Take the Crown (album)

"Shit on the Radio" redirects here. For the song by Nelly Furtado, see ... On the Radio (Remember the Days).
Take the Crown
Studio album by Robbie Williams
Released 2 November 2012
Recorded September 2011 – August 2012;
Sarm Studios and Angel Studios,
(London, United Kingdom);
Sarm West Coast and Capitol Studios,
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre Pop, pop rock
Length 43:41 (Standard edition)
52:22 (Deluxe edition bonus tracks)
Label Island, Universal
Producer Jacknife Lee[1]
Robbie Williams chronology

Reality Killed the Video Star
(2009)		 Take the Crown
(2012)		 Swings Both Ways
(2013)
Singles from Take the Crown
  1. "Candy"
    Released: 8 October 2012
  2. "Different"
    Released: 17 December 2012
  3. "Be a Boy"
    Released: 11 March 2013[2]

Take the Crown is the ninth studio album released by British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. The album was released in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2012, via Island Records.[3] Take the Crown is preceded by the lead single, "Candy", a track Williams co-wrote with Gary Barlow which became his seventh solo number one single in the UK and 14th career UK number one. The album also featured the original demo version of Take That's "Eight Letters", which is entirely performed by Williams. It is his first solo album in three years after his return to Take That in 2010. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Take the Crown was the 36th global best-selling album of 2012 with sales of 1.2 million copies.[4] To promote the album, Williams started the Take the Crown Stadium Tour, which lasted from June to August 2013.

Background

On 9 November 2009, Williams released his eighth solo studio album entitled Reality Killed the Video Star.[5] The album incorporated elements of pop rock, dance-rock, alternative rock and adult contemporary music.[6] Reality Killed the Video Star was viewed by critics and fans as being Williams' "comeback album" after the relative failure of his 2006 release, Rudebox.[7][8] The album produced four singles, including the worldwide hit "Bodies".

Speaking of the album, Williams has claimed: "After the Take That reunion – a busman's holiday, a break from my career which re-energised me in many, many ways – I wanted to come back with a massive solo album. My main priority was to write what I consider, and hopefully what the world would consider, to be hits. I'm very excited".[9] Robbie met Melbourne musicians Flynn Francis and Tim Metcalfe through the brother of his wife Ayda Field.The like-minded trio immediately hit a rich vein of creative form, penning Take The Crown in just over a week. He said: "My brother-in-law, who’s in a rap combo called The Connects... his music got 40 per cent better overnight. I said, ‘What’s going on?’ He said, ‘Well, we met these Australian guys in a bar and they produce and write songs. And I said, ‘Well, get them up to the house.’ Within eight days we’d written the album. They breathed youth into the situation and naivety and hope. I found it to be a very fortuitous blend straight away, more so than anything I’ve ever done in the past."[10]

The album was made available to pre-order from midnight on 3 September 2012. Music industry magazine Music Week were given the chance to listen to the record in advance, and gave the following review: "Take The Crown is the big, brash, confident Robbie Williams pop record that his fans have been longing for but maybe didn't dare expect. If it had a sub-title it would be 'In Case You'd Forgotten'. Not wishing to denigrate the art of the record executive, but Island may as well have chosen the lead single by chucking a dart at the inlay sleeve. They couldn't have missed. Because there are no misses. Just hits – huge pop hits."[9]

The album's lead single, the Williams/Gary Barlow-penned "Candy", was released on 29 October 2012. The track was originally rumoured to be titled "Vertigo". Williams said of the track: "It's a summer song, very much in a similar vein to 'Rock DJ', about a girl who thinks she's great. And she might be, but she's a bit nefarious with her ways. Some songs take an age to write and some songs just fall out of your mouth completely formed, and you don't have to think about it. I don't know why that fell out of my mouth and out of my brain at that particular time – it just did."[9] Williams has stated that he did not tour his last album as he wasn't "into it that much". Williams said "I want to impress on people that I'm fully in with this one. I want to dominate the charts. I want to take on the world. I want to be a top pop star. I'm re-energised and it's called Take the Crown for that reason."[11]

Singles

The album's lead single, "Candy", premiered on 10 September 2012 and was released on 11 September in most countries and 29 October in the UK.[12] In the UK, "Candy" became Williams' first number one single since "Radio" (2004) and his seventh solo number one single. In its first week the song had sold 137,000 copies becoming the fastest-selling male artist single of the year.[13]

Different was released on 17 September but peaked at 64 on the UK Singles Chart.

Be a Boy was released on 11 March 2013 as a digital download.

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (65/100)[14]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [15]
BBC Music mixed[16]
The Daily Telegraph [17]
The Guardian [18]
The Independent [19]
The Independent on Sunday [20]
MusicOMH [21]
The Observer [22]
PopMatters 7/10[23]
Slant Magazine [24]

Upon its release, Take the Crown received generally positive response from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 65/100 from Metacritic that indicates "generally favourable reviews".[14] Tom Hocknell from BBC Music gave Take the Crown a favourable review. He said that "The presence of producer Jacknife Lee demonstrates that Robbie's search to replace Guy Chambers and Steve Power has grown less urgent and more interesting". Hocknell felt that the album comes to life "with 'All That I Want' and the hypnotic 'Hunting for You', while 'Into the Silence' is evocative of The Joshua Tree-period U2". He also felt that Take the Crown finds Williams "sounding rather too serious, rather too often. It's safe, something of a retreat from past endeavours to a sound more suited to commercial returns in the present".[16] Andy Gill from The Independent gave the album three stars (out of five). He said that the album was "crafted with great skill, Williams and producer Jacknife Lee turning their hands to a range of styles". Gill mentioned influences such as U2 (on "Into the Silence" and "Hunting for You") and Plastic Bertrand (on "Hey Wow Yeah Yeah") as well as The Bee Gees in terms of songwriting.[19]

Alexis Petridis from The Guardian gave the album four stars (out of five). Petridis said that "You end up with an album that, had it been released as the followup to 2005's Intensive Care, would almost certainly have been the vast success that Williams wants it to be now. It's not going to win over anyone who doesn't already own at least a couple of Robbie Williams albums, but that isn't what it sets out to do".[18] Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph gave Take the Crown three stars (out of five). He said that the album is "chock-full of anthemic, highly charged pop-rock songs but the stadium-scale synth and guitar blend is a long way from cutting-edge contemporary chart music, while a recurring lyrical theme is regret for past behaviour". McCormick felt that the album is "more epic rock than playground pop" while stating that "The moment when Williams had his finger on the pulse of the pop nation is gone, leaving only a smart, accomplished entertainer singing to his fan base".[17]

Commercial reception

In the United Kingdom, Take the Crown debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart making it Williams' tenth number one album. It also marked the second time that Williams had a number one single ("Candy") and album at the same time on the chart. The first time was in 2001 when "Somethin' Stupid" and Swing When You're Winning were number one on the singles and albums chart respectively.[25] In the UK, Take the Crown sold a total of 445,500 copies during 2012.[26] As of December 2013, the album had sold 515,207 copies in the UK.[27]

Take the Crown: Live at the O2

In November 2012, Robbie Williams performed three concerts at The O2 Arena in London as part of a promotional tour of the album. The concerts were all recorded and released as "instant" limited edition live albums.[28] The final night of the shows was broadcast live on the internet as well as on Sky1 and directed by Hamish Hamilton.[29] The Guardian gave the show four stars (out of five) while calling it "entertaining". It was noted that "there's not much of the big visual gimmickry that tends to mark out pop shows: it relies on Williams's personality and arsenal of hits to carry it, which they do."[30] Emily Jupp from The Independent has also given the shows four stars (out of five). She said that the show had "Spontaneous bursts of tap dancing, crotch-thrusting, bum-shaking, jokes about the Queen, carry-on style gags about sleeping with 'girls on the game', could form an entire show by themselves without any singing needed." Jupp also said that Williams is "a true entertainer, he treads a fine line between cheeky and offensive, like a racier version of Bruce Forsyth."[31] The shows also featured special appearances from Take That bandmate Gary Barlow and music producer Guy Chambers with whom Williams has not worked with since 2002.[32]

Set list

  1. "Hey Wow Yeah Yeah"
  2. "Let Me Entertain You"
  3. "Lazy Days"
  4. "2001/Karma Killer"
  5. "Candy"
  6. "Rock DJ"
  7. "Gospel"
  8. "Monsoon"
  9. "Eternity" (with Guy Chambers)
  10. "Mr Bojangles" (with Guy Chambers)
  11. "She's the One" (with Guy Chambers)
  12. "Be a Boy"
  13. "Come Undone"
  14. "Bodies"
  15. "Feel"
  16. "Not Like the Others"
  17. "Millennium"
  18. "Hot Fudge"
  19. "Kids"

Encore

  1. "Strong"
  2. "Eight Letters" (with Gary Barlow)
  3. "Different" (with Gary Barlow)
  4. "Angels"
  5. "Losers"

Box office score data

Venue City Tickets sold / available Gross revenue
The O2 Arena London 54,305 / 56,325 (96%) $7,900,231[33]

Track listing

Standard edition
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Be a Boy"  Robbie Williams, Tim Metcalfe, Flynn FrancisJacknife Lee 4:39
2. "Gospel"  Williams, Metcalfe, Francis, Jacknife LeeJacknife Lee 4:26
3. "Candy"  Williams, Gary Barlow, Terje OlsenJacknife Lee 3:20
4. "Different"  Williams, Barlow, LeeJacknife Lee 4:52
5. "Shit on the Radio"  Williams, Metcalfe, Francis, LeeJacknife Lee 2:53
6. "All That I Want"  Williams, Metcalfe, FrancisJacknife Lee 3:30
7. "Hunting for You"  Williams, Metcalfe, Francis, LeeJacknife Lee 3:58
8. "Into the Silence"  Williams, Metcalfe, FrancisJacknfie Lee 4:48
9. "Hey Wow Yeah Yeah"  Williams, Boots OttestadJacknfie Lee 2:52
10. "Not Like the Others"  Williams, Metcalfe, FrancisJacknife Lee 4:15
11. "Losers" (featuring Lissie)Barbara Gruska, Ethan GruskaJacknife Lee 4:08

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[34] 4
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[35] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[36] 8
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[37] 9
Croatian Albums (HDU)[38] 1
Czech Albums (IFPI)[39] 6
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[40] 3
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[41] 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[42] 13
French Albums (SNEP)[43] 9
German Albums (Official Top 100)[44] 1
Greek Albums (IFPI)[45] 1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[46] 16
Icelandic Albums (Tónlist)[47] 18
Irish Albums (IRMA)[48] 1
Italian Albums (FIMI)[49] 2
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[50] 16
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[51] 12
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[52] 5
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[53] 42
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[54] 12
South Korean Albums (Gaon Chart)[55] 9
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[56] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[57] 7
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[58] 1
Taiwanese Albums (G-Music)[59] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[60] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2012) Position
Austrian Albums Chart[61] 30
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[62] 76
Dutch Albums Chart[63] 16
German Albums Chart[64] 16
Hungarian Albums Chart[65] 65
Italian Albums Chart[66] 39
Swiss Albums Chart[67] 47
UK Albums Chart[68] 13
Chart (2013) Position
Austrian Albums Chart[69] 48
Swiss Albums Chart[70] 86

Certifications

Country Provider Certification
(thresholds)[71]		 Sales/shipments
Australia ARIA Gold[72] 35,000+
Austria IFPI Platinum[73] 20,000+
Denmark IFPI Gold[74] 10,000+
Germany BVMI Platinum[75] 200,000+
Ireland IRMA Gold[76] 7,500+
Italy FIMI Gold[77] 30,000+
Switzerland IFPI Gold[78] 15,000+
United Kingdom BPI Platinum 500,000+

Release history

Region Date Label Format
Ireland 2 November 2012 Universal Music CD, digital download
(standard and deluxe edition)
Australia[79]
Sweden[80]
Germany[81] Island Records
United Kingdom 5 November 2012
Mexico[82][83] 6 November 2012 Universal Music
Italy[84]

References

  1. ↑ Cochrane, Greg (1 January 1970). "Newsbeat – Robbie Williams album Take The Crown out in November". BBC. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  2. ↑ Thursday, 24 January 2013, 15:39 GMT (24 January 2013). "Robbie Williams announces new single 'Be a Boy' – listen – Music News". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Take the Crown (Deluxe Edition) by Robbie Williams – Preorder Take the Crown (Deluxe Edition) on iTunes". iTunes Store (UK). 13 February 1974. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  4. ↑ "The Global Bestsellers of 2012" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. p. 11. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Music – Reality Killed the Video Star by Robbie Williams". iTunes Store (GB). Apple Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "Reality Killed the Video Star". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  7. ↑ Rosie Swash (5 August 2009). "Robbie Williams announces comeback album". The Guardian (London: Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  8. ↑ "Madonna, Robbie Williams Rule in Europe". Billboard.biz. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Take The Crown: New Album Out 5th November". Robbie Williams's official site. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  10. ↑ Nixon, Tim (19 October 2012). "Robbie Williams: I'm coming back with a massive solo album | The Sun |Showbiz|Music". London: The Sun. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  11. ↑ Cochrane, Greg (1 January 1970). "Newsbeat – Robbie Williams admits not being 'into' recent albums". BBC. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  12. ↑ "Listen To Robbie's New Single Candy". Robbie Williams's official site. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  13. ↑ "Take THAT, Gary! Robbie Williams equals Gary Barlow's career tally as". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Take the Crown Reviews, Ratings, Credits and More". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  15. ↑ John Bush. "Take the Crown". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Music – Review of Robbie Williams – Take the Crown". BBC. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 McCormick, Neil (2 November 2012). "Robbie Williams, Take the Crown, album review". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Alexis Petridis (1 November 2012). "Robbie Williams: Take the Crown – review | Music". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Andy Gill (3 November 2012). "Album: Robbie Williams, Take The Crown (Universal Island) – Reviews – Music". The Independent (London). Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  20. ↑ Simon Price (4 November 2012). "Album: Robbie Williams, Take the Crown (Island) – Reviews – Music". The Independent (London). Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  21. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown | album reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  22. ↑ Kitty Empire (4 November 2012). "Robbie Williams: Take the Crown – review | Music". The Observer (London). Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  23. ↑ Sawdey, Evan. "Robbie Williams: Take the Crown". PopMatters. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  24. ↑ "Robbie Williams: Take the Crown | Music Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  25. ↑ "Robbie Williams crowned king of the charts with Number 1 single and al". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  26. ↑ "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Albums of 2012 revealed!". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  27. ↑ Jones, Alan (23 December 2013). "Sam Bailey scores Xmas No.1 with 148k sales: Official Charts Analysis". Music Week. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  28. ↑ "Robbie's O2 Shows To Be Released As 'Instant' Live Albums!". RobbieWilliams.com. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  29. ↑ "New Video: "One Of The Best Experiences On Stage Ever"". RobbieWilliams.com. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  30. ↑ Alexis Petridis (23 November 2012). "Robbie Williams – review | Music". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  31. ↑ Emily Jupp (23 November 2012). "Robbie Williams, O2 Arena, London – Reviews – Music". The Independent. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  32. ↑ http://guychambers.com/news/guy-robbie-unite-for-02-gigs-
  33. ↑ "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard (New York City, New York: Prometheus Global Media) 125 (2). 19 January 2013. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  34. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien.
  35. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien.
  36. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien.
  37. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown" (in French). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien.
  38. ↑ "Top 40 Stranih – Robbie Williams – Take the Crown". HDU. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012.
  39. ↑ "TOP50 Prodejní – Robbie Williams – Take the Crown". IFPI. Week 45, 2012. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  40. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown". Danishcharts.com. Hung Medien.
  41. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien.
  42. ↑ "Robbie Williams: Take The Crown" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  43. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown". Lescharts.com. Hung Medien.
  44. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown". Officialcharts.de. GfK Entertainment.
  45. ↑ "Official Cyta-IFPI Albums Sales Chart – Robbie Williams – Take the Crown". IFPI. Archived from the original on 8 December 2012.
  46. ↑ "MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége". mahasz.hu. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  47. ↑ "Plötulistinn – Robbie Williams – Take the Crown". Tónlist. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012.
  48. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 45, 2012". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  49. ↑ "{{{artist}}} – {{{album}}}". Italiancharts.com. Hung Medien.
  50. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown". Mexicancharts.com. Hung Medien.
  51. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien.
  52. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien.
  53. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
  54. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown". Portuguesecharts.com. Hung Medien.
  55. ↑ "Gaon International Albums Chart – Robbie Williams – Take the Crown" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Archived from the original on 25 November 2012.
  56. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown". Spanishcharts.com. Hung Medien.
  57. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien.
  58. ↑ "Robbie Williams – Take The Crown". Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien.
  59. ↑ "G-Music Western Chart – Robbie Williams – Take the Crown" (in Chinese). G-Music. Week 45, 2012. Archived from the original on 25 November 2012. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  60. ↑ "Robbie Williams | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart
  61. ↑ Albums best selling in 2012
  62. ↑ "Ultratop Belgian Charts". ultratop.be. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  63. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  64. ↑ "Die Jahres-Charts 2012 – Charts – Musik – 1LIVE" (in German). Einslive.de. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  65. ↑ "Best selling albums of Hungary in 2012". Mahasz. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  66. ↑ "Top 100 Album Combined – Classifica annuale (dal 2 Gennaio 2012 al 30 Dicembre 2012)" (PDF) (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry / TV Sorrisi e Canzoni. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013.
  67. ↑ Steffen Hung (30 December 2012). "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2012". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  68. ↑ The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Albums Of 2012 revealed!
  69. ↑ http://austriancharts.at/year.asp?id=2013&cat=a
  70. ↑ http://hitparade.ch/year.asp
  71. ↑ http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/international-award-levels.pdf
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  73. ↑ "Robbie Williams erobert den Chart Thron und neue Single "Different"". IFPI. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012.
  74. ↑ "Certificeringer" (in Danish). IFPI. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  75. ↑ Musiki Industrie Gold-/Platin-Datenbank
  76. ↑ Certification Gold in 2012 |- Irish Recorded Music Association
  77. ↑ http://www.fimi.it/temp/cert_Gfk_week5112.pdf
  78. ↑ SWISS CHARTS – ALBUMS TOP 100
  79. ↑ "Take The Crown (Deluxe Edition)". JB Hi-Fi Online. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  80. ↑ "Take The Crown – Williams Robbie – Musik". CDON Group (Sweden). Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  81. ↑ "Take The Crown (Limited Roar Edition): Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  82. ↑ "iTunes – Take the Crown de Robbie Williams – Pre-ordena Take the Crown en iTunes". iTunes Store (Mexico). Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  83. ↑ "POP INGLES – TAKE THE CROWN (PORTADA LIMITADA)". Mixup.com.mx. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  84. ↑ "Take The Crown (Deluxe Edition Cd + Dvd), disco (CD) di Williams Robbie 0602537168057". La Feltrinelli. Retrieved 3 November 2012.