Northern Star (Melanie C album)
Northern Star | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 18 October 1999 | |||
Recorded | March–July 1999 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Pop[1] | |||
Length | 53:18 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Producer |
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Melanie C chronology | ||||
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Singles from Northern Star | ||||
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Northern Star is the debut solo studio album by English singer and songwriter Melanie C. It was released on October 18, 1999, by Virgin Records.
Recording sessions took place earlier in the year, during a hiatus from the Spice Girls. As the primary songwriter or co-writer of the album's 12 songs, Melanie Chisolm temporarily relocated to Los Angeles and enlisted several musicians and producers, including William Orbit, Rick Nowels, Marius de Vries, Craig Armstrong and Rick Rubin. Additional recording took place in London and Glasgow. Musically, the album combines pop with elements of rock, electronica, trance, trip hop, and R&B, which contrasted with the sound of Chisolm's group.
Upon its release, Northern Star received generally favorable reviews from music critics, many of whom praised Chisolm for differentiating her sound while noting the influence of Britpop and Madonna's Ray of Light (1998). An international commercial success, Northern Star reached number one on the Swedish Albums Chart and the top ten in countries including Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Northern Star has been certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry and sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling solo album by a member of the Spice Girls.
Northern Star produced five singles. Following "Goin' Down" and "Northern Star," its third and fourth singles "Never Be the Same Again," featuring TLC member Lisa Lopes, and "I Turn to You" became international hits. Both songs earned Chisolm her first solo number ones in the United Kingdom, while the Hex Hector radio mix of "I Turn to You" earned the Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year. "If That Were Me" was released as a charity single. Melanie C promoted Northern Star via numerous live performances and the Northern Star Tour (2000-01), as well as a Channel 4 documentary. The album was re-issued to feature the single mixes of "Never Be the Same Again" and "I Turn to You".
Background and development
[edit]Melanie Chisolm launched her career in the 1990s as a member of the English pop girl group Spice Girls. Her first solo effort was a duet with Bryan Adams, "When You're Gone," which originally featured on Adams' album On a Day Like Today (1998). Adams and Chisolm first met in September 1996 when the Spice Girls performed on Top of the Pops and ran into each other while the Spice Girls were on the North American leg of the Spiceworld Tour in 1998; Adams asked her to appear on his album.[2][3] The duet, released as a single on November 30, 1998, encouraged Chisolm to pursue a solo career and secured a top three peak on the UK Singles Chart.[4] Adams and Chisolm wrote three more songs together: "Follow Me", "Angel on My Shoulder" and "You Taught Me", the first two serving as B-sides to the "Northern Star" and "Goin' Down" singles, while "You Taught Me" was released only as a promo to the media.
In March 1999, after extensive touring and the departure of Geri Halliwell, the Spice Girls took a hiatus due to the simultaneous pregnancies of Mel B and Victoria Beckham.[5] Chisholm decided to leave the UK and head to Los Angeles to work on her solo album, informing The Big Breakfast that it was scheduled for release in October.[6] In June 1999, the song "Ga Ga" appeared on the soundtrack to the film Big Daddy.[7]
Recording and production
[edit]Chisholm planned to work with producer Rick Rubin, who she befriended a year earlier when the Spice Girls were supposed to record a track with Blackstreet for Chef Aid: The South Park Album (1998) before legal wrangles intervened. Rubin, who was to produce the shelved collaboration, offered a hand when he heard of Chisolm's songwriting ambitions.[5] Rubin was also Red Hot Chili Peppers' main producer, whose lead singer, Anthony Kiedis, was rumoured to be dating Chisholm at the time.[8] With hopes of releasing an indie rock album, Chisolm named Blur, Oasis, Suede, the Cardigans, and Hole among her influences.[5] She was also very fond "everything Madonna has ever done," particularly her 1998 album Ray of Light, and wanted to cut her first album with help from Madonna.[5][4] According to a July 1999 interview with the British edition of Cosmopolitan magazine, Madonna invited Chisolm to spend some time with her.[7]
Ultimately, Chisolm succeeded in having William Orbit, the primary producer of Ray of Light, on opening track "Go!" as a writer and producer, while other Ray of Light collaborators Marius de Vries, Craig Armstrong and Rick Nowels also contributed to Northern Star.[9] Elsewhere, Billy Steinberg and Rhett Lawrence contributed to songwriting.[9][10] While working with Lawrence struggling to write a middle-8 for "Never Be the Same Again," Melanie C suggested a rap by Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes from TLC. Having worked with TLC before, Lawrence contacted their management, and Lopes agreed to record a verse for the song.[11] Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols plays guitar on "Suddenly Monday," "Be the One," and B-side "I Want You Back."[12][13][14]
Four months after Chisolm left for Los Angeles, Virgin Records executives were given an early work in progress demo CD of the album.[15] The promotional copy was intended to give worried executives a preview of Chisolm's sound as a solo artist; the last tracks recorded for the album, "Go!" and "I Turn to You", were not included.
Release and promotion
[edit]Northern Star was released in Europe on October 18, 1999, and later in North America on November 2, 1999.[16] To promote the album, Chisholm made a number of televised appearances and live performances of the album's songs. Her first gig as a solo artist took place at Leadmill Club in Sheffield, on 19 August 1999, in front of a crowd of 900 people.[17] Chisholm also performed at the V99 rock festival on 21 and 22 August, receiving mixed to negative reviews, with the BBC noting its confusion about which direction Chisholm wanted to take as a solo artist, and whether she wanted to be a pop star, a rock star or a punk star.[18][19] A special documentary entitled Northern Star[20] was aired on Channel 4 on 30 August, focusing on her life in Los Angeles during the recording of her first solo album. "Closer", "Something's Gonna Happen", "I Wonder What It Would Be Like", "Independence Day", "Northern Star" and "Why" made their debut during the documentary, and the music video of "Goin' Down" was also shown. She embarked on her first solo tour, From Liverpool to Leicester Square, in the autumn of 1999, and later the Northern Star World Tour, which started in Warsaw, Poland on 31 August 2000, and finished in Bonn, Germany on 26 August 2001.
On 23 April 2022, a limited vinyl pressing was released as part of Record Store Day. 2,500 copies were made available, marking the first time the album was released on vinyl. This version of the album featured the track "Follow Me" and the bonus tracks from the 2000 re-release. This release had 3 playable sides to the vinyl, and a fourth that included an etching of the back cover art.[21] The album reached number 32 on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart.[22]
Singles
[edit]"Goin' Down" was released as Chisholm's debut single in September 1999 and reached the top ten in the United Kingdom, where it became her first top-five hit as a solo artist. It also reached the top thirty in Australia.
"Northern Star" was released as the second single in the winter of 1999 and received positive reception from music critics. The single charted at number four on the UK Singles Chart, becoming her third top-five single. It additionally reached the top 20 in Finland, Italy, and Sweden. In the United Kingdom, the single sold over 200,000 copies.[23][24][25][26][27]
"Never Be the Same Again" was released on 20 March 2000 as the third single from her first solo album. The single entered at the top of the UK Singles Chart, beating Moloko's "The Time Is Now" to the summit and it was Melanie C's first solo single to reach number one. It sold 144,936 copies in its first week[28] and was Britain's eighteenth best-selling song of 2000. The song was successful in other markets, topping the charts in seven countries and receiving positive acclaim.[29] By April 2021, the song had sold more than 477,000 copies in UK.
The fourth single from the album, "I Turn to You", was released on 7 August 2000 in the United Kingdom and became Melanie's second UK number-one single. It sold 120,000 copies in its first week, altogether selling 360,477 copies, making it the twenty-seventh best-seller of 2000 in the UK. "I Turn to You" also topped the Austrian Singles Chart, the Danish Singles Chart, the Dutch Top 40, the Swedish Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.[30][31] The main single was released as the "Hex Hector Radio Mix", for which Hex Hector won the 2001 Grammy as Remixer of the Year.[32][33]
Selected as the album's fifth and final single, "If That Were Me" was released in November 2000. The song peaked in the UK Singles Chart at number eighteen, becoming the first of her solo singles to not reach the top five.[34] The proceeds from its sale went to the Kandu Arts charity.[35]
Critical reception
[edit]Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | Negative[36] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Slant Magazine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine asserted that "Mel C wants to break from her Sporty Spice persona while proving herself as a legitimate musician and she does, more or less, with a surprisingly diverse record." He added that "Melanie C has a fairly strong voice, a good sense of melody, and carries a tune with some personality, which is one of the reasons why the genre-hopping of Northern Star works."[1] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote that the album is "positively kaleidoscopic" in its incorporation of "trance, Garbage-style techno-rock, R&B ballads and vaguely nu-metalish chest beating."[38] Barry Walters also complemented the album's variety in a Rolling Stone review, suggesting it contains "way more well-sung goodies than you prefab-pop haters might expect" and drawing comparisons to Madonna, Garbage, the Beatles, and Low era David Bowie.[37] Writing for Slant Magazine, Sal Cinquemani agreed that Melanie C "meets the challenge of distinguishing herself from the Spice Girls" but felt that the ballads "sound like outtakes from Madonna's Ray of Light."[10] In a retrospective review for Attitude, published in 2024, Joseph Ryan-Hicks wrote that Melanie C achieved her goal of creating "an indie record inspired by Blur and Suede with a dash of Madonna’s magnum opus Ray of Light."[39]
A less positive review from student publication The Harvard Crimson described Northern Star as "still the same Spice Girls album dressed up in slightly more sophisticated hues."[40] Russell Baillee of The New Zealand Herald described the songs as "warmed-over Madonna, Garbage or Alanis rejects."[41]
Commercial performance
[edit]Northern Star debuted at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, in the issue dated 24 October 1999.[16] Album sales increased in the UK when "Never Be the Same Again" was released as a single, entering the top 10 again and moving to number five two weeks later. Northern Star kept selling steadily well during the following months, until "I Turn to You" was released in August 2000, when sales took off again and Northern Star achieved its peak position on 2 September 2000, hitting number four of the album chart, nearly a year after its release.[42] As of October 2016, Northern Star had spent 79 weeks on the official UK Albums Chart. Its last appearance on it was in January 2004, nearly 4 and a half years after its release. It has sold over 890,000 copies in the UK, as of October 2016.[43] In the United States, it failed to chart in its first week of release. The album sold 6,717 copies in its first week, missing the bottom of the chart by a few hundred.[44] In Canada, it charted at number 15.[44]
With worldwide sales close to 2.5 million copies, it is the biggest-selling solo Spice Girl album.[45]
Track listing
[edit]Credits adapted from the liner notes of Northern Star.[46]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Go!" | Orbit | 3:39 | |
2. | "Northern Star" |
| Marius De Vries | 4:41 |
3. | "Goin' Down" |
| De Vries | 3:35 |
4. | "I Turn to You" |
| Nowels | 5:49 |
5. | "If That Were Me" |
| Nowels | 4:31 |
6. | "Never Be the Same Again" (featuring Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes) |
| Lawrence | 4:52 |
7. | "Why" |
| De Vries | 5:27 |
8. | "Suddenly Monday" |
| Rick Rubin | 2:36 |
9. | "Ga Ga" |
| Rubin | 3:50 |
10. | "Be the One" |
| Rubin | 3:35 |
11. | "Closer" |
| De Vries | 5:41 |
12. | "Feel the Sun" |
|
| 5:02 |
Total length: | 53:18 |
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
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Certifications
[edit]Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA)[72] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada)[73] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[75] | Platinum | 57,401[74] |
Germany (BVMI)[76] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI)[77] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Sweden (GLF)[78] | Platinum | 80,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[79] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[80] | 3× Platinum | 890,850[43] |
United States | — | 95,000[81] |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI)[82] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000* |
Worldwide | — | 2,500,000[45] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Northern Star at AllMusic
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- ^ "100% Melanie C - What Bryan Adams thinks..." tornado.pair.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ a b Paul. "Melanie C 2K: Archives - November 1998". sample51.tripod.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
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- ^ a b Quentin Harrison (16 October 2019). "Melanie C's Debut Solo Album 'Northern Star' Turns 20". Albumism. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ a b c Cinquemani, Sal (20 August 2001). "Review: Mel C, Northern Star". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ^ "Spice Girl Mel C on Working With Left Eye and Crying When She Met TLC (May 2020)". youtube.com. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
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- ^ Bychawski, Adam (28 November 2000). "Spice Up Your Wardrobe!". NME. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ "Northern Star". NME. 12 September 2005.
- ^ a b "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009.
- ^ Alexis Petridis (7 March 2003). "Melanie C: Reason". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
Melanie C's debut solo album, 2000's Northern Star, seemed positively kaleidoscopic. It took in trance, Garbage-style techno-rock, R&B ballads and vaguely nu-metalish chest beating
- ^ Joseph Ryan-Hicks (21 February 2024). "Spice Girl Melanie C's Northern Star album retrospectively reviewed". Attitude.co.uk. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ Cheryl Chan (12 November 1999). "Album Review: Northern Star by Melanie C". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ Russell Baillie (29 June 2000). "Melanie C - Northern Star". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ "Official Chart History". Official Charts.
- ^ a b Jones, Alan (27 October 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Elvis tops the albums chart again". Music Week. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
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- ^ a b "Spice Girls Lose Another Flavor". ABC News. 6 January 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ Northern Star (liner notes). Melanie C. Virgin. 1999.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Australiancharts.com – Melanie C – Northern Star". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Melanie C – Northern Star" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
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- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7855". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
- ^ "Denmark Top 10 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 44. 7 August 2018. p. 17.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Melanie C – Northern Star" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
- ^ "Melanie C: Northern Star" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
- ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
- ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – {{{year}}}. {{{week}}}. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Melanie C". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Melanie C – Northern Star". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Melanie C – Northern Star". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Melanie C – Northern Star". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Melanie C – Northern Star". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
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- ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 (1999)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 2000". Austriancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2000" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
- ^ "Års Hitlister 2000" (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on 20 December 2002. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2000". MegaCharts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
- ^ "Year End Sales Charts – European Top 100 Albums 2000" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 52. 23 December 2000. p. 9 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts (2000)". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
- ^ "Jahrescharts 2000". Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 (2000)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Melanie C – Northern Star". Music Canada. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
- ^ "Hitlist 2000". Hitlisten. IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on 20 December 2002. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ "Danish album certifications – Melanie C – Northern Star". IFPI Danmark. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2000 to obtain certification.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Melanie C; 'Northern Star')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
- ^ "Dutch album certifications – Melanie C – Northern Star" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 28 April 2022. Enter Northern Star in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2000 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
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- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Northern Star')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
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{{cite magazine}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2007". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Northern Star at Discogs (list of releases)