A Girl Like Me (Emma Bunton album)

A Girl Like Me
Studio album by Emma Bunton
Released 16 April 2001 (2001-04-16)
Recorded

July 1999–October 2000

Genre
Length 45:40
Label Virgin
Producer
Emma Bunton chronology
A Girl Like Me
(2001)		 Free Me
(2004)Free Me2004
Singles from A Girl Like Me
  1. "What I Am"
    Released: 1 November 1999
  2. "What Took You So Long?"
    Released: 2 April 2001
  3. "Take My Breath Away"
    Released: 27 August 2001
  4. "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight"
    Released: 10 December 2001

A Girl Like Me is the debut solo album by English recording artist Emma Bunton It was released by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2001. Following the release of the Spice Girls' third studio album, Forever (2000), the group announced that they were beginning an indefinite hiatus and would be concentrating on their solo careers in regards to their foreseeable future.[1] Recording sessions for Bunton's first solo album took place from July 1999 to October 2000 at several recording studios.

The album debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, with 21,500 copies sold in its first week. Although initial success was promising, A Girl Like Me fell down the chart quickly. However, singles "What I Am", "What Took You So Long?", "Take My Breath Away" and "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" helped the album stay on the UK Albums Chart for several weeks. On 7 September 2001, A Girl Like Me was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
CHARTattack(2.5/5)[4]
Hot Pressunfavourable[5]
NME(6/10)[6]

A Girl Like Me received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Stewart Mason of AllMusic felt that Emma's singing voice lacked depth but that it worked well with the well-crafted and addicting pop songs, concluding that "A Girl Like Me isn't an album for the ages, but it's better than 'not bad.'"[3] Timothy Park of NME said that there were great tracks and Emma performs them adequately but felt the album lacked ambition or honesty, concluding that "'A Girl Like Me', like Emma, is very sweet but, like Emma also, it has no balls."[6] Erik Missio of CHARTattack said he saw promise in the album but felt disappointed by its attempts to resemble the Spice Girls' sound.[4] Stephen Robinson of Hot Press criticized the tracks for being overly sweet and borrowing from other genres but being unoriginal with them, calling it "another album to chuck aboard the pop blandwagon."[5]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of A Girl Like Me.[7]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."What Took You So Long?"
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
3:59
2."Take My Breath Away"
Mac3:34
3."A World Without You"
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
4:53
4."High on Love"
  • Bunton
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
  • Harrigton
  • Ash Howes
  • Sharon Murphy
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
3:49
5."A Girl Like Me"
  • Bunton
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
4:01
6."Spell It O.U.T."
Frampton3:12
7."Sunshine on a Rainy Day"
Tin Tin Out4:17
8."Been There, Done That"
  • Bunton
  • Frampton
  • Braide
Frampton3:05
9."Better Be Careful"
  • Bunton
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
  • Harrington
  • Howes
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
3:19
10."We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight"
Lawrence3:23
11."She Was a Friend of Mine"
  • Bunton
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
3:34
12."What I Am" (with Tin Tin Out)
Tin Tin Out4:34
Total length:45:40

B-sides

Title Single B-side Producer(s) Length
"(Hey You) Free Up Your Mind" "What Took You So Long?" CD single Rhett Lawrence 3:21
"Merry-Go Round" Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers 3:54
"Close Encounter" "Take My Breath Away" CD single Andrew Frampton 3:32
"Invincible" "Take My Breath Away" DVD single Bryan Adams, Phil Thornalley 3:01
"Let Your Baby Show You How to Move" "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" CD single Rhett Lawrence 3:07

Known outtakes

Personnel

  • Emma Bunton – vocals
  • Tom Bender – mixing assistant (track 3)
  • Stefan Boman – string engineer (track 3)
  • Jason Bonilla – engineer (track 10)
  • Chris Braide – arranger (tracks 6, 8)
  • Will Catterson – engineer (track 10)
  • Dylan "3D" Dresdow – mixing (track 10)
  • Matt Fields – mixing assistant (track 1)
  • Andrew Frampton – producer, arranger (tracks 6, 8); string arrangements (track 6)
  • Daniel Frampton – engineer (tracks 6, 8)
  • Ulf Forsberg – string concertmaster (track 3)
  • Julian Gallagher – producer (tracks 1, 4, 9)
  • Brad Gilderman – mixing (tracks 6, 8, 11)
  • Mick Guzauski – mixing (track 3)
  • Simon Hale – string arrangements (track 4, 9); brass arrangements (track 9)
  • Al Hemberger – engineer (tracks 3, 5, 11)
  • Ash Howes – engineer (tracks 1, 4, 9); programming (tracks 1, 4); mixing (track 4)
  • Nick Ingman – string arrangements (track 6)
  • Henrik Janson – string arrangements, string conductor (track 3)
  • Ulf Janson – string arrangements, string conductor (track 3)
  • Lawrence Johnson – additional vocal arrangement (track 7)
  • Jan "Stan" Kybert – mix engineer, Pro Tools (track 1)
  • Rhett Lawrence – producer, arranger, programming, engineer, mixing, guitar (track 10)
  • Chris Laws – engineer (track 2)
  • Evan Lloyd – assistant engineer (track 10)
  • Steve Mac – producer, arranger, mixing (track 2)
  • Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado – mixing (track 10)
  • Steve Price – string engineer (track 6)
  • Terry Richardson – photography
  • Evan Rogers – producer (tracks 3, 5, 11)
  • Ian Ross – design
  • Ruth Rowland – lettering
  • Ramon Stagnaro – guitar (track 10)
  • Richard "Biff" Stannard – producer (tracks 1, 4, 9)
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (track 1)
  • StoneBridge – additional producer, mixing, keyboards (track 5)
  • Carl Sturken – producer (tracks 3, 5, 11)
  • Alvin Sweeney – additional engineer (track 1, 4, 9); Pro Tools (track 1)
  • Tin Tin Out – producer, mixing (tracks 7, 12)

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 86
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] 75
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[10] 23
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 38
French Albums (SNEP)[12] 79
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 67
Irish Albums (IRMA)[14] 55
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 21
Scottish Albums (OCC)[16] 6
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 4

Year-end charts

Chart (2001) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 147

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[2] Gold 100,000^

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

Release history

Country Date Label
United Kingdom 16 April 2001 Virgin Records
Australia 14 May 2001 EMI

References

  1. ↑ Spice Girls dismiss comeback plan BBC. Retrieved 18 September 2011
  2. 1 2 "British album certifications – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". British Phonographic Industry. Enter A Girl Like Me in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  3. 1 2 Mason, Stewart. "A Girl Like Me – Emma Bunton – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 July 2005.
  4. 1 2 Missio, Erik (16 April 2001). "Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". CHARTattack. Channel Zero. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  5. 1 2 Robinson, Stephen (26 April 2001). "A Girl Like Me". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  6. 1 2 Mark, Timothy (18 April 2001). "Emma Bunton : A Girl Like Me". NME. IPC Media. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  7. ↑ A Girl Like Me (CD liner notes). Emma Bunton. Virgin Records. 2001. LC03098.
  8. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Albums – Week Commencing 21st May 2001" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Pandora Archive. Archived from the original on 21 February 2002. Retrieved 31 August 2008.
  9. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  11. ↑ "Emma Bunton: A Girl Like Me" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  14. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 17, 2001". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  17. ↑ "Emma Bunton | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  18. ↑ "Emma Bunton | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 2016-11-22.
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