Northern Star (Melanie C album)

Northern Star
Studio album by Melanie C
Released 18 October 1999
Recorded April-August 1999
Genre
Length 53:18
Label Virgin
Producer
Melanie C chronology

Northern Star
(1999)		 Reason
(2003)
Singles from Northern Star
  1. "Goin' Down"
    Released: 29 September 1999
  2. "Northern Star"
    Released: 29 November 1999
  3. "Never Be the Same Again"
    Released: 20 March 2000
  4. "I Turn to You"
    Released: 7 August 2000
  5. "If That Were Me"
    Released: 27 November 2000
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Rolling Stone [2]
Slant Magazine [3]

Northern Star is the first solo album released by British singer Melanie C. It was released on 18 October 1999. The album's sound is diverse, combining elements of rock music with pop and ambient electronic, along with some R&B, doo-wop, and new age; which contrasted with the pop sound of the Spice Girls. It gained reasonably positive reviews by critics and was a commercial success, selling over 900,520 copies in the United Kingdom, and close to 4 million copies worldwide, becoming the biggest-selling solo Spice Girl album.

It was reissued on 21 August 2000 to feature the single mixes of "Never Be the Same Again" and "I Turn to You", after the massive success of both singles, which appear here in slightly different remixed forms.

The song Ga Ga is audible in the film Big Daddy, released the same year, and appears on it's soundtrack counterpart.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Northern Star.[4]

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Go!"  
Orbit 3:39
2. "Northern Star"  
Marius De Vries 4:41
3. "Goin' Down"  
  • Chisholm
  • Richard Stannard
  • Julian Gallagher
De Vries 3:35
4. "I Turn to You"  
  • Chisholm
  • Nowels
  • Billy Steinberg
Nowels 5:49
5. "If That Were Me"  
  • Chisholm
  • Nowels
Nowels 4:31
6. "Never Be the Same Again" (featuring Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes)
  • Chisholm
  • Rhett Lawrence
  • Paul F Cruz
  • Lisa Lopes
  • Lorenzo Martin
Rhett Lawrence 4:52
7. "Why"  
  • Chisholm
  • Dave Munday
  • Phil Thornalley
De Vries 5:27
8. "Suddenly Monday"  
  • Chisholm
  • Matt Rowe
  • Richard Stannard
  • Julian Gallagher
Rick Rubin 2:36
9. "Ga Ga"  
  • Chisholm
  • Thomalley
  • Munday
Rubin 3:50
10. "Be the One"  
  • Chisholm
  • Thomalley
  • Munday
Rubin 3:35
11. "Closer"  
  • Chisholm
  • Nowels
  • Steinberg
De Vries 5:41
12. "Feel the Sun"  
  • Chisholm
  • Nowels
 5:02
Total length:
 53:18

Japanese edition

B-sides

Title Single Songwriter(s) Producer(s) Length
"Angel on My Shoulder" "Goin' Down" UK CD 1 Melanie Chisholm, Phil Thornalley Rick Rubin 3:48
"I Want You Back" "Goin' Down" UK CD 2 Chisholm, Thornalley Rick Rubin 3:18
"Follow Me" "Northern Star" UK CD 1 and Japan release of the album Chisholm, Bryan Adams, Billy Steinberg Marius De Vries 4:47
"Something's Gonna Happen" "Northern Star" UK CD 2 Chisholm, Marius de Vries, Steve Sidelnyk Marius De Vries 3:59
"I Wonder What It Would Be Like" "Never Be the Same Again" UK CD 1 Chisholm, Rick Nowels, Billy Steinberg Rick Rubin 3:40

Some unreleased songs recorded during the Northern Star era are "You Taught Me" and "Independence Day".

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart 32
Austrian Albums Chart 16
Canadian Albums Chart 15
Dutch Albums Chart 8
European Albums Chart 2
Finnish Albums Chart 6
German Albums Chart 7
Japanese Albums Chart[5] 99
New Zealand Albums Chart 36
Norwegian Albums Chart 3
Scottish Albums Chart[6] 3
Swedish Albums Chart 1
Swiss Albums Chart 12
UK Albums Chart 4
U.S. Billboard 200[7] 108

Certifications and sales

|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20120304225302/http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/ar-20002.pdf
Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[8] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[9] Gold 50,000^
Germany (BVMI)[10] Platinum 300,000^
Sweden (GLF)[11] Platinum 80,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[12] Gold 25,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] 3× Platinum 900,000^
United States (RIAA)[14] 95,000[15]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[16] 2× Platinum 2,000,000*

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

References

  1. ↑ Northern Star (Melanie C album) at AllMusic
  2. ↑ "Rolling Stone review".
  3. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (20 August 2001). "Mel C: Northern Star". Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  4. ↑ Northern Star (liner notes). Melanie C. Virgin. 1999.
  5. ↑ http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/168889/ranking/cd_album/
  6. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-albums-chart/20000827/40
  7. ↑ allmusic.com
  8. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
  9. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Melanie C – Northern Star". Music Canada. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
  10. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Melanie C; 'Northern Star')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
  11. ↑ ""Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2000"" (PDF) (in Swedish). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry – Sweden. 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Melanie C; 'Northern Star')". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
  13. ↑ "British album certifications – Melanie C – Northern Star". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2011-09-28. Enter Northern Star in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  14. ↑ "American album certifications – Melanie C – Northern Star". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 28 September 2011. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  15. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (18 November 2006). "Ask Billboard, THE SPICE IS RIGHT". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  16. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2007". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2011-09-28.

External links