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Victoria Beckham (album)

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 10 min

Victoria Beckham
Studio album by
Victoria Beckham
Released1 October 2001 (2001-10-01)
RecordedOctober 1999 – July 2001
Length45:55
LabelVirgin
Producer
Singles from Victoria Beckham
  1. "Not Such an Innocent Girl"
    Released: 17 September 2001
  2. "A Mind of Its Own"
    Released: 11 February 2002

Victoria Beckham (stylised as VB) is the debut and only studio album by English singer Victoria Beckham, released on 1 October 2001 by Virgin Records. A pop album with hints at contemporary R&B, garage and dance music, Victoria Beckham was produced by a wide variety of producers, including Johan Åberg, Kenneth Karlin, Steve Kipner, Rhett Lawrence, Harvey Mason Jr., and Soulshock. Beckham co-wrote nine out of the twelve tracks on the standard edition of the album.

Beckham was the last member of the Spice Girls to release her solo debut album. Victoria Beckham was initially met with mixed-to-negtaive reviews from critics, although criticism has since softened. It debuted at number ten on the UK Albums Chart, the second lowest peaking debut album by a Spice Girl only behind Mel B's album Hot (2000) which only peaked at number 28. The album only spent four weeks on the chart and to date has sold 54,000 copies in Britain. Internationally the album was a failure, only entering the album charts in Ireland while peaking at number twenty on the ARIA Hitseekers Albums chart.

The album's lead single "Not Such an Innocent Girl" was released on 17 September 2001 and debuted and peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart amid a chart battle with Australian singer Kylie Minogue's single "Can't Get You Out of My Head." The second and final single "A Mind of Its Own" was promoted exclusively to the UK, also peaking at number six. The planned third single, "I Wish", which was to feature Robbie Craig, ended up being cancelled due to the announcement of Beckham's second pregnancy. Beckham was later allegedly dropped by her label due to the underperformance of the singles.

Release

[edit]

Initially, the album was to be titled Innocent Girl and set to be released on 27 August 2001,[1] but was released on 1 October. Beckham revealed that she felt she had "a lot to prove" with the album's release: "When I started recording this album, I had a lot to prove. I want to prove I can sing and dance and have a vision. I'm really baring my soul on this. I hope people like it. When I was with the other girls I never did a lot of the singing, so this is the first time that people are going to see me and what I am capable of." She added that she hoped the album would do well "and I can have a successful solo career."[2]

Singles

[edit]

"Not Such an Innocent Girl" was released on 17 September 2001 as the lead single from the album. In the United Kingdom, the single faced competition in a hugely hyped chart battle with Kylie Minogue's single "Can't Get You Out of My Head."[3] On the chart date of 29 September 2001, "Not Such an Innocent Girl" debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart with first week sales of 35,000 units, while "Can't Get You Out of My Head" debuted at number one with first week sales of 306,000 units.[4][5] It has sold about 80,263 copies altogether, becoming the 163rd best seller of 2001.[6]

"A Mind of Its Own" was released on 11 February 2002 as the second single from her debut self-titled solo album (2001). It peaked and debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart and sold 56,570 becoming the 173rd best seller of 2002. There is a French version of the song called "Mon cœur n'en fait qu'à sa tête" (an adaptation of the title into French, or "my heart does what it wants to do").

A third single, "I Wish", was promoted but never materialised. The single version was a remix featuring Robbie Craig, and was performed on TV on Friday Night's All Wright.[7] Following the announcement of Beckham's second pregnancy, the single was shelved. Beckham was dropped by Virgin Records along with fellow Spice Girls Emma Bunton and Melanie B,[8][9] but a statement from her publicist denied reports, claiming: "No-one has been dropped. The Virgin deal has come to a natural end and both parties have decided not to continue."[8][10]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
The Guardian[12]
NME[13]

Victoria Beckham received mixed-to-negative reviews by music critics, with criticism going towards Beckham's vocals, the songwriting, and the production. In retrospective reviews of solo albums by the Spice Girls however, Victoria Beckham has received positive reception, with some feeling that the album was overtly criticized and has been regarded as one of the best solo albums by a Spice Girl. Jacqueline Hodges from BBC Music described the album as "a mish-mash affair of gushy sentiment and wishy-washy RnB" whilst NME called the album "a new low in shameless pop slaggery".[14][13] Hot Press editor Phil Udell noted that "Beckham's thin voice is buried amongst a studio creation that hints at R&B, garage and dance styling without taking it anywhere too radical."[15] The South Wales Echo noted that Beckham's vocals were better than expected but that there were no "exceptional" tracks on the album.[16] In a more positive review, Matthew Chisling from Allmusic wrote: "this collection of over-produced yet strong songs is a pleasantly enjoyable set."[11]

Chart performance

[edit]

Victoria Beckham faced a chart battle during the album's release week with Kylie Minogue's eighth studio album Fever. Both singers had previously faced a battle in the singles' chart, when their singles were released on the same day.[17] However, Beckham's album debuted at number ten on the UK Albums Chart on 13 October 2001, whilst Minogue's album topped the charts. Victoria Beckham charted for three weeks on the chart.[18] By January 2020, the album had sold 54,000 copies overall in the United Kingdom.[19] After the documentary Being Victoria Beckham aired in March 2002, the album re-entered the UK Albums Chart at number sixty-seven.[18]

Track listing

[edit]
Victoria Beckham track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Not Such an Innocent Girl"
Kipner3:17
2."A Mind of Its Own"
Kipner3:48
3."That Kind of Girl"
  • Kipner
  • David Frank
  • Jack Kugell
  • Kipner
  • Frank
  • Kugell
3:48
4."Like That"
Prime4:01
5."Girlfriend"
The Underdogs3:43
6."Midnight Fantasy"
  • Åberg
  • Anders Hansson
3:15
7."I.O.U"
Frampton3:49
8."No Trix, No Games"
  • Beckham
  • Kipner
  • Frampton
Kipner3:03
9."I Wish"
Soulshock & Karlin4:10
10."Watcha Talkin' Bout"
Soulshock & Karlin3:51
11."Unconditional Love"
Lawrence3:50
12."Every Part of Me"
Soulshock & Karlin5:11
Total length:45:55
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Not Such an Innocent Girl" (Robbie Rivera's Main Vocal Mix)
  • Kipner
  • Frampton
6:56
14."Not Such an Innocent Girl" (Sunship radio edit)
  • Kipner
  • Frampton
3:43

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies additional producer(s)

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Victoria Beckham
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA)[20] 20
Irish Albums (IRMA)[21] 69
Scottish Albums (OCC)[22] 20
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 10

Sales

[edit]
Sales for Victoria Beckham
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom — 54,000[23]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ [1] [dead link]
  2. ^ "Victoria Beckham - 'I'd watch Geri and Sir Alex Ferguson drown' - NME.COM News". NME. Archived from the original on 23 December 2001. Retrieved 23 December 2001.
  3. ^ "Kylie and Beckham begin chart race". BBC. 17 September 2001. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
  4. ^ "Kylie Bests Victoria on U.K. Singles Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  5. ^ "2001 Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive". Official Charts Company. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  6. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). Ukchartsplus.co.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  7. ^ Arlidge, John. Arlidge, John (13 January 2002). "Is this Mr Right?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
  8. ^ a b "Posh parts with label". BBC News. 5 June 2002. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
  9. ^ Timms, Dominic (24 July 2003). "Fuller scores Beckham brand deal". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
  10. ^ Bonnici, Tony (July 2003). "Posh gets push from her record label". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  11. ^ a b AllMusic review
  12. ^ Simpson, Dave; Sullivan, Caroline; Aizlewood, John; Petridis, Alexis; Costa, Maddy; Simpson, Reviews by Dave (28 September 2001). "Warp factors". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Victoria Beckham : Victoria Beckham". NME. 12 September 2005. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  14. ^ Hodges, Jacqueline. "Victoria Beckham - Victoria Beckham". BBC Music. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  15. ^ Udell, Phil. "Victoria Beckham". Hotpress.com. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  16. ^ "New garbage album is best yet; Friday. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Round two for Kylie and Posh". News.bbc.co.uk. October 2001.
  18. ^ a b c "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  19. ^ "Albums turning 20 years old in 2021". Officialcharts.com.
  20. ^ "Australian Web Archive" (PDF). webarchive.nla.gov.au. 23 August 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2002. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  21. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 40, 2001". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  22. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  23. ^ "Albums turning 20 years old in 2021". Official Charts Company. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
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