Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael

Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael
Greatest hits album by George Michael
Released 1 December 1998
Recorded 1984–1998
Genre Pop, dance-pop, pop rock
Length 147:25
Label Epic
Producer George Michael
George Michael chronology
Older
(1996)		 Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael
(1998)		 Songs from the Last Century
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Jam! Showbiz[2]
MSN Music[3]
The Daily VaultA−[4]

Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael is a greatest hits collection released by George Michael in 1998.

The collection of 28 songs (29 songs are included on the European and Australian release) are separated into two halves, with each CD of the double set containing music of a particular theme and mood. The first CD, titled "For the Heart", predominantly contains Michael's hit ballads, while the second CD, "For the Feet", comprises mostly his popular dance tunes.

Ladies & Gentlemen is notable for containing a large number of compilation tracks and duets that have not previously appeared on a George Michael album, including his US number-one duet with Aretha Franklin, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)", previously available on Aretha Franklin's 1986 album Aretha; "Desafinado", the duet in Portuguese with Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto; and the Elton John duet "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", from John's 1993 album Duets.

Ladies & Gentlemen was released by Michael through Sony Music Entertainment as a condition of severing contractual ties with the label (Michael departed Sony with a great deal of acrimony and publicity prior to the release of Older in 1996). He would later return to Sony to release his 2004 album Patience, however singles from Older do appear on the album as well.

"Outside" was the first single from the album. The song was a humorous look at his arrest shortly before the release of the album for soliciting a policeman in a public restroom.

"As", Michael's duet with Mary J. Blige, was released as the second single in many territories around the world. It reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. The track was left off the North American release of the album. There were rumours that Blige's label was uncomfortable with Michael being gay, but this is contradicted by Blige's embracing of her large gay fan base.

"A Different Corner" was remixed for this compilation.

To date, the album has reached worldwide sales of approximately 15 million copies.[5]

"Waltz Away Dreaming", Michael's duet with Toby Bourke, was only available on the cassette and MiniDisc versions of the album.

Track listing

Disc one: For the Heart
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Jesus to a Child"  George MichaelMichael 6:49
2. "Father Figure"  MichaelMichael 5:41
3. "Careless Whisper"  
Michael 5:00
4. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (with Elton John)
Michael 5:47
5. "You Have Been Loved"  
Michael 5:28
6. "Kissing a Fool"  MichaelMichael 4:36
7. "I Can't Make You Love Me"  
Michael 5:20
8. "Heal the Pain"  MichaelMichael 4:46
9. "A Moment with You"  MichaelMichael 5:43
10. "Desafinado" (with Astrud Gilberto)
Michael 3:19
11. "Cowboys and Angels"  MichaelMichael 7:14
12. "Praying for Time"  MichaelMichael 4:41
13. "One More Try"  MichaelMichael 5:53
14. "A Different Corner"  MichaelMichael 4:03
15. "Waltz Away Dreaming" (with Toby Bourke) (cassettes only)
  • Bourke
  • Michael
  • Bourke
  • Michael
 4:44
Disc two: For the Feet
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Outside"  Michael
  • Michael
  • Jon Douglas
 4:44
2. "As" (with Mary J. Blige)Stevie WonderBabyface 4:47
3. "Fastlove"  Michael
  • Michael
  • Douglas
 5:31
4. "Too Funky"  MichaelMichael 3:45
5. "Freedom 90"  MichaelMichael 6:28
6. "Star People 97"  MichaelMichael 5:39
7. "Killer/Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"  
Michael 4:16
8. "I Want Your Sex" (Part II)MichaelMichael 4:38
9. "The Strangest Thing 97"  MichaelMichael 4:41
10. "Fantasy"  MichaelMichael 5:02
11. "Spinning the Wheel"  
  • Michael
  • Douglas
  • Michael
  • Douglas
 6:09
12. "Waiting for That Day"  
Michael 4:50
13. "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with Aretha Franklin)
Narada Michael Walden 3:58
14. "Faith"  MichaelMichael 3:14
15. "Somebody to Love" (with Queen)Freddie Mercury
  • Michael
  • Queen
 5:23

DVD release

A DVD release followed in 1999, featuring 23 music videos from Michael's career.

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[6] 2
Austrian Albums Chart[6] 2
Belgian Flanders Albums Chart[6] 2
Belgian Wallonia Albums Chart[6] 3
Canadian Albums Chart[7] 10
Dutch Albums Chart[6] 2
Finnish Albums Chart[6] 5
French Compilations Chart[8] 1
German Albums Chart[9] 3
Hungarian Albums Chart[10] 1
Irish Albums Chart[11] 1
Japanese Albums Chart[12] 23
New Zealand Albums Chart[6] 3
Norwegian Albums Chart[6] 1
Spanish Albums Chart[13] 4
Swedish Albums Chart[6] 2
Swiss Albums Chart[6] 5
UK Albums Chart[14] 1
US Billboard 200[7] 24

Certifications

[15]}
Region Certification Sales/shipments
Argentina (CAPIF)[16] Gold 30,000
Australia (ARIA)[17] 6× Platinum 420,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)[18] 2× Platinum 100,000
Belgium (BEA)[19] 2× Platinum 100,000
Brazil (ABPD)[20] Gold 100,000
Canada (Music Canada)[21] 2× Platinum 200,000
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[22] Gold 33,000[22]
France (SNEP)[23] 2× Platinum 903,100[24]
Germany (BVMI)[25] 3× Gold 750,000
Netherlands (NVPI)[26] 2× Platinum 200,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[27] 4× Platinum 60,000
Norway (IFPI Norway)[28] Platinum 50,000
Poland (ZPAV)[29] Platinum 100,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[30] 2× Platinum 200,000
Sweden (GLF)[31] Platinum 80,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[32] Platinum 50,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] 8× Platinum 2,400,000
United States (RIAA)[34] 2× Platinum 1,000,000
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[35] 6× Platinum 6,000,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Preceded by
The Best of 1980–1990 by U2		 UK number-one album
15 November 1998 – 9 January 1999 		Succeeded by
I've Been Expecting You by Robbie Williams

See also

Ladies & Gentlemen: The Songs of George Michael, an album by Anthony Callea.

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Jam! Showbiz review
  3. ↑ MSN Music review
  4. ↑ The Daily Vault review
  5. ↑ hip online: artist: George Michael
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Peak positions. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  7. 1 2 Billboard albums. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  8. ↑ Compilation chart runs. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  9. ↑ Longplay-Chartverfolgung. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  10. ↑ Hungarian Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  11. ↑ The Irish Charts. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  12. ↑ George Michael albums sales ranking. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  13. ↑ Spanish Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  14. ↑ Top 75 Releases. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  15. ↑ RIANZ
  16. ↑ "Argentinian album certifications – George Michael – Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
  17. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  18. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – George Michael – Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter George Michael in the field Interpret. Enter Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  19. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 1998". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  20. ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – George Michael – Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos.
  21. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – George Michael – Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael". Music Canada.
  22. 1 2 "George Michael" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  23. ↑ "French album certifications – George Michael – Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  24. ↑ "Les Albums les plus Vendus de la Décennie (2000-2009)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (George Michael; 'Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  26. ↑ "Dutch album certifications – George Michael – Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.
  27. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  28. ↑ "Norwegian album certifications – George Michael – Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
  29. ↑ "Polish album certifications – George Michael – Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
  30. ↑ "Spanish album certifications – George Michael – Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Select the "Chart", enter ' in the field "Year". Select ' in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts"
  31. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  32. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (George Michael; 'Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael')". Hung Medien.
  33. ↑ "British album certifications – George Michael – Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  34. ↑ "American album certifications – George Michael – Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  35. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2004". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
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