Junior (Röyksopp album)

2009 studio album by Röyksopp

Junior

Studio album by

Röyksopp

Released| 18 March 2009 (2009-03-18)
Genre|

* Electronic pop[1]
* disco[2]

Length| 50:55
Label| Wall of Sound
Producer| Röyksopp
Röyksopp chronology
| Back to Mine: Röyksopp
(2007)  | Junior
(2009)  | Senior
(2010)

|
|

Singles from  Junior

1. "Happy Up Here"
Released: 19 January 2009
2. "The Girl and the Robot"
Released: 15 June 2009
3. "This Must Be It"
Released: 23 October 2009

Junior is the third studio album by Norwegian electronic music duo Röyksopp. It was released on 18 March 2009 by Wall of Sound. Prior to its official release, the album was made available for listening on the duo's website on 13 March 2009.[3]

## Background and history

[edit]

The album features guest vocals from Scandinavian singers Robyn, Karin Dreijer, Lykke Li and Anneli Drecker.[4]

Junior debuted at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 10,378 copies in its first week.[5] By September 2010, the album had sold 36,239 copies in the United Kingdom.[6] The album's lead single, "Happy Up Here", premiered on 9 January 2009 on Pete Tong's Essential Selection on BBC Radio 1,[7] and was officially released on 19 January.[8] "The Girl and the Robot", which features Swedish singer Robyn, was released on 15 June 2009 as the album's second single.[9] "This Must Be It" features Dreijer and was released on 23 October 2009 as the third single.[10]

## Use in media

[edit]

"It's What I Want" was included in the official soundtrack of the EA Sports video game, FIFA 10. "Röyksopp Forever" was also used in the background of the Flashforward Channel 5 promos during September 2009 and used as backing music on The X Factor 2009 in live shows. An instrumental version of "Vision One" was licensed for use in the video game LittleBigPlanet 2.[11] "This Must Be It" was included in the soundtrack to the 2011 comedy film Hall Pass.

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
AnyDecentMusic?| 6.8/10[12]
Metacritic| 74/100[13]
Review scores
Source| Rating
AllMusic| [14]
The Guardian| [15]
NME| 6/10[16]
The Observer| [17]
Pitchfork| 7.9/10[18]
PopMatters| 7/10[19]
Slant Magazine| [20]
Spin| 7/10[21]
The Times| [22]
URB| [23]

Junior received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 74, based on 21 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[13] The album was placed at number 30 on Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2009,[24] number 19 on Popjustice's The Top 33 Albums of 2009[25] and number 21 on Mixmag's Top 50 Albums of 2009.[26]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland; additional writers indicated.

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Happy Up Here"|

* George Clinton
* Garry Shider
* Bernard Worrell

| 2:44
2.| "The Girl and the Robot"| Robyn| 4:28
3.| "Vision One"|

* Anneli Drecker
* Yusuke Chiba
* Shinichi Osawa

| 4:59
4.| "This Must Be It"| Karin Dreijer Andersson| 4:41
5.| "Röyksopp Forever"|

* David Foster
* Ted Lewis

| 4:59
6.| "Miss It So Much"| Lykke Li| 5:01
7.| "Tricky Tricky"| Andersson| 5:58
8.| "You Don't Have a Clue"| Drecker| 4:31
9.| "Silver Cruiser"|  | 4:36
10.| "True to Life"| Drecker| 5:50
11.| "It's What I Want"|  | 3:06

iTunes Store bonus track[27]No.| Title| Length

|
|

12.| "Across the Graveyard"| 4:23

Japanese edition bonus track[28]No.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

12.| "Were You Ever Wanted"| Li| 5:37

### Notes

[edit]

* "Happy Up Here" contains a sample of "Do That Stuff" by Parliament.[29]
* "Vision One" is an English-language version of Röyksopp's remix of "Sing a Song" by Eri Nobuchika.[29][30]
* "Röyksopp Forever" contains a sample of "Suites for My Lady" by Skylark.[29]

## Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Junior.[29]

* Röyksopp – production, mastering (all tracks); vocals (tracks 2, 11); string arrangements, strings (track 2); vocoded mystique (track 7); backing vocals (track 8); bass (track 10)
* Robyn – vocals (track 2)
* Anneli Drecker – backing vocals (tracks 2, 11); vocals (tracks 3, 8, 10 and "Across the Graveyard")
* Davide Rossi – string arrangements, strings (tracks 2, 5, 8, 9)
* Karin Dreijer Andersson – vocals (tracks 4, 7)
* Kato Ådland – bass (track 5)
* Lindy-Fay Hella – additional vocals (track 5)
* Lykke Li – vocals (track 6 and "Were You Ever Wanted")
* Ole Vegard Skauge – bass (track 10)
* Mike Marsh – mastering
* Stian Andersen – cover photography
* Leslie David – drawings, artwork

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (2009)  | Peak
position

|

Australian Albums (ARIA)[31] | 28
Australian Dance Albums (ARIA)[32] | 7
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[33] | 65
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[34] | 10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[35] | 43
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[36] | 16
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[37] | 17
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[38] | 43
European Albums (Billboard)[39] | 18
French Albums (SNEP)[40] | 70
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[41] | 35
Irish Albums (IRMA)[42] | 52
Italian Albums (FIMI)[43] | 45
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[44] | 74
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[45] | 1
Scottish Albums (OCC)[46] | 32
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[47] | 25
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[48] | 18
UK Albums (OCC)[49] | 21
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[50] | 2
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[51] | 1
US Billboard 200[52] | 126
US Top Dance Albums (Billboard)[53] | 4

### Year-end charts

[edit]

| Chart (2009)  | Position

|

Australian Dance Albums (ARIA)[54] | 42

## Release history

[edit]

Region  | Date  | Label  | Ref.

|
|
|

Japan  | 18 March 2009  | EMI | [28]
Australia  | 20 March 2009  | [55]
Germany  | [56]
Italy  | [57]
France  | 23 March 2009  | Labels  | [58]
Norway  | Virgin | [59]
United Kingdom  | Wall of Sound | [60]
United States  | 24 March 2009  | Astralwerks | [61]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Johnson, Andy (18 March 2018). "Röyksopp – Junior". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
2. ^ Embling (24 March 2009). "Röyksopp – Junior". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
3. ^ "Junior | Röyksopp music". Royksopp.com. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
4. ^ Suarez, Jessica (5 January 2009). "Progress Report: Röyksopp". Stereogum. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
5. ^ "Yes men lose out on the top spot". Music Week. 30 March 2009. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
6. ^ "Key Releases: 18.09.10". Music Week. 18 September 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2014 - via HighBeam Research.
7. ^ "Röyksopp on Pete Tong's Essential Selection". Royksopp.com. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
8. ^ "Happy Up Here – Single by Röyksopp". iTunes Store. Norway. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
9. ^ "The Girl and the Robot by Röyksopp". iTunes Store. Norway. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
10. ^ "This Must Be It – EP by Röyksopp". iTunes Store. Norway. 23 October 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
11. ^ "List of LBP2 Licensed Music! [Archive] \- LittleBigPlanet Central Forums". 29 May 2021. Archived from the original on 29 May 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
12. ^ "Junior by Röyksopp reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
13. ^ a b "Reviews for Junior by Röyksopp". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
14. ^ Bush, John. "Junior – Röyksopp". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
15. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (20 March 2009). "Röyksopp: Junior". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
16. ^ Hoban, Alex (30 March 2009). "Album review: Royksopp". NME. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
17. ^ Mardles, Paul (15 March 2009). "Röyksopp: Junior". The Observer. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
18. ^ Pytlik, Mark (25 March 2009). "Röyksopp: Junior". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
19. ^ Raper, Dan (23 March 2009). "Röyksopp: Junior". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
20. ^ Cataldo, Jesse (30 March 2009). "Röyksopp: Junior". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
21. ^ Walters, Barry (April 2009). "Reviews". Spin. Vol. 25, no. 4\. p. 82\. ISSN 0886-3032 - via Google Books.
22. ^ Paphides, Peter (21 March 2009). "Röyksopp: Junior". The Times. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
23. ^ "Royksopp – Junior". URB. 26 March 2009. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
24. ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2009". Pitchfork. 17 December 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
25. ^ "The Top 33 Albums Of 2009. (It's a list of albums.)". Popjustice. 30 December 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
26. ^ "Top 50 Albums". Mixmag. January 2010. p. 49\. ISSN 0957-6622.
27. ^ "Junior by Röyksopp". iTunes Store. Norway. 18 March 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
28. ^ a b "Junior" (in Japanese). EMI Music Japan. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
29. ^ a b c d Junior (liner notes). Röyksopp. Wall of Sound. 2009. WOS051CD.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
30. ^ Miller, Jr., Neil (11 May 2009). "Royksopp || Junior". UR Chicago. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
31. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Röyksopp – Junior". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
32. ^ "ARIA Dance – Week Commencing 30th March 2009" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association (996): 17. 30 March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2014 - via Pandora Archive.
33. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Röyksopp – Junior" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
34. ^ "Ultratop.be – Röyksopp – Junior" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
35. ^ "Ultratop.be – Röyksopp – Junior" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
36. ^ "Top Stranih [Top Foreign]" (in Croatian). Top Foreign Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
37. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Röyksopp – Junior". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
38. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Röyksopp – Junior" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
39. ^ "European Top 20 Charts – Week Commencing 6th April 2009" (PDF). Billboard. 6 April 2009. p. 28\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2014 - via Pandora Archive.
40. ^ "Lescharts.com – Röyksopp – Junior". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
41. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Röyksopp – Junior" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
42. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 14, 2009". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
43. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Röyksopp – Junior". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
44. ^ ジュニア | ロイクソップ [Junior | Röyksopp] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
45. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Röyksopp – Junior". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
46. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
47. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Röyksopp – Junior". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
48. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Röyksopp – Junior". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
49. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
50. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
51. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
52. ^ "Royksopp Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
53. ^ "Royksopp Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
54. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Dance Albums 2009". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
55. ^ "Junior – Royksopp". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
56. ^ "Junior: Royksopp". Amazon (in German). Germany. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
57. ^ "Röyksopp – Junior". IBS.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 January 2018.
58. ^ "Junior – Röyksopp" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
59. ^ "Junior – Röyksopp" (select "Fakta" tab). CDON (in Norwegian). Norway. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
60. ^ "Royksopp: Junior". HMV. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
61. ^ "Junior: Royksopp". Amazon. United States. Retrieved 17 January 2018.

* v
* t
* e

Röyksopp

* Svein Berge
* Torbjørn Brundtland

Studio albums|

* Melody A.M.
* The Understanding
* Junior
* Senior
* The Inevitable End
* Profound Mysteries
* II
* III

Compilation albums|

* Back to Mine: Röyksopp
* Late Night Tales: Röyksopp
* Nebulous Nights (An Ambient Excursion into Profound Mysteries)
* True Electric

Extended plays|

* Röyksopp's Night Out
* Do It Again

Singles|

* "So Easy"
* "Eple"
* "Poor Leno"
* "Remind Me"
* "Sparks"
* "Only This Moment"
* "49 Percent"
* "What Else Is There?"
* "Happy Up Here"
* "The Girl and the Robot"
* "This Must Be It"
* "Do It Again"

Related articles|

* Discography
* Erlend Øye

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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