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| Single 3 date = 27 May 2011
| Single 3 date = 27 May 2011
| Single 4 = [[Who's Laughing Now (song)|Who's Laughing Now]]
| Single 4 = [[Who's Laughing Now (song)|Who's Laughing Now]]
| Single 4 date = 21 August 2011
| Single 4 date = 21 August 2011
| Single 5 = [[Domino (Jessie J song)|Domino]]
| Single 5 date = 29 August 2011
| Single 6 = [[Who You Are (Jessie J song)|Who You Are]]
| Single 6 = [[Who You Are (Jessie J song)|Who You Are]]
| Single 6 date = 7 November 2011
| Single 6 date = 7 November 2011

Revision as of 19:19, 14 September 2011

Untitled

Who You Are is the debut studio album by English recording artist Jessie J, released on 28 February 2011 in the UK and on 12 April in the US. Due to high demand and interest from fans, the release date was pushed ahead by over an entire month, from its original 28 March 2011 release date.[1] Production for the album took place throughout 2010. A range of producers contributed to the album, including Dr. Luke, Toby Gad, and K-Gee, among others.

Who You Are received generally mixed to positive reviews from contemporary music critics. It debuted at #2 on the UK Albums Chart selling 105,000 copies in its first week. The album debuted in the US at #11 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with first-week sales of 34,000 copies. Two singles preceded the album: Jessie J's UK debut single "Do It Like a Dude" and "Price Tag", featuring B.o.B which served as the US lead single. A third single, "Nobody's Perfect", became Jessie's third consecutive top 10 hit in the UK. The second single from the album in the United States, is "Domino", but the music is not included on the tracklist album. The future single from album in the UK, is "Who You Are".

Background

Who You Are was one of the most anticipated releases of 2011 due to Jessie J winning the Critics Choice award at the 2011 Brit Awards[2] and topping the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll.[3] On Twitter, Jessie J confirmed that it took her 6 years to completely finish the album - it was completed on 19 January 2011.[4][5] In an interview Jessie J stated that she wrote her first song, "Big White Room", in a hospital when she was just 10 years old. A ward mate of hers, a little boy, died. She recalls waking up in the middle of the night and seeing him praying, and her mother explaining that he was having an operation the next day and was asking God to save him. "He died the next day so I said to my mum 'but God didn't save him'. I was so angry and it really confused me. I always wanted to write a song about the experience, but I knew I had to be of an age where it wasn't tacky or depressing and had a lightness to it." She prefers the song with just an acoustic guitar; stripped down and bare.[6]

The song "Casualty of Love" was released to the US iTunes store on 22 February 2011, and flopped.[7] It's the title song of her album "Who You Are" of which she is proudest. It's the song that draws the most messages from fans, on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. "The other day I had a girl message me saying 'I was ready to take my life and then I heard "Who You Are"'. That pressure is beautiful but scary at the same time. I want to be a positive role model for young people. I always say that I'm half-artist, half-therapist", she laughs. She wrote the song at the end of a lonely three-month trip to Los Angeles when she was 20, having been shunted from studio to studio with various producers. "I'm very much someone that lives to be happy. It's not just about the parties and I know so-and-so – I'm not that girl. So I looked in the mirror and started to cry and said 'who am I?' Music is my therapy."[6]

Singles

The album's first single was the Parker & James and Invisible Men-produced "Do It Like a Dude", which was released on 18 November 2010. Initially the single peaked at number five UK Singles Chart however, after Jessie won the Critics Choice award at the 2011 BRIT Awards, "Do It Like a Dude" would reached a new peak of number two, some eight weeks after first charting. The song also charted at 11 on the Irish Singles Chart.[8] It was followed up by the B.o.B-assisted second single "Price Tag," released on 30 January 2011 and also serving as the album's lead US single.[9] The single went on to peak at number one on 6 February 2011, giving Jessie her second top-three hit in the UK.[10] "Price Tag" became Jessie's breakout international hit, also peaking at number one in Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. On 15 April 2011. "Nobody's Perfect," one of her three favourite tracks from Who You Are, was released as the album's third single.[11] It became Jessie's third consecutive top-ten hit in the UK peaking at number nine, performing similarly in Australia and New Zealand. In Ireland it became Jessie's third single to reach the top-fifteen. Initially Jessie confirmed the album's title track as the fourth single, during an interview with Digital Spy on 18 May 2011.[12] However since then, Jessie revealed that UK fans had pushed her towards releasing. "Who's Laughing Now" instead, because of the sentiments against bullying.[13] The video for "Who's Laughing Now" premiered on YouTube on 10 August 2011.

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(51/100)[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[15]
The A.V. Club(C-)[16]
BBC Music(mixed)[17]
The Guardian[18]
The Independent[19]
NME(5/10)[20]
Pitchfork Media(2.0/10)[21]
Rolling Stone[22]
Slant Magazine[23]
Spin(7/10)[24]
Drowned in Sound(1/10)[25]

Upon its release, Who You Are received mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 51, based on 23 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews",[14] while aggregating website AnyDecentMusic? reports a score of 4.9 based on seventeen professional reviews.[26] Daisy Bowie Sell of The Daily Telegraph complimented Cornish's "big voice and ballsy attitude" and wrote that the album "switches effortlessly from R&B ballads to punchy rap tunes".[27] Kitty Empire of The Observer noticed that Cornish "remains relatively quirky throughout" and found Who You Are "impressive, if not entirely lovable".[28] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian wrote that it "brims with infectious, Americanised songs, delivered with a confidence money can't buy", but criticised the slower songs saying that "divested of the slowies, this would have been a fine pop record".[18] Andy Gill from The Independent noticed "the distinctly transatlantic nature of her style" and praised the songs "Do It Like a Dude" and "Who's Laughing Now" "whose lithe, funky groove carries her dismissal of the schoolyard bullies", while criticizing other tracks such as "Casualty Of Love" and "Rainbow", calling them "unimpressive" and "tricked out with the showy vocal bling favoured by R&B divas as a substitute for genuine soul".[19] Johnny Dee of Virgin Media found the album "a bit patchy"; he felt that "when Jessie is having fun she's unstoppable", but noted that "the album's problems come when Jessie overdoes the vocal warbling and completely forgets to write an actual song". However, he concluded by stating that Cornish will be "[one of] the biggest and coolest UK female artists for decades".[29] Mischa Pearlman of Yahoo! Music wrote that the album "doesn't entirely deliver, but even when its songs fall short of the promised hype, their potential is obvious" and stated that "next time, she'll be one step closer to getting it spot on".[30]

Mike Diver of BBC Music gave a mixed review, writing that "the songs of Who You Are are expectedly split between slower, slushier affairs and punchy anthems for bolshy teens" and called the album "too patchy, too hurried, the powers behind it too eager to capitalise on the artist's current chart success", although he felt that "there's ample room for improvement".[17] Ailbhe Malone from NME described it as "cheeky, relevant, and fresh [...] but unfortunately [...] a flash that's shortly over" and noticed that "no matter how much Jessie J sings about being herself, we don't really ever get a sense of who, or what, that is".[20] Gary McGinley of No Ripcord called it "an album of two halves as the stronger brat-pop moments soon give way to by insipid, dated ballads"; he noted that "there are glimpses of promise scattered between the overwrought delivery and unnecessary vocal gymnastics", but concluded by saying that Who You Are "promised much more than what has been delivered".[31] Fiona Shepherd of The Scotsman wrote that it "covers all the tried and tested commercial territory: mainly a slick, generic imitation of American R&B divas [...] blended with the obligatory hip-pop stance" and felt that Cornish "is more interested in tiresome vocal showboating than communicating anything truthful".[32] Eric Henderson from Slant Magazine agreed, saying that "in the quest to find herself, she seems to have gotten sidetracked".[23] Matthew Perpetua of Pitchfork Media was particularly critical; he felt that "the music is scattered, covering all the bases in an over-eager attempt to prove vocal chops" and noticed that Cornish "comes across like a severely dumbed-down Lily Allen at best, and at worst she seems like someone you would want to root against in a televised singing competition".[21] Sean Adams of Drowned in Sound was equally negative; he wrote that the album "is riddled with so-called vocal performances that are a half a step above an X Factor audition", called it "a starchy soulless slop" and eventually described it as "an 'urban' 'pop' record made to fade in the background in lobbies and cafes, and, yeah, mandem-mandem, squawk, squawk".[33]

Commercial performance

On 6 March 2011, Who You Are debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, behind Adele's 21, shifting 105,000 copies in its first week.[34] It has since been certified 2x platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 600,000 units in the UK.[35] The album debuted at number eleven on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 34,000 copies.[36] In Australia, the album peaked at number four.[37] It has since been certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 35,000 units.[38] The album debuted at number 30 in Denmark on 11 March 2011. The following week it reached number 33, before leaving the chart. On 12 August, Who Are You re-entered the chart at number ten, archiving a new peak position.[37]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Price Tag" (featuring B.o.B)Jessica Cornish, Lukasz Gottwald, Claude Kelly, Bobby Ray SimmonsDr. Luke3:42
2."Nobody's Perfect"Cornish, KellyAndre Brissett4:19
3."Abracadabra"Cornish, Gottwald, KellyDr. Luke3:50
4."Big White Room" (Live)CornishJessie J5:29
5."Casualty of Love"Cornish, Farrah Fleurimond, Martin Kleveland, Natalie WalkerMartin K3:54
6."Rainbow"Cornish, Warren "Oak" Felder, Edwin "Lil' Eddie" Serrano, Kasia "KC" LivingstonOak3:05
7."Who's Laughing Now"Cornish, Kyle Abrahams, George Astasio, Peter Ighile, Jason Pebworth, Jon ShaveParker and James, The Invisible Men3:54
8."Do It Like a Dude"Cornish, Astasio, Pebworth, Shave, Abrahams, IghileParker and James, The Invisible Men3:15
9."Mamma Knows Best"Cornish, Ashton ThomasAshton Thomas3:15
10."L.O.V.E."Cornish, Toby GadToby Gad3:50
11."Stand Up"Cornish, Karl Gordon, Arnold Martin MorrowKarl "K-Gee" Gordon3:27
12."I Need This"Cornish, Robert Allen, Felder, Chris BrownOak4:20
13."Who You Are"Cornish, Gad, Shelly PeikenToby Gad3:50
US iTunes bonus track[39]
No.TitleLength
14."Who You Are" (live acoustic version)5:20
iTunes bonus version content[40]
No.TitleLength
14."Price Tag" (acoustic version)3:19
15."Do It Like a Dude" (acoustic version)4:19
16."Who You Are" (live acoustic version)5:20
17."Price Tag" (featuring B.o.B; music video)4:14
18."Do It Like a Dude" (music video)3:28
Japanese bonus tracks[41]
No.TitleLength
14."Price Tag" (acoustic version)3:19
15."Do It Like a Dude" (acoustic version)4:19
  • The Japanese release of Who You Are uses an alternate recording of "Nobody's Perfect" called the "New Album Version",[42] previously included on the Australian digital EP for the song (called the "Alternative Version").

Charts and certifications

Release history

Region Date Label
Ireland[48] 25 February 2011 (2011-02-25) Island
Netherlands[49] Universal Music
Switzerland[50]
United Kingdom[51] 28 February 2011 (2011-02-28) Island
France[52] Universal Music
Belgium[53]
Luxembourg[54]
Denmark[55] 2 March 2011
Australia[56] 4 March 2011
New Zealand[57] 7 March 2011
Brazil[58] 18 March 2011
Mexico[59] 5 April 2011
United States[60] 12 April 2011 Lava Records, Universal Republic
Canada
Germany[60] 20 May 2011 Universal Music
Japan[61] 8 June 2011

References

  1. ^ http://www.jessiejofficial.com/news.php?item=60
  2. ^ BRIT Awards - Critics Choice - 2011 Nominees www.brits.co.uk, Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  3. ^ Sound of 2011 - Jessie J BBC's Sound of 2011, Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  4. ^ Twitlonger on Twitter by Jessie J's official Twitter. 19 January 2011
  5. ^ Twitter - by Jessie J via Jessie J's official Twitter. 19 January 2011
  6. ^ a b The Independent (20 January 2011). "Jessie J Talks about School life". Misformusic.com. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  7. ^ http://www.rap-up.com/2011/02/03/single-cover-jessie-j-casualty-of-love/
  8. ^ "Chart Stats - Jessie J". Chart Stats. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  9. ^ "Price Tag (feat. B.o.B) - EP". iTunes Store United Kingdom. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Chart Stats - Jessie J Ft Bob". Chart Stats. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  11. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a306208/jessie-j-reveals-next-single-choice.html
  12. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a320289/jessie-j-confirms-who-you-are-single-release.html
  13. ^ http://twitter.com/#!/jessiejofficial/status/81443122625773568
  14. ^ a b "Who You Are - Jessie J". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  15. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/who-you-are-r2135535/review
  16. ^ http://www.avclub.com/articles/jessie-j-who-you-are,54446/
  17. ^ a b Diver, Mike (24 February 2011). "Jessie J Who You Are Review". Virgin Media. Retrieved 13 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline (24 February 2011). "Jessie J: Who You Are – review". Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 12 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ a b Gill, Andy (25 February 2011). "Album: Jessie J, Who You Are (Island)". Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 13 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ a b Malone, Ailbhe (2 March 2011). "Album Review: Jessie J – Who You Are (Island)". IPC Media. Retrieved 13 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ a b Perpetua, Matthew (25 March 2011). "Jessie J Who You Are". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 25 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/who-you-are-20110412
  23. ^ a b Henderson, Eric (11 April 2011). "Jessie J Who You Are". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 12 April 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ http://www.spin.com/reviews/jessie-j-who-you-are-lavauniversalrepublic
  25. ^ http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16079/reviews/4142296
  26. ^ "Jessie J - Who You Are". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  27. ^ Bowie Sell, Daisy (25 February 2011). "Jessie J: Who You Are, CD review". Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 12 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ Empire, Kitty (27 February 2011). "Jessie J: Who You Are – review". Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 12 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ Dee, Johnny (28 February 2011). "Who You Are Jessie J". Virgin Media. Retrieved 13 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ Pearlman, Mischa (28 February 2011). "Jessie J - 'Who You Are'". Yahoo!. Retrieved 13 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ McGinley, Gary (6 March 2011). "Jessie J Who You Are (Island)". No Ripcord. Retrieved 13 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  32. ^ Shepherd, Fiona (1 March 2011). "Album review: Jessie J: Who You Are". Johnston Press. Retrieved 13 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ Adams, Sean (23 March 2011). "Jessie J Who You Are". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 25 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  34. ^ a b "Another record for Adele while Jessie J makes impressive debut". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  35. ^ "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  36. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (20 April 2011). "Foo Fighters Earn First No. 1 Album with 'Wasting Light'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  37. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Jessie J – Who You Are (album)". danishcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  38. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2011 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  39. ^ "Who You Are". iTunes Store United States. Apple Inc. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  40. ^ "Who You Are (Bonus Version)". iTunes Store United Kingdom. Apple Inc. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  41. ^ "Who You Are (Japanese Version)". CD Japan. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  42. ^ "Jessie J「Who You Are」". iTunes. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  43. ^ Williams, John (20 April 2011). "Foos' 'Light' shines bright at No. 1". JAM! Music. Canadian Online Explorer. QMI Agency. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  44. ^ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 03 March 2011". Irish Recorded Music Association. Chart-Track. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  45. ^ "Fimi Albums chart". FIMI. FIMI. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  46. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2011 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  47. ^ id MUST BE PROVIDED for UK CERTIFICATION.
  48. ^ "Who You Are (Bonus Version)". iTunes Store Ireland. Apple Inc. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  49. ^ "Jessie J surprised by early LP release". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
  50. ^ "Who You Are by Jessie J". iTunes Store Netherlands. Apple Inc. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  51. ^ "Who You Are: Jessie J". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  52. ^ "Who You Are de Jessie J". iTunes Store France. Apple Inc. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  53. ^ "Who You Are by Jessie J". iTunes Store Belgium. Apple Inc. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  54. ^ "Who You Are by Jessie J". iTunes Store Luxembourg. Apple Inc. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  55. ^ "Who Are You - Jessie J - Musik" (in Danish). CDON Group. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  56. ^ "Who You Are by Jessie J". iTunes Store Australia. Apple Inc. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  57. ^ "Who You Are by Jessie J". iTunes Store New Zealand. Apple Inc. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  58. ^ "Who You Are - Jessie J (Brazil release date)". Livrariacultura.com.br. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  59. ^ "Who You Are - Jessie J (Mexico release date)". Mixup.com. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  60. ^ a b "Amazon.co.uk: Who You Are: Jessie J: Music". Universal Republic. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  61. ^ "ジェシー・J:『フー・ユー・アー』 | Jessie J:Who You Are". Retrieved 8 April 2011.
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