La Luna (Sarah Brightman album)

For the album by Holger Czukay, see Holger Czukay.
La Luna
Studio album by Sarah Brightman
Released 25 April 2000
Recorded 1999–2000
Genre Classical Crossover
Length 60:59 (USA)
Label East-West (Europe)
Angel Records (USA)
Producer Frank Peterson
Sarah Brightman chronology

Eden
(1998)		 La Luna
(2000)		 The Very Best of 1990-2000
(2001)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

La Luna (Italian and Spanish for "the moon") is the seventh album recorded by English soprano Sarah Brightman in 2000. It was released under license by Nemo Studios to Angel Records. The album combines pieces written by classical and modern composers. The classical pieces are "How Fair This Place" ("Здесь хорошо") by Rachmaninov; "Figlio Perduto", which is based on Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 Op. 92, 2nd movement in A minor "Allegretto"; Solo Con Te (Handel - Dank Sei Dir, Herr); Aria "La Luna" from Opera Rusalka. With La Luna, Brightman combined elements of her traditional operatic background with her newer style of pop music. "Hijo de la Luna" (translating to "Son of the Moon" in Spanish) is a cover originally performed by the Spanish synthpop band Mecano. Written by Ennio Morricone, "La Califfa" is the title track of the 1970 Italian film with the same name. The underlying concept of the album is the moon. It is the 17th top-selling classical album of the 2000s in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and is Brightman's second highest seller in the country after her 1997 release Timeless/Time to Say Goodbye.[2][3] Aside from the US, the album experienced its strongest sales in Asia, where it received a quintuple platinum certification in Taiwan, earned Brightman's first Gold award in Japan and currently remains as the best-selling classical album of all-time in China by a non-Asian artist.[4][5] It was certified Diamond by the Chinese Administration of Radio, Film, and Television.[6]

Track listing

Europe

This original European track listing is now out of print. All pressings now use the USA track listing, along with its versions of "This Love", "Here with Me", and "La Luna". It also replaces "How Fair This Spot" and "She Doesn't See Him" with the lyrically different "How Fair This Place" and "He Doesn't See Me". "La Luna" is performed in full soprano here compared to the more contemporary USA version and "First of May" is removed all together from later releases.

No. Title Length
1. "This Love"   6:19
2. "Scarborough Fair"   4:12
3. "Figlio Perduto"   4:36
4. "La Califfa"   3:05
5. "Here with Me"   5:12
6. "Serenade"   0:51
7. "How Fair This Spot"   2:09
8. "Hijo de la Luna"   4:29
9. "She Doesn't See Him"   4:28
10. "Solo Con Te"   3:05
11. "Gloomy Sunday"   3:47
12. "La Luna"   5:01
13. "First of May" (Live – Encore Track) 3:03
Total length:
 50:21

United States

La Luna was changed considerably for its US release. Song additions include "La Lune", "Winter in July", and Brightman's covers of the Procol Harum classic "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and Henry Mancini's "Moon River". Song changes include replacing the European release's versions of "How Fair This Spot" and "She Doesn't See Him" with the lyrically different "How Fair This Place" and "He Doesn't See Me", along with an extended version of "Serenade" and a more contemporary "La Luna". EMI later used La Luna's US version for their SACD 5.1 release of the album.

No. Title Length
1. "La Lune"   2:53
2. "Winter in July"   4:32
3. "Scarborough Fair"   4:11
4. "Figlio Perduto"   4:37
5. "A Whiter Shade of Pale"   3:38
6. "He Doesn't See Me"   4:28
7. "Serenade"   1:16
8. "How Fair This Place"   2:10
9. "Hijo de la Luna"   4:27
10. "Here with Me"   5:24
11. "La Califfa"   2:47
12. "This Love"   6:11
13. "Solo Con Te"   3:06
14. "Gloomy Sunday"   3:47
15. "La Luna" (Features hidden track "Moon River" 20 seconds after "La Luna" at the 5:16 mark.) 7:18
Total length:
 60:57

Singles

"Scarborough Fair" was released as the album's lead single on January 2000. It became the biggest hit of Brightman's career in Asia and was a chart topper in China and Taiwan, propelling the sales of La Luna throughout the continent. Brightman brought the song renewed popularity in eastern markets through her successful adaptation.

"A Whiter Shade of Pale" was released as the album's third single on early 2001. The single debuted at number thirty eight on the Japanese Singles Chart, and due to its massive airplay in the country, the song reached the top of the International Singles Chart, staying there for nineteen weeks. It is the tenth single with most cumulative weeks at the No. 1 spot in the history of this chart.[7] The song was certified twice Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. The first time, as a CD single, denoting shipments of over 50,000 copies, and the second time, in 2011, as a digital single, denoting sales of 100,000 copies.[8] In the United States, the song was Brightman's first entry into the Billboard's top Dance/Club Play Songs chart.[9]

The second and fourth singles from the album, "La Luna" (2000) and "Here with Me" (2001) were released in Brazil and Europe respectively in a limited number of pressings.

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2000) Peak
position
Austria Top 75 Albums[10] 9
Belgian Albums Chart (Vl)[10] 38
Canada Top Albums[11] 5
Dutch Albums Chart[10] 17
Finnish Albums Chart[10] 7
Mexican Top 20 International Chart[12] 1
Norwegian Albums Chart[10] 8
Swedish Album Chart[10] 3
Swiss Album Charts[10] 20
US Billboard Top 200 Albums[13] 17
New Zealand RIANZ Albums Top 40[10] 35
US Billboard Top Classical Crossover Albums[13] 1
US Billboard Top Internet Albums[13] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Argentina (CAPIF)[14] Gold 30,000x
Canada (Music Canada)[15] Platinum 100,000^
China (SARFT)[16] 10× Platinum 400,000*
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[17] Platinum 20,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[18] Gold 100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[19] Gold 40,000^
South Korea (GAON)[20] Platinum 50,000*
Taiwan (RIT)[21] 5× Platinum 250,000*
United States (RIAA)[22] Gold 873,000[2]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. ↑ Buss, Bryan. La Luna at AllMusic
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Sarah Brightman". Billboard. 19 January 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  3. ↑ "Classical Albums | Billboard.com". billboard.com. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "莎拉·布莱曼 - 巨星在中国". Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "莎拉·布莱曼是早在中国". Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "莎拉布莱曼月光女神黄金铂金中国".
  7. ↑ "Sarah Brightman Chart History in Japan". ORICON. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Paid music certification for January 2011" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.
  9. ↑ "Sarah Brightman's A Whiter Shade of Pale in Hot Dance/Club Play Songs chart". Billboard. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 "swedishcharts.com – Sarah Brightman – La Luna". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  11. ↑ "www.collectionscanada.gc.ca – Sarah Brightman – La Luna". www.collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  12. ↑ Mexican Top 20 International Albums Chart – 20 February 2008
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Sarah Brightman/Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  14. ↑ "Argentinian album certifications – Sarah Brightman – La Luna". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
  15. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Sarah Brightman – La Luna". Music Canada.
  16. ↑ "当前位置：今生缘音乐网 > 欧美歌手 > Sarah Brightman(莎拉布莱曼) > 月光女神精选专辑专辑II".
  17. ↑ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 2002". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 2014.
  18. ↑ "サラ・ブライトマン｜プロフィール". a-m-a.jp. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  19. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2000" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  20. ↑ "GAON Chart". Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  21. ↑ "Gold Typhoon 金牌大風". gold-typhoon.com.tw. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  22. ↑ "American album certifications – Sarah Brightman – La Luna". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH