" was released on 2 September 2011 as the album's lead single. Lott premiered the song on BBC Radio 1's The Chris Moyles Show on 11 July 2011.[18] It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart with first-week sales of 88,893 copies (the highest of Lott's career),[19] giving Lott her third UK number one.[20] It also reached number nine on the Irish Singles Chart, her second top ten hit in that country.[21]
Second single "What Do You Take Me For?", featuring rapper Pusha T, was released on 4 November 2011, while the music video premiered on 6 October. It debuted at number ten on the UK Singles Chart, selling 34,335 copies.[22]
"Kiss the Stars" has been confirmed as the album's third single. The song was given its first play on Capital FM on 5 December 2011. It is due for release on 29 January 2012.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come Get It Now" | Pixie Lott, Mr Hudson, Cathy Dennis, Robin French | Mr Hudson | 2:19 |
| 2. | "All About Tonight" | Lott, Tebey Ottoh, Brian Kidd, Tommy Lee James | Kidd | 3:06 |
| 3. | "What Do You Take Me For?" (featuring Pusha T) | Lott, Anne Preven, Christopher Mercer, Terrence Thornton | Rusko | 2:55 |
| 4. | "Nobody Does It Better" | Lott, Tim Powell, Wayne Hector, Richard Stannard | Powell | 3:33 |
| 5. | "Kiss the Stars" | Lott, Mads Hauge, Phil Thornalley | Hauge, Thornalley | 3:14 |
| 6. | "Stevie on the Radio" | Lott, Adrian Gurvitz, Marthony "Mark" Tabb | Gurvitz | 4:10 |
| 7. | "Everybody Hurts Sometimes" | Lott, Christopher J. Baran, James Bourne | Captain Hook | 4:04 |
| 8. | "Dancing on My Own" (featuring Marty James) | Lott, Toby Gad, Marty James | Gad | 3:50 |
| 9. | "Love You to Death" | Lott, Gad, Ruth-Anne Cunningham | Gad | 3:29 |
| 10. | "Birthday" | Lott, The Invisible Men, Eagle Eye | The Invisible Men, Eagle Eye | 3:16 |
| 11. | "Bright Lights (Good Life) Part II" (with Tinchy Stryder) | Lott, Jarrad Rogers, Tinchy Stryder | Jaz Rogers | 4:04 |
| 12. | "Perfect" | Lott, Hauge, Thornalley | Hauge, Thornalley | 3:05 |
| 13. | "You Win" | Lott, John Stephens, Tennille de Freitas | Legend, Patrick Warren | 4:22 |
| 14. | "We Just Go On" | Lott, Steve Kipner, Andrew Frampton, Patrick Jordan-Patrikios | Kipner, Frampton, Jordan-Patrikios | 3:50 |
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Total length:
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49:17 | |||
| Deluxe edition bonus tracks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | |||||
| 15. | "Till the Sun Comes Out" | Lott, Baran, Bourne | Captain Hook | 3:38 | |||||
| 16. | "The Thing I Love" | Lott, Harvey Mason, Jr., Damon Thomas, James Fauntleroy | The Underdogs | 3:35 | |||||
| 17. | "I Throw My Hands Up" | Lott, Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards, Scott Spock | The Matrix | 2:51 | |||||
| 18. | "Black as Rain" | Lott, Hauge, Thornalley | Hauge, Thornalley | 3:43 | |||||
| 19. | "Paper Planes" | Lott, Stannard, Ash Howes, Hector | Stannard | 3:41 | |||||
| 20. | "What Do You Take Me For?" (Benji Boko Remix featuring Pusha T) | Lott, Preven, Mercer, Thornton | Rusko | 3:07 | |||||
| 21. | "All About Tonight" (iTunes bonus video[23]) | 3:10 | |||||||
| 22. | "What Do You Take Me For?" (iTunes bonus video[23]) | 3:00 | |||||||
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Total length:
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69:52 | ||||||||
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| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish Albums Chart[17] | 33 |
| Scottish Albums Chart[24] | 18 |
| UK Albums Chart[25] | 18 |
| Country | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands[26] | 11 November 2011 | Universal Music |
| Ireland[27] | Mercury Records | |
| United Kingdom[2] | 14 November 2011 | |
| Sweden[28] | Universal Music | |
| Germany[29] | 22 November 2011 | |
| Poland[30] | 25 November 2011 | |
| Australia[31] | 2 December 2011 | |
| Italy[32] | 17 January 2012 |
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