My Cassette Player

My Cassette Player
Studio album by Lena
Released 7 May 2010
Recorded March–April 2010
Genre Pop
Length 42:32
Label Universal Music Germany
Producer Stefan Raab, Brix, Ingo Politz, Bernd Wendlandt, John Gordon, Per Kristian Ottestad
Lena chronology
My Cassette Player
(2010)
Good News
(2011)
Singles from My Cassette Player
  1. "Satellite"
    Released: 13 March 2010
  2. "Touch a New Day"
    Released: 6 August 2010
Digital singles from My Cassette Player
  1. "Bee"
    Released: 13 March 2010
  2. "Love Me"
    Released: 13 March 2010

My Cassette Player is the debut album of German singer Lena Meyer-Landrut. It was released under her stage name Lena on 7 May 2010,[1] and debuted at number one in the German albums chart.[2] The album has been certified five times gold in Germany, indicating sales of 500,000.[3]

Production

My Cassette Player includes Meyer-Landrut's number-one single "Satellite", which was Germany's winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010,[4] as well as her songs "Love Me" and "Bee",[1] which had been released previously on 13 March 2010.[5] It also features cover versions of "My Same" by Adele and "Mr. Curiosity" by Jason Mraz, both of which had been performed by Meyer-Landrut during Unser Star für Oslo (Our Star for Oslo), the German national pre-selection programme for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010,[1] as well as a cover version of "Not Following", an unreleased song by English singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding. All of the other songs were written or co-written by Stefan Raab and Meyer-Landrut herself.

The cover photo was created by Sophie Krische. The cassette recorder on the cover is a SKR 700, produced in the former GDR. The artwork of the album booklet was done by Ronald Reinsberg.

The second maxi-single from the album is "Touch a New Day",[6] its B-side being the song "We Can't Go On", previously only released as bonus material.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Aftonbladet[8]
CDstars.de[9]
Expressen[10]
laut.de[11]
LetMeEntertainYou[12]
MuzObzor[13]
Nerikes Allehanda[14]
Nya Wermlands-Tidningen[15]

In Germany, initial reviews of the album were mixed. While Stuttgarter Nachrichten criticised the overly distinct influence of producer Stefan Raab,[16] Neue Presse deemed it a "charming debut",[17] and Hannoversche Allgemeine called it "somewhat banal" but still a "good pop album", characterising "Bee" as a "cheerful hymn to independence" and "Satellite" as "still sounding astonishingly fresh, even after its massive airplay".[18]

In foreign press, the album was critically panned with a number of reviews blaming nonsensical lyrics and Lena's weak voice. The Daily Mail in the United Kingdom gave a mixed verdict on the album praising "worthwhile covers of Ellie Goulding's Not Following and Adele's My Same, plus some slick originals that remind me a little of another German singer, Nena", but also complained that the album sounded "hurried".[19] In Sweden, the website Kritiker assigns a normalised rating out of 5.0 to reviews from mainstream critics across the country and gave the album an average score of 2.0, based on 13 reviews, which indicates negative to mixed reviews.[20] Jenny Seth of Aftonbladet accused Lena of being "a precocious teenager" with "forced vocals...[and] banal lyrics about bees". She added that, whilst Lena "is influenced by Kate Nash and Adele, she sounds rather [like a] wimpy Colbie Caillat and Jason Mraz's unbearably perky little sister".[8] Anders Nunstedt, music editor from the Swedish tabloid Expressen, gave the album a harsh review calling it a "bland pop debut with nonsense lyrics" and criticising Lena's "exaggerated British accent".[10] Carina Jonsson in Nerikes Allehanda gave the album only one out of five and criticised Lena's vocal ability, saying she "sings as bad as any karaoke rookie, also, she has added a hard-won goofy English accent".[14]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Satellite"  Julie Frost, John GordonBrix, Ingo Politz, Bernd Wendlandt, Gordon 2:55
2. "My Cassette Player"  Stefan Raab, Lena Meyer-LandrutRaab 3:35
3. "Not Following"  Ellie Goulding, Jonny LattimerRaab 3:36
4. "I Like to Bang My Head"  Raab, Meyer-LandrutRaab 3:23
5. "My Same"  AdeleRaab 3:02
6. "Caterpillar in the Rain"  Raab, Meyer-LandrutRaab 3:42
7. "Love Me"  Raab, Meyer-LandrutRaab 2:59
8. "Touch a New Day"  RaabRaab 3:08
9. "Bee"  Rosi Golan, Per Kristian Ottestad, Mayaeni StraussOttestad 3:00
10. "You Can't Stop Me"  RaabRaab 2:54
11. "Mr. Curiosity"  Lester Mendez, Dennis James Morris, Jason MrazRaab 3:41
12. "I Just Want Your Kiss"  Daniel Schaub, Pär Lammers, RaabRaab 3:05
13. "Wonderful Dreaming"  Raab, Meyer-LandrutRaab 3:32
Bonus Tracks
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
14. "We Can't Go On" (Amazon.de Bonus Track and Platinum Edition)Lammers, Schaub 3:15
15. "New Shoes" (iTunes Bonus Track and Platinum Edition)Matty Benbrook, Jim Duguid, Paolo Nutini 3:23
Deluxe Edition Bonus-DVD
No. Title Length
1. "Unser Star für Oslo - Lena" (Documentary) 23:00
2. "Satellite" (Video) 2:54
Tchibo Deluxe Edition Bonus-DVD
No. Title Length
1. "Satellite" (Live at Unser Star für Oslo) 3:01
2. "Love Me" (Live at Unser Star für Oslo) 3:09
3. "Bee" (Live at Unser Star für Oslo) 3:30
4. "My Same" (Live at Unser Star für Oslo) 3:39
5. "Mr. Curiosity" (Live at Unser Star für Oslo) 3:32
6. "Photogallery ("Satellite")"   2:54

Personnel

Lead vocals

Additional vocals

  • Christoph Leis-Bendorf
  • Jan Löchel
  • Kayna

Additional Musicians

  • Thorsten Brötzmann – keyboards
  • Axel Grube – bass
  • Michael Knauer – keyboards
  • Peter Weihe – guitar

Audio mastering

  • Sascha "Busy" Bühren
  • Jeo@Jeopark
  • Michael Schwabe

Production

  • Andre "Brix" Buchmann
  • John Gordon
  • Per Kristian "Boots" Ottestad
  • Ingo Politz
  • Stefan Raab
  • Bernd Wendtland

Artwork/Photos

  • Sophie Krische
  • Ronald Reinsberg

Writing (lyrics and music)

Source:[21]

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[22] 1
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[23] 54
Danish Albums Chart[24] 40
European Top 100 Albums[25] 5
Finnish Albums Chart[26] 43
German Albums Chart[2] 1
Greek Albums Chart[27] 4
Norwegian Albums Chart[28] 7
Polish Albums Chart[29] 45
Slovenian Albums Chart[30] 23
Swedish Albums Chart[31] 5
Swiss Albums Chart[32] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (2010) Rank
Austrian Albums Chart[33] 30
European Top 100 Albums[34] 48
German Albums Chart[35] 5
Swiss Albums Chart[36] 24

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Germany (BVMI)[37] 5× Gold 500,000^

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

Chart succession

Preceded by
Große Freiheit by Unheilig
Für dich immer noch Fanta Sie by Die Fantastischen Vier
German Albums Chart number-one album
May 21, 2010 – May 27, 2010
June 4, 2010 – June 18, 2010
Succeeded by
Für dich immer noch Fanta Sie by Die Fantastischen Vier
Große Freiheit by Unheilig
Preceded by
Iron Man 2 (Soundtrack) by AC/DC
Austrian Albums Chart number-one album
June 11, 2010 – June 17, 2010
Succeeded by
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Soundtrack)

References

  1. 1 2 3 Klier, Marcus. Germany: Lena's debut album released on 7th May. ESCtoday.com. 1 May 2010. Accessed 7 May 2010.
  2. 1 2 PhonoNet GmbH. Chartverfolgung / Lena / Longplay Musicline.de. Accessed March 23, 2010. (German)
  3. "German certification for "My Cassette Player"". Musikindustrie.de. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  4. Zeit Online. Eurovision Song Contest: Lena siegt in Oslo. Zeit.de. 30 May 2010. Accessed 30 May 2010. (German)
  5. "Lena Meyer-Landrut fliegt wie ein "Satellite"in die Charts", Die Welt (in German), 23 March 2010.
  6. NDR 2 Soundcheck. NDR2.de. 9 June 2010. Accessed 11 June 2010. (German)
  7. "Touch A New Day: Lena: Amazon.de: MP3-Downloads". Amazon.de. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  8. 1 2 Seth, Jenny (11 June 2010). "Lillgammal och forcerad sång". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Schibsted. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  9. "CDstars.de review". Cdstarts.de. 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  10. 1 2 Nunstedt, Anders. "Lena - My cassette player". Expressen (in Swedish). Bonnier Group. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  11. "Review". Laut.de. 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  12. "LetMeEntertainYou review". Letmeentertainyou.de. 2011-07-24. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  13. "MuzObzor review". Muzobzor.ru. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  14. 1 2 Jonsson, Carina. "Lena: My Cassete Player". Nerikes Allehanda (in Swedish). LT Liberala Tidningar AB. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  15. Hård, Lina (18 June 2010). "Lena - Vill vara Nash men blir Schwarzenegger". Nya Wermlands-Tidningen (in Swedish). Nya Wermlands-Tidningen. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  16. Reinhardt, Gunther. Ganz viel Raab und ein kleines bisschen Lena. Stuttgarter-Nachrichten.de. 6 May 2010. Accessed 7 May 2010. (German)
  17. Halbig, Matthias. Zeug zum Chartstürmer: Lenas neues Album. Neuepresse.de. 6 May 2010. Accessed 7 May 2010. (German)
  18. Schild, Gerd. Lena Meyer-Landruts erstes Album erscheint Freitag. Haz.de. 6 May 2010. Accessed 7 May 2010. (German)
  19. Thrills, Adrian (2 July 2010). "Lena Meyer-Landrut is on track to be more than just a Eurovision star". Mail Online. Daily Mail and General Trust. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  20. "13 recensioner av Lena: My Cassete Player" (in Swedish). Kritiker.se. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  21. My Cassette Player (CD booklet and case back cover). Lena. USFO for Universal Deutschland. 2010.
  22. Hung Medien. Discographie Lena Meyer-Landrut. Austriancharts.at. Accessed 18 May 2010. (German)
  23. "Lena - My Cassette Player". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
  24. "Hitlisten.NU - Album Top-40". IFPI. Hitlisten. NU. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  25. Billboard Magazine. European Top 100 Albums: Week of May 29, 2010. Billboard.com. Accessed 27 May 2010.
  26. Steffen Hung. "Hung Medien. - Lena - My Cassette Player". Finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  27. IFPI. My Cassette Player in Greece. Greekcharts.com. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  28. Steffen Hung. "Norwegian Albums chart - "My Cassette Player"". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  29. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLIS. 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  30. "Val 202 - Slo Top 30". Rtvslo.si. Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  31. Steffen Hung. "Lena - My Cassette Player". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  32. Hung Medien. Discographie Lena Meyer-Landrut. Swisscharts.com. Accessed 18 May 2010.
  33. Steffen Hung (2010-12-24). "Jahreshitparade 2010". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
  34. "European Albums". Billboard.com. 2010-12-31. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  35. Einslive.de Archived January 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  36. Steffen Hung. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2010". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
  37. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Lena; 'My Cassette Player')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 3 October 2011.

External links

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