Schizophonic (Geri Halliwell album)

Schizophonic
Studio album by Geri Halliwell
Released June 7, 1999
Recorded September 1998 – April 1999
Genre
Length 40:52
Label
Producer Absolute
Geri Halliwell chronology
Schizophonic
(1999)
Scream If You Wanna Go Faster
(2001)
Singles from Schizophonic
  1. "Look at Me"
    Released: 10 May 1999
  2. "Mi Chico Latino"
    Released: 16 August 1999
  3. "Lift Me Up"
    Released: 1 November 1999
  4. "Bag It Up"
    Released: 13 March 2000
Alternate cover
Alternative cover of Schizophonic.
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
BBC Newsmixed[2]
Entertainment WeeklyC[3]
The New Zealand Herald[4]
Peoplefavourable[5]
Rolling Stone[6]

Schizophonic (stylised as Schizö-phonic) is the debut studio album by pop singer Geri Halliwell. The album was released after her split from popular girl group the Spice Girls. The term schizophonic is a portmanteau of the Greek words schizo ("split", "divide") and phonic ("sound"), and also seemingly a play on the word "schizophrenic" and the musical term "schizophonia".

It produced four singles, all of which saw commercial success in the UK—"Mi Chico Latino", "Lift Me Up" and "Bag It Up" reached number one, while the first single "Look at Me" peaked at number two. As of 2010 the album had sold 3 million copies worldwide.[7] Reviews for the album were positive.

Background

In 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls due to depression and differences between the group.[8] The next year, she launched her solo career and released her debut album Schizophonic, with the lead single "Look at Me", produced by Absolute and Phil Bucknall. "Look at Me" was followed by three number one singles in the UK Singles Chart; "Mi Chico Latino", "Lift Me Up", and "Bag It Up". The album itself reached number four in the UK Albums Chart, and sold 600,000 copies there, making it 2× Platinum.[9] With only a radio single, Schizophonic debuted at number forty-two on the Billboard 200 before dropping out within the next month. The album was eventually certified Gold, distributing over 500,000 copies.[10] Schizophonic ended up selling around 2,300,000 copies worldwide, and remains Halliwell's biggest selling album to date.[11]

Commercial sales

It debuted with first-week sales of 35,000.[12] Three of the four singles from the album went to number one in the United Kingdom, while the debut single made number two. The album was a commercial success and sold better than Forever, the Spice Girls album which was released almost two years after Halliwell's controversial departure from the group. The album debuted at No. 4 in the United Kingdom, selling 31,274 in its first week, and 483,853 in total, being certified 2× Platinum for shipments of 600,000 copies. In Canada, the album debuted and peaked at No. 15. With strong long-term sales the album was certified Platinum with just over 100,000 copies shipped. In the United States, the album faced medium success, selling 40,000 copies in its first week debuting and peaking at No. 42 on the Billboard 200, the strongest Spice Girls solo showing on the chart. Eventually, the album sold 500,000 copies and received a Gold certification in the US. The album was also certified Gold in Australia and Spain with shipments of over 35,000 and 50,000[13] respectively. However, the album only reached No. 85 in Japan, selling 3,190 copies.

Album covers

Schizophonic was released with two different covers, representing an angel (white), and a devil (red); both covers are the same edition of the album. On the first "O" on Schizophonic, there is an angel halo on the white cover and horns on the red cover. On the back cover, the song titles are written in both red and white, relating the theme of the song to one of the personalities. The booklet of the album features both covers on all editions, and the lyrics of the songs are included on the side that they are marked on the back cover.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Schizophonic.[14]

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Look at Me"  
  • Geri Halliwell
  • Andy Watkins
  • Paul Wilson
Absolute 4:31
2. "Lift Me Up"  
  • Halliwell
  • Watkins
  • Wilson
  • Tracy Ackerman
Absolute 3:52
3. "Walkaway"  
  • Halliwell
  • Watkins
  • Wilson
  • Ackerman
Absolute 5:03
4. "Mi Chico Latino"  
  • Halliwell
  • Watkins
  • Wilson
Absolute 3:16
5. "Goodnight Kiss"  
  • Halliwell
  • Watkins
  • Wilson
Absolute 4:38
6. "Bag It Up"  
  • Halliwell
  • Watkins
  • Wilson
Absolute 3:46
7. "Sometime"  
  • Halliwell
  • Watkins
  • Wilson
Absolute 4:01
8. "Let Me Love You"  
  • Halliwell
  • Watkins
  • Wilson
Absolute 3:45
9. "Someone's Watching Over Me"  
  • Halliwell
  • Watkins
  • Wilson
  • Ackerman
Absolute 4:15
10. "You're in a Bubble"  
  • Halliwell
  • Watkins
  • Wilson
Absolute 3:27
Total length:
40:52

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[15] 22
Austrian Albums Chart[15] 30
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[15] 39
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[15] 35
Canadian Albums Chart[16] 11
Dutch Albums Chart[15] 85
European Top 100 Albums 10
Finnish Albums Chart[15] 11
French Albums Chart[15] 50
German Albums Chart[17] 52
Hungarian Albums Chart[18] 15
Irish Albums Chart[19] 63
Italian Albums Chart 17
Japanese Albums Chart[20] 85
New Zealand Albums Chart[15] 19
Norwegian Albums Chart[15] 12
Spanish Albums Chart 23
Swedish Albums Chart[15] 43
Swiss Albums Chart[15] 31
UK Albums Chart[21] 4
US Billboard 200[16] 42

Year-end charts

Chart (1999) Position
Australian Albums Chart[22] 99
Italian Albums Chart[23] 77

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[24] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[25] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[26] Gold 66,000[27]
Italy (FIMI)[28] Platinum 100,000[29]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[30] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] 2× Platinum 600,000^
United States (RIAA)[32] Gold 500,000^

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

References

  1. AllMusic review
  2. Chris Charles (1999-06-06). "Entertainment: New Music Releases - CD Review: Geri Halliwell". BBC News. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
  3. Chuck Eddy (1999). "Enterntainment Weekly Review (Schizophonic - Geri Halliwell)". Enterntainment Weekly. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
  4. Russell Baillie (1999-06-17). "The New Zeland Herald Review: Geri Halliwell - Schizophonic". The New Zeland Herald. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
  5. "Picks and Pans Review: Schizophonic". People. 1999-06-28. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
  6. "Rolling Stone Review (Schizophonic - Geri Halliwell)". Angelfire. 1999. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
  7. "Watch your fingers... Geri Halliwell makes a new furry friend at London Zoo". Daily Main News. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  8. On This Day (30 May 1998): "Ginger leaves the Spice Girls". BBC News.
  9. "BPI Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  10. "RIAA Certification for "Schizophonic"". Riaa.com. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  11. "Geri Halliwell Sales around the world". chartsinfrance.net. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  12. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Matthew+Wright%27s+column%3A+Four-Tune+Fails+Geri.-a060450756
  13. "Geri Halliwell" (in Spanish). El Periódico. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  14. Schizophonic (CD liner notes). Geri Halliwell. EMI Music. 1999. 7243 5 21009 4 1.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Geri Halliwell – Schizophonic". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  16. 1 2 "Geri Halliwell > Charts & Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  17. "Geri Halliwell > Longplay-Chartverfolgung" (in German). musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  18. "Archívum – Top 40 album" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  19. "Discography – Geri Halliwell". irish-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  20. "スキッゾフォニック ジェリ・ハリウェルのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  21. "Geri Halliwell". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  22. "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 1999". ARIA. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  23. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1999.htm
  24. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  25. "Canadian album certifications – Geri Halliwell – Schizophonic". Music Canada.
  26. "French album certifications – Geri Halliwell – Schizophonic" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
  27. "Les Albums Or" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
  28. "Italian album certifications – Geri Halliwell – Schizophonic" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select Album e Compilation in the field Sezione. Enter Geri Halliwell in the field Filtra. Select 2000 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically
  29. "Geri: "Ho avuto paura di perdere tutto"". Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  30. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  31. "British album certifications – Geri Halliwell – Schizophonic". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Schizophonic 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
  32. "American album certifications – Geri Halliwell – Schizophonic". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, January 21, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.