Amaze Me

"Amaze Me"
Single by No Angels
from the album Destiny
A-side "Teardrops"
Released October 19, 2007
Format CD single, digital single
Recorded January 2007, Sound Studio N (Cologne, Germany)
Genre Pop
Length 3:48
Label Polydor, Universal
Writer(s) Karen Poole, Steve Mac
Producer(s) Roland Spremberg, Boogieman
No Angels singles chronology
"Maybe"
(2007)		 "Amaze Me"/
"Teardrops"
(2007)		 "Disappear"
(2008)

"Amaze Me" is a song performed by all-female German pop group No Angels. It was written by British songwriters Steve Mac and Karen Poole, and produced by Boogieman and Roland Spremberg for the band's comeback album, their fourth full-length studio album Destiny (2007). Musically, the song is a pulasting hymn-like pop ballad. Lyrically, "Amaze Me" is an ode to love. Still amazed by her lover, the female protagonist sings that she feels happy their relationship has lasted through good and bad times over the years.

Released to positive reviews by music critics, the song was released as the album's third single as a double A-single along with the Womack & Womack cover "Teardrops" on October 19, 2007 in German-speaking Europe. The song reached number 25 on the German Singles Chart, but failed to enter the national charts elsewhere, eventually becoming one of the group's lowest-charting singles. Slightly more successful than its predecessor "Maybe" however, it managed to reach the composite Billboard Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart.

Background

In mid-2006, No Angels member Lucy Diakovska approached her former bandmates to arrange a first meeting with all original band members for years following their disbandment in December 2003.[1] While Vanessa Petruo refused to re-join the band in favour of an independent solo career in music and film,[2] all other members of the original line-up agreed upon Diakovska's request to reunite for a musical comeback, and the band eventually took action to prepare their next album in secrecy from public.[1] Requested by the No Angels's A&R manager Niklas Hafemann, "Amaze Me" was one of several exclusively-penned tracks for the band's comeback album Destiny.[1] Penned by English songwriters Karen Poole and Steve Mac, it was co-produced by Boogieman and Roland Spremberg for the album.[3] Mixing was handled by the former, while Spremberg provided all instruments, including the guitar, keyboards, and a bass.[3] Engineering was overseen by Nico Schuette.[3]

"Amaze Me" was one of the first tracks to be recorded by the group and among a total of seven candidates considered for the album's lead single.[4] Although it lost in favour of "Goodbye to Yesterday," the band members have described the ballad as one of their personal favourites on the album. "We instantly fell in love with the song, because it has a very special atmosphere. It's carrying off, no matter where you are," Nadja Benaissa told RTL Television,[5] with Lucy Diakovska adding: "Each of us could easily build a relation [to it]. It's about a feeling, [that] everyone knows: You're absolutely amazed by someone, who is mesmerizing you with his charme and acts."[5] Jessica Wahls called the song "soul- and heart-touching", stating: "But it's not a slow song, it is pulsating."[6]

Release and reception

The quartet premiered the song during a special concert in the Radio Energy studios in Munich, Germany on March 5, 2007.[7] On March 29, a thirty-seconds preview of the song was made available on Musicload, and by April 6, 2007 a one-and-a-half-minute clip had leaked onto the internet via pop24, the band's label's promotional website.[7] Released on various editions, a dance music-influenced remix of the song, also produced by Boogieman, appeared on the both the "Amaze Me" edition of the CD single and the digital single.[8]

Music video

The music video for "Amaze Me" was directed by Marcus Sternberg and filmed between August 20 and 22 2007 in a film studio in Berlin, Germany.[9] Shot over twenty-two hours back-to-back with the video for "Teardrops," the final clip worldpremiered on September 21 at the end of German music network VIVA's show Neu.[10] However, it was not added to the network's current playlist until September 29, 2007.[9]

The group has declared the filming of the "mammoth shoot" as "extremely exhausting," referring to its extraordinary length and a delay of several hours, caused by various technical defects.[10] Lucy Diakovska has described the plotless clip as a "white, elegant, melancholic but positive [and ...] very simple video, riddled with many nice details and ideas."[10] Inspired by a concept developed by all four members and based on Sternberg's treatment, the music video was eventually conceived as a stylistic counterpart to "Teardrops."[10]

Formats and tracklistings

CD single ("Amaze Me" edition)[11]
  1. "Amaze Me" (album version) – 3:47
  2. "Teardrops" (single version) – 3:13
  3. "Ain't Gonna Look the Other Way" – 3:50
  4. "Amaze Me" (remix) - 3:47
  5. "Amaze Me" (instrumental) – 3:47
  6. "Amaze Me" (video)
CD single ("Teardrops" edition)[12]
  1. "Amaze Me" (album version) – 3:48
  2. "Teardrops" (single version) – 3:13
  3. "Teardrops" (Mozart&Friends club mix) – 3:45
  4. "Teardrops" (Mozart&Friends psychedelic mix) – 3:44
  5. "Teardrops" (Mozart&Friends house mix) – 5:26
  6. "Teardrops" (video)
Digital single[13]
  1. "Amaze Me" (album version) – 3:47
  2. "Teardrops" (single version) – 3:13
  3. "Ain't Gonna Look the Other Way" – 3:50
  4. "Amaze Me" (remix) – 3:47
  5. "Amaze Me" (instrumental) 3:47
  6. "Teardrops" (Mozart&Friends club mix) – 3:45
  7. "Teardrops" (Mozart&Friends psychedelic mix) – 3:44
  8. "Teardrops" (Mozart&Friends house mix) – 5:26

Covers

Credits and personnel

Credits taken from Destiny liner notes.[3]

  • Production: Boogieman, Roland Spremberg
  • Mixing: Boogieman
  • Engineering: Nico Schuette

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[15] 88
Germany (Media Control Charts)[16] 25

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "No Angels @ Viva Live". VIVA. Viacom (YouTube). Retrieved 2007-02-01.
  2. ↑ Schulte am Hülse, Jessica (2007-07-29). "Popstar sein ist ein Pakt mit dem Teufel". Die Welt. Axel Springer AG. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Destiny (liner notes). No Angels. Polydor, Universal Music. 2007.
  4. ↑ "Himmlisch!". BILD am Sonntag. Axel Springer AG. Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Amaze Me". RTL.de. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  6. ↑ "Popband "No Angels" wieder vereint". Limmatta Online. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Was wir die nächste Single der No Angels?". NoAngels-Music. Archived from the original on 10 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
  8. ↑ "Amaze Me/Teardrops - Digital Version". Musicload (in German). Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Neue Single!!". Sandy.tv. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "Fallende Engel". RTLakutell.de. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  11. ↑ "No Angels – Amaze Me/Teardrops (Amaze Me" edition)" (in German). Amazon.com.de. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  12. ↑ "No Angels – Amaze Me/Teardrops ("Teardrops" edition)" (in German). Amazon.com.de. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  13. ↑ "No Angels – Amaze Me/Teardrops - Digital Version" (in German). Musicload.de. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  14. ↑ [Union J album track list http://www.unionjofficial.com/gb/news/2013-09-06/full-album-tracklisting]
  15. ↑ "No Angels Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for No Angels. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  16. ↑ "Chartverfulgong > No Angels > Amaze Me – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 2011-05-26.

External links