I Dreamed a Dream (album)
| I Dreamed a Dream | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Susan Boyle | ||||
| Released | 23 November 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 1999, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Operatic pop, crossover, easy listening, adult contemporary | |||
| Length | 43:00 | |||
| Label | Syco, Columbia | |||
| Producer | Steve Mac | |||
| Susan Boyle chronology | ||||
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| Singles from I Dreamed a Dream | ||||
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I Dreamed a Dream is the debut studio album by Scottish singer Susan Boyle. It was released on 23 November 2009 by Syco Music in the United Kingdom, and by Columbia Records in the United States one day later. In the standard edition, 11 out of the 12 songs that appear on the album are cover songs, plus the original composition "Who I Was Born to Be". It quickly became the world's biggest selling album of 2009. The album has sold almost 14 million copies worldwide.[1]
The album entered the UK album chart at number 1 and became the fastest-selling debut album ever in the UK, selling 411,820 copies, beating the record previously set by Spirit by Leona Lewis and outselling the rest of the top five albums combined during its first week on sale. The album remained at the top spot for four weeks, becoming the biggest selling album in the UK in 2009.[2] In the U.S., I Dreamed a Dream debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with 701,000 copies sold in its first week, breaking the record for the highest debut by a new solo female artist in the SoundScan era (post 1991).[3] I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest opening sales week of 2009 in the U.S., beating out Eminem's Relapse which sold 608,000.[4] It was the second-biggest selling album of 2009 in the U.S., with 3.1 million copies sold, right behind Taylor Swift's Fearless at 3.2 million copies.[5] In only six weeks of sales, it became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009.[6]
Background
In August 2008, Boyle applied for an audition for the third series of Britain's Got Talent (as contestant number 43212) and was accepted after a preliminary audition in Glasgow. When Boyle first appeared on the show at the city's Clyde Auditorium, she said that she aspired to become a professional singer "as successful as Elaine Paige".[7] Boyle sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the first round of the third series of Britain's Got Talent, which was watched by over 10 million viewers when it aired on 11 April 2009.[8] Programme judge Amanda Holden remarked upon the audience's initially cynical attitude, and the subsequent "biggest wake-up call ever" upon hearing her performance.[9] This performance was widely reported and tens of millions of people viewed the video on YouTube.[8] Boyle was "absolutely gobsmacked" by the strength of this reaction.[10] Since the appearance, Paige has expressed interest in singing a duet with Boyle,[7] and has called her "a role model for everyone who has a dream".[11]
Despite being the clear favourite to win the final,[12] she ended up in second place to Diversity; the UK TV audience was a record of 17.3 million viewers.[13] However, Boyle was quickly signed to Simon Cowell's record label and began the production of the album soon after the show.[14] Cowell compiled a list of around 150 songs that had in part been accumulated from "various A&R guys" who sent them to him.[15] He then whittled these down to 50 and presented the list to producer Steve Mac, so that he could try out the songs with Boyle to see which worked for her and which she wanted to record.[15] They then recorded 20 songs for the album, with 11 eventually making the final cut.[15] In an interview with HitQuarters, Mac talked about working with the singer:
"Susan had a big say in what she wanted to record. She’s an extraordinary artist – she’s an old school artist in that she can only sing what she feels in her heart. She’s not one of those singers that can make anything sound good, it’s only if she feels the passion of it and understands the lyric. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked with an artist that could do that."[15]
Composition
The album opens with a cover of The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" (1971), which Boyle described as "[o]ne of my personal favourites and an emotional release." She further stated that its "haunting theme" conjures up memories of her childhood amongst council estates, poverty and struggle in the first verse.[16] Her version of the popular American torch song "Cry Me a River" had been previously recorded in 1999 for a charity CD.[17][18] She also covered "You'll See" (1995), written and originally recorded by pop singer Madonna. Boyle stated that the cover of the song is her answer to the teachers who beat her regularly and the classmates who were aggressive and bullied her when she was growing up. "That was a statement I was trying to make, because I was bullied a lot at school: ‘You may have done that to me when I was younger, but you can’t do it to me any more. I’m grown up now," she said.[19] Boyle had been a volunteer at Our Lady of Lourdes church in Blackburn, West Lothian, and recorded some religious songs, including "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art", a Christian hymn based on a Swedish poem written by Carl Gustav Boberg in Sweden in 1885.[20] The only original composition of the album is "Who I Was Born to Be", written by Audra Mae, Mark Linn-Baker, Johan Fransson, Tobias Lundgren, and Tim Larsson.[21]
Reception and commercial performance
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [22] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (B-)[23] |
| The Guardian | [24] |
| The Independent | [25] |
| Los Angeles Times | [26] |
| MSN | [27] |
| Slant Magazine |  [28] |
| The Times | [29] |
The album received a score of 54 out of 100 on aggregate review site Metacritic, based on seven reviews.[30] According to the Daily Mail, I Dreamed a Dream sold approximately 134,000 copies in the United Kingdom on its first day of release alone, and approximately 300,000 copies by Friday, 27 November.[31][32] Sales of 411,820 copies made it the largest first week sales of any debut album in UK chart history.[33][34] The album debuted at No. 1 in Australia, selling 26,474 in the first week of release and has been certified 9x Platinum (630,000 units shipped). In New Zealand, the album was certified 3x Platinum for shipping over 45,000 copies after just one week of release while debuting at number 1; the album was certified 8x Platinum (120,000 units shipped) three weeks after its release.[35] It has also become the highest-selling debut album in New Zealand history.[36] The Japanese market regarded it as a classical music album,[37] and it debuted at No. 5 on the Oricon weekly comprehensive charts with around 36,000 copies,[38] and climbed to No. 3 the next week.[39]
In the United States, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with approximate sales of 701,000 units, becoming the best sales week for an album in the United States for 2009.[2] I Dreamed a Dream broke the record for the highest debut by a new solo female artist in the SoundScan era (post 1991).[3] It also became the biggest opening sales week of 2009 in the U.S., beating out Eminem's Relapse which sold 608,000.[4] It stayed at number one for five consecutive weeks, selling in excess of half a million copies each week, bringing her total U.S. sales over to 2.9 million copies. It is the fastest-selling debut album to reach two million in sales and was 2009's second biggest-selling album. In just 6 weeks it sold 3.1 million sold according to SoundScan; behind Taylor Swift's Fearless which sold 3.21 million[5] since being released one year prior on 11 November 2008. The album moved 3,974,000 copies in the United States to date.[40] The album sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide in its first three weeks of release, and has sold almost 9 million to date.[41] It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album but lost to Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster.
Promotion
To promote the release, Boyle sang on several television shows. Her first performance was on the America's Got Talent final, on 16 September, where she performed "Wild Horses" before more than 13 million viewers in the United States[42] On 10 November, she sang "I Dreamed a Dream" on Dancing with the Stars, during the performance of Chelsie Hightower and Tony Dovolani, and she also sang "Wild Horses" on The X Factor.[43] On 23 November, Boyle gave a live TV performance on the Today Show on the NBC television network which took place outside its studios on Rockefeller Plaza;[44] Boyle sang "I Dreamed a Dream", "Wild Horses", and "Cry Me a River".[44] After the show, Boyle attended a lunch with fans where she was presented with a handmade quilt made by over one hundred people from 28 countries including Mexico, Poland, Japan and Antarctica.[45] On 13 December 2009 she appeared in her own television special, "I Dreamed a Dream: the Susan Boyle Story", featuring a duet with her idol Elaine Paige.[46] The show achieved ratings of 10 million viewers in the United Kingdom.[47] In the U.S. it was carried on the TV Guide Network, becoming the highest rated special in the tiny cable network's history.[48] It was reported that Susan Boyle would be invited to perform "I Dreamed a Dream" for a small gathering at the birthday celebration of Michelle Obama on 17 January 2010.[49] "You'll See" was included in the international soundtrack to Ti Ti Ti, a Brazilian telenovela, which helping to propel "I Dreamed A Dream" up the charts in Brazil.[50]
Track listing
Personnel
|
Production and recording
|
Instruments and vocals
|
Charts and certifications
Chart procession and succession
| Order of precedence | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by JLS by JLS |
Irish Albums Chart number-one album 27 November 2009 – 17 December 2009 |
Succeeded by Crazy Love by Michael Bublé |
| Preceded by Echo by Leona Lewis |
UK Albums Chart number-one album 29 November 2009 – 27 December 2009 | |
| Preceded by Golden Rule by Powderfinger |
Australian Albums Chart number-one album 29 November 2009 – 15 February 2010 |
Succeeded by Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons |
| Preceded by The System Is A Vampire by Shapeshifter |
New Zealand Albums Chart number-one album (first run) 30 November 2009 – 1 February 2010 |
Succeeded by Glee: The Music, Volume 2 by Glee |
| Preceded by Glee: The Music, Volume 2 by Glee |
New Zealand Albums Chart number-one album (second run) 8 February 2010 – 21 February 2010 |
Succeeded by Holy Smoke by Gin Wigmore |
| Preceded by My Worlds by Justin Bieber |
New Zealand Albums Chart number-one album (third run) 10 May 2010 – 16 May 2010 |
Succeeded by My Worlds by Justin Bieber |
| Preceded by Battle Studies by John Mayer |
U.S. Billboard 200 number-one album 3 December 2009 – 13 January 2010 |
Succeeded by Animal by Ke$ha |
| Preceded by My World (Part I) by Justin Bieber |
Canadian Albums Chart number-one album 3 December 2009 – 22 January 2010 | |
| Preceded by Rated R by Rihanna |
Switzerland Albums Chart number-one album 13 December 2009 – 2 January 2010 |
Succeeded by The Element of Freedom by Alicia Keys |
| Preceded by Die Beste Medisyne by Kurt Darren |
South African Albums Chart number-one album (first run) 6 February 2010 – 13 February 2010 |
Succeeded by The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga |
| Preceded by The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga |
South African Albums Chart number-one album (second run) 20 February 2010 – 27 February 2010 | |
References
- ↑ Kellett, Christine (16 April 2010). "Susan Boyle pulls out of Logie Awards". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- 1 2 "Chart Stats - Susan Boyle - I Dreamed A Dream". Archive.is. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012.
- 1 2 3 "Susan Boyle’s Debut Smashes U.S. Chart Records". MTV News.
- 1 2 "Susan Boyle Sees 'Dream' Soar To No. 1 On Billboard 200". Billboard. 2 December 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- 1 2 "Taylor Swift Edges Susan Boyle For 2009's Top-Selling Album". Billboard. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
- ↑ News Desk, BWW (20 January 2010). "'American Idol's' Future "Guaranteed" Sans Cowell". broadwayworld.com.
- 1 2 Davies, Caroline; Kelbie, Paul (19 April 2009). "Reality TV star Susan Boyle set for duet with idol Elaine Paige". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 19 April 2009.
- 1 2 "Producer Mackintosh "Gob-Smacked" By Boyle's "I Dreamed a Dream"; Song Is YouTube Hit". Playbill News. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
- ↑ McMartin, Pete (18 April 2009). "Beautiful blondes, a Boyle and lingering ideas about sexuality". Vancouver Sun (Canada). Retrieved 18 April 2009.
- ↑ "Scottish singer 'gobsmacked' by overnight stardom". CNN. 17 April 2009.
- ↑ "Paige salutes Talent star Boyle". BBC News. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
- ↑ Brook, Stephen (3 June 2009). "Susan Boyle: press warned to back off Britain's Got Talent star". The Guardian (London).
- ↑ Jamieson, Alastair (3 June 2009). "Susan Boyle could be in Priory clinic for weeks, says doctor". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 24 May 2009.
- ↑ Smith, Jean (19 April 2009). "Singing sensation Susan Boyle gets dream offer from star Elaine Paige". The Sunday Mail. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
- 1 2 3 4 "Interview With Steve Mac". HitQuarters. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ↑ "Integrity Music to retail Susan Boyle's debut album to Christians". Christian Today. 31 October 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
- ↑ Smith, Harry (16 April 2009). She Dreamed A Dream (streaming) (Television). CBS News. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
- ↑ "Sue Bigger than Britney!". Daily Star. 18 April 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- ↑ Celizic, Mike (1 December 2009). "Susan Boyle to her bullies: ‘I’m all grown up’". Today/MSNBC. NBC Universal. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
- ↑ Kurian, G. T. (2001). Nelson's new Christian dictionary: The authoritative resource on the Christian world. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
- ↑ I Dreamed a Dream. Syco Records (2009)
- ↑ "allmusic ((( I Dreamed a Dream – Overview )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ↑ Wood, Mikael (28 November 2009). "Music Review – I Dreamed a Dream (2009)". Entertainment Weekly (Time Inc.). Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (19 November 2009). "Susan Boyle: I Dreamed a Dream". The Guardian (London: Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ↑ Gill, Andy (27 November 2009). "Album: Susan Boyle, I Dreamed a Dream (Syco)". The Independent (London: Independent News and Media Ltd). Retrieved 20 December 2009.
- ↑ Powers, Ann (23 November 2009). "Album review: Susan Boyle's 'I Dreamed a Dream'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ Chalk, Ben. "I Dreamed A Dream – Susan Boyle". MSN. Microsoft. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ↑ Keefe, Jonathan. "I Dreamed A Dream – Susan Boyle". Slant Magazine. Slant Magazine. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
- ↑ Stanley, Bob (20 November 2009). "Susan Boyle: I Dreamed a Dream". The Times (London). Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ↑ "Susan Boyle: I Dreamed a Dream (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ↑ Thomas, Liz (25 November 2009). "Susan Boyle set to top the charts after selling record 134,000 albums in first day". Daily Mail (London). Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ↑ "Susan Boyle may be feeling the strain amid success of US tour". Daily Telegraph (London). 26 November 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ↑ "Susan Boyle's debut album makes UK chart history". BBC News. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- 1 2 "Susan Boyle Sees 'Dream' Soar To No. 1 On Billboard 200". Billboard. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ↑ "top 40 singles". RIANZ. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ↑ "Susan Boyle Album Exceeds Early Prediction". Undercover AU. 29 November 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ↑ "世界の歌姫"ボイルＣＤ初日３万枚 (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 26 November 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
- ↑ "48歳の歌姫スーザン・ボイル、洋楽女性ソロ1stアルバムで史上初の初登場TOP5入り" (in Japanese). Oricon. 1 December 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
- ↑ "新生EXILE初アルバムが73万枚、初週売上げでミスチル超え スーザン・ボイルは、5位から3位にランクアップ". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 December 2009.
- ↑ "Yahoo Music".
- ↑ "Widow Janey Cutler out to rival Susan Boyle". 11 April 2010.
- ↑ "Updated TV Ratings: AGT finale, Leno, Glee and The Beautiful Life". 17 September 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
- ↑ Nissim, Mayer (30 October 2009). "Susan Boyle to appear on 'X Factor'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
- 1 2 Dziemianowicz, Joe (23 November 2009). "Susan Boyle turns morning songbird on 'Today' show, as new album 'I Dreamed a Dream' arrives". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 2 December 2009.
- ↑ "Susan receives a hand-made, fan-made quilt in New York". 26 November 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
- ↑ "US TV special details Boyle’s Cinderella story". The Press and Journal. 12 December 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ↑ Plunkett, John (13 December 2009). "The X Factor: more than 19m watch Joe McElderry win". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ↑ ""Dexter" Season Finale Slashes Records". ABC News. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ↑ "Susan Boyle to perform for the Obamas".
- ↑ "Ti-ti-ti" tem músicas de Susan Boyle e Alessandra Maestrini
- ↑ "Top 20 Álbumes". Top 100 Argentina. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
- ↑ "Susan Boyle – I Dreamed A Dream – Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "I Dreamed a Dream – Susan Boyle". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- 1 2 "Danish Top 40". Hitlisterne.dk. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ↑ "Susan Boyle – I Dreamed a Dream (album)". Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ↑ "R2 Eesti plaadimüügi edetabel" (in Estonian). r2.ee.
- ↑ "Suomen virallinen lista". ylex.yle.fi. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ↑ "Disques : Renaud en tête, Susan Boyle ne cartonne pas". OZAP.com. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ↑ "Susan Boyle – I Dreamed A Dream". Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- 1 2 "Greek Foreign Albums Chart". IFPI Greece. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ↑ "Top 40 album". Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ↑ "Susan Boyle – I Dreamed A Dream". aCharts.us. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ↑ Federation of the Italian Music Industry (27 November 2009). "Italian Albums Chart". Italian Charts. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
- ↑ "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」". Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ↑ "Mexican Top 100 albums" (PDF). Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ↑ "New Zealand Chart: Chart #1697". RIANZ. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
- ↑ "Sales for the period 23.11.2009 – 29.11.2009". Oficjalna lista sprzedaży (Official Retail Sales Chart). Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ↑ "radio Sonder Grense". Rsg.co.za. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ↑ Swedish Albums Chart – Sverigetopplistan
- ↑ "Susan Boyle – I Dreamed A Dream". Chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ↑ "Music Albums, Top 200 Albums & Music Album Charts". Billboard. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ↑ "2010 Canadian Albums". Billboard.
- ↑ "2010 European Top 100 Albums". Billboard.
- ↑ "アルバム 年間ランキング-ORICON STYLE ランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. 20 December 2010. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ↑ "Mexico Year-End Charts 2010" (PDF). AMPROFON. AMPROFON. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
- ↑ "UK Year-End Charts 2009]" (PDF).
- ↑ "CAPIF Charts". Sony Music Argentina. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
- ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2011 Albums". ARIA Charts. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- 1 2 "Susan Boyle, el mayor acontecimiento musical del 2009". canarias24horas.com/ (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ↑ "Boyle dreams up another No. 1 week". CRIA. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- 1 2 "Boyle dreams up another No. 1 week". London Free Press. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ↑ "Ventes albums france black eyed peace Mylène Farmer". Ozap.com. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
- ↑ "Arany- és platinalemezek 2009" (in Hungarian). Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- ↑ "2009 Certification Awards – Multi Platinum". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ↑ "Certificazioni ARTISTI – Dalla settimana 1 del 2009 alla settimana 5 del 2011" (PDF) (in Italian). FIMI. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
- ↑ ゴールド等認定作品一覧 2010年10月. RIAJ (in Japanese). 10 November 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
- ↑ "Susan Boyle llega al disco de oro en México". AMPROFON (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 December 2009.
- ↑ "IFPI Middle East Awards Q4 of 2009". IFPI. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ↑ IFPI GCC certification
- ↑ Archived 2 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Zpav.pl. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Zpav.pl. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ↑ "Hitlistan". Hitlisten.se. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
- ↑ "Promusicae - Productores de Música de España".
- ↑ "Hitparade". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
- ↑ Database BPI Susan Boyle
- ↑ "RIAA – Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – Q2 2010". IFPI. July 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
External links
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