Affirmation (Savage Garden album)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C+^[2]
Plugged In	(average)^[3]
PopMatters	^[4]
Q	^[5]
Robert Christgau	^[6]
Rolling Stone	^[7]
Sputnikmusic	^[8]

Affirmation is the second and final studio album by Australian pop duo Savage Garden. The album was released on 9 November 1999 by Columbia Records. It won the 2000 ARIA Music Award for Highest Selling Album along it nominated the 2000 ARIA Music Award for Best Group but lost to Killing Heidi's Reflector and Best Pop Album but lost to Kylie Minogue's Spinning Around.

Background

The band recorded their second studio album after they recorded "The Animal Song" for the soundtrack to the film The Other Sister. The majority of the album was written by Hayes in New York in September 1999 or slightly earlier that year. The exception was 'You Can Still Be Free', a much older song that dated back to at least 1995 - a demo recording appeared on their 1995 demo tape, then titled 'Free'. The track was written in tribute to a friend of the band who had committed suicide some years previously, and was revisited after said friends' family explained they loved the song and wanted to see it released on an album. Preceded by the second single "I Knew I Loved You", the album was released on 9 November 1999 to worldwide success. The album spawned a further five singles, one of which was exclusive to the Australian market ("Chained to You"), and one of which was exclusive to the British market ("The Best Thing").

Following the success of the Superstars and Cannonballs video album, the album was reissued in November 2000, containing a bonus live album, Declaration, featuring recordings from the concert at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on 21 May 2000. Including sales of the re-issue, the album has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, being certified platinum in a number of countries.^[9] It became the band's last studio album after Daniel decided to leave in 2001.

Similarly to Savage Garden, the album's track listing varied internationally. The Australian version of the album features a bonus remix of "The Animal Song", a CD-ROM featuring video footage and bonus material, and the uncut version of "Gunning Down Romance". The International version removes the remix, CD-ROM and features a cut version of "Gunning Down Romance", due to a manufacturing error where six seconds of music are cut between 4:36 and 4:42, causing the music to stop abruptly.

Track listing

All songs written by Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones, and produced by Walter Afanasieff.

Standard edition
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Affirmation"	4:56
2.	"Hold Me"	4:50
3.	"I Knew I Loved You"	4:10
4.	"The Best Thing"	4:19
5.	"Crash and Burn"	4:41
6.	"Chained to You"	4:08
7.	"The Animal Song"	4:39
8.	"The Lover After Me"	4:50
9.	"Two Beds and a Coffee Machine"	3:27
10.	"You Can Still Be Free"	4:18
11.	"Gunning Down Romance"	5:34
12.	"I Don't Know You Anymore"	3:50

Australian special edition
No.	Title	Length
13.	"The Animal Song" (Hex Hector Club Mix)	9:55
14.	"The Animal Song" (Making of the Video)	3:00

Declaration live bonus disc
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Best Thing"	5:24
2.	"The Lover After Me"	4:38
3.	"I Don't Know You Anymore"	3:37
4.	"Two Beds and a Coffee Machine"	4:46
5.	"You Can Still Be Free"	4:58
6.	"Hold Me"	4:52
7.	"Gunning Down Romance"	6:36
8.	"Crash and Burn"	5:13
9.	"Chained to You"	6:33
10.	"I Knew I Loved You"	8:05
11.	"Affirmation"	6:17

Expanded Edition 2015 (Disc 2)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hold Me" (Live at London Radio)
2.	"Crash & Burn" (Live at London Radio)
3.	"I Knew I Loved You" (Live at Paris Radio)
4.	"The Lover After Me" (Live at Paris Radio)
5.	"I Don't Know You Anymore" (Live from The Panel)
6.	"I Knew I Loved You" (Eddie¹s Rhythm Radio Mix)
7.	"Affirmation 2004" (Almighty Mix)
8.	"Chained To You" (Justin Shave Remix)
9.	"Crash & Burn" (Eddie¹s Bumped Up Dance Mix)
10.	"Hold Me 2004" (Almighty Mix)

Personnel

Darren Hayes – all vocals
Daniel Jones – keyboards, synthesizers, drum and rhythm programming, additional mimed guitars
Walter Afanasieff – keyboards, synthesizers, drum and rhythm programming, acoustic piano on track 9
Greg Bieck – keyboards and programming
Michael Landau – electric guitars
Michael Thompson - electric guitars and lead baritone guitar on track 6
Dean Parks – acoustic guitars
Nathan East – bass
Steve Smith – drums
Strings arranged and conducted by Jeremy Lubbock; contractor – Jules Chaikin

Production

Arranged and produced by Savage Garden and Walter Afanasieff
Recorded and engineered by Jay Healy (vocals), Kent Matcke (basic tracking), David Frazer (guitars, strings on track 9), David Reitzas (guitars) and David Gleeson (drums, Fairlight, vocals and piano)
Assistant engineers – Brian Vibberts, Pete Krawiec, Tony Rambo, Dave Ashton, Ethan Schofer, Dave Ashton, Luis Quine, Mark Gregory, Ryan Hewitt
Mixed by Dave Way (tracks 1–6 and 8–12) and Chris Lord-Alge (track 7)
Mastered by Vlado Meller

Affirmation World Tour

The band and crew for the Affirmation World Tour were:

Band

Karl Lewis – drums
Lee Novak – bass
Ben Carey – guitar
Jennifer Blakeman – keyboard
Elisa Fiorillo – backing vocals
Angi Bekker – backing vocals

Crew

Peter McFee – tour manager
Susie Steadman – assistant tour manager
Colin Skals – stage manager
Colin Ellis – front of house engineer
Bruce Ramus – lighting director
Scott Pike – monitor engineer
Lindsay McKay – guitar technician
Adrian Dessent – guitar technician
Simon Moran – drum technician
Sean "Motley" Hackett – lighting operator
Nina De Palma – wardrobe stylist

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1999–2000)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[10]	1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[11]	26
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[12]	43
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[13]	1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[14]	3
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)^[15]	46
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[16]	8
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[17]	11
French Albums (SNEP)^[18]	45
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[19]	12
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[20]	3
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[21]	4
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[22]	1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[23]	8
UK Albums (OCC)^[24]	7
US Billboard 200^[25]	6

Certifications and sales


Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)^[26]	8× Platinum	560,000^{^}
Canada (Music Canada)^[27]	2× Platinum	200,000^{^}
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)^[28]	2× Platinum	100,000^{^}
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)^[29]	Gold	31,905^[29]
Germany (BVMI)^[30]	Gold	250,000^{^}
Japan (RIAJ)^[31]	Gold	100,000^[32]^{^}
Mexico (AMPROFON)^[33]	Platinum+Gold	225,000^{^}
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[34]	Platinum	15,000^{^}
Sweden (GLF)^[35]	2× Platinum	160,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[36]	3× Platinum	900,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[37]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^{^}
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)^[38]	Platinum	1,000,000^*
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

References

↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Affirmation at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
↑ Morgan, Laura (1999-11-12). "Affirmation Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
↑ Waliszewski, Bob (1999). "Savage Garden | Affirmation". Plugged In. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
↑ Angotti, Chris. "Savage Garden: Affirmation". PopMatters. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
↑ "Savage Garden - Affirmation CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
↑ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Savage Garden". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
↑ Walters, Barry (1999-12-09). "Savage Garden: Affirmation : Music Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
↑ Med57 (2006-06-19). "Savage Garden - Affirmation (album review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
↑ "Savage Garden Confirms Split". Billboard Magazine. 5 October 2001. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
↑ "Australiancharts.com – Savage Garden – Affirmation". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Austriancharts.at – Savage Garden – Affirmation" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Ultratop.be – Savage Garden – Affirmation" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Savage Garden – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Savage Garden. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Danishcharts.com – Savage Garden – Affirmation". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Savage Garden – Affirmation" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Savage Garden: Affirmation" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Lescharts.com – Savage Garden – Affirmation". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "サヴェージ・ガーデンのリリース一覧" [A Look at Savage Garden's Releases]. Oricon. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
↑ "Charts.org.nz – Savage Garden – Affirmation". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Savage Garden – Affirmation". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Savage Garden – Affirmation". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Swisscharts.com – Savage Garden – Affirmation". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Savage Garden | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "Savage Garden – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Savage Garden. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
↑ "Canadian album certifications – Savage Garden – Affirmation". Music Canada.
↑ "Hitlisten. NU – Denmark", IFPI, archived from the original on November 6, 2016, retrieved November 6, 2016
1 2 "Savage Garden" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Savage Garden; 'Affirmation')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
↑ "Japanese album certifications – Savage Garden – Affirmation" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 17 January 2014. Select 年11月 on the drop-down menu
↑ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 1999年11月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. November 1999 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan. 482: 9. 10 January 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
↑ "Certificaciones – Savage Garden" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas.
↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Savage Garden – Affirmation". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2000" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
↑ "British album certifications – Savage Garden – Affirmation". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Affirmation 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
↑ "American album certifications – Savage Garden – Affirmation". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2000". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

Preceded by Imaginate by Taxiride	Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album 1 November – 21 November 1999 6 December – 12 December 1999 15 May – 21 May 2000 10 July – 16 July 2000	Succeeded by Issues by KoЯn

Savage Garden
Darren Hayes Daniel Jones
Studio albums	Savage Garden Affirmation
Compilation albums	The Future of Earthly Delites Truly Madly Deeply – Ultra Rare Tracks Ultra Hit Tracks Affirmation: The B-Sides Truly Madly Completely: The Best of Savage Garden The Singles
Singles	"I Want You" "To the Moon and Back" "Truly Madly Deeply" "Break Me Shake Me" "Universe" "All Around Me" "Santa Monica" "Tears of Pearls" "The Animal Song" "I Knew I Loved You" "Crash and Burn" "Affirmation" "Chained to You" "Hold Me" "The Best Thing"
Video releases	Superstars and Cannonballs
Related articles	Discography Awards and nominations

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