Breathless (Shayne Ward album)
Encyclopedia
Breathless is the second solo studio album by British
pop singer and winner of The X Factor
, Shayne Ward
. Record label Syco Music released it in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2007. The album is mostly written by Rami Yacoub
, Arnthor Birgisson
and Savan Kotecha
. The album was commercially successful, debuting at number two on the UK Albums Chart
. It sold 95,801 units within a week of release, although ultimately less successful than its predecessor, Ward's self-titled album
. Two singles were released from the album, one of which was a Double A-Side. On October 31, 2007, an official Breathless DVD, which included exclusive interviews and five music videos, was released via Woolworths
stores in the UK. The album has earned a platinum certification in the United Kingdom and went five times platinum in Ireland.
put together. Ward described the album as a more "funky, sexy and different step from him." Producers Rami Yacoub
, Arnthor Birgisson, and Ryan Tedder
also worked on the album. The first single from the album, "If That's OK with You
" / "No U Hang Up
", was released to radio on September 7, 2007. The video for "If That's OK With You" were premiered on August 18, 2007. On September 14, 2007, the single was released physically, and the video for "No U Hang Up" was released via Channel 4
and Ward's official YouTube
page. The single reached number two in the Britain and number eleven in Ireland. The second single and final single from the album was "Breathless", which was released on November 19, 2007. Television promotion included appearances on the fourth series of The X Factor
on 10 November 2007 and The Paul O'Grady Show
on 19 November 2007. The single entered the UK Singles Chart
at #2 on 25 November 2007. During the release of "Breathless", it was announced that Ward was planning a six-month long British tour to support the album. The tour started in Glasgow, Scotland on 12 May 2008 and eventually ended in Ireland on 29 December 2008, following extra dates being added. The tour visited cities such as London
, Sheffield
, Aberdeen
and Manchester
.
, knocking Leona Lewis
off the top. It debuted at number two in the UK Albums Chart
selling 95,801 in its first week , being held off by Lewis To date it has sold over 450,000 copies in the UK.
in the sweet voice stakes." The website also commented that the album was largely ballad-free, and the gleeful If That’s OK With You borrows deftly from Rihanna
’s "Pon De Replay
". "Damaged" and a cover of the SOS Band’s "Just Be Good to Me
" eschew bland international R&B for the pop reggae that Ace of Base
once sold by the million. Better still is "Stand by Your Side" and the soul stomper "Tangled Up", both reminiscent of George Michael
’s finest, could signpost his future." The BBC
gave the album a mixed-to positive review, calling it "an album that sums up the predicament of the reality pop star. Having taken the fast track to the big time, Shayne has no style of his own and is open to the whims of his production team."
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
pop singer and winner of The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
, Shayne Ward
Shayne Ward
Shayne Thomas Ward is an English pop singer who rose to fame as the winner of second series of The X Factor. He has sold over 3 million records worldwide and has had number one albums and singles in 9 countries.During The X Factor competition, Ward was mentored by manager Louis Walsh...
. Record label Syco Music released it in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2007. The album is mostly written by Rami Yacoub
Rami Yacoub
Rami Yacoub is a Swedish music producer and songwriter of Palestinian descent, and former member of the successful songwriting/production houses Cheiron Studios and Maratone...
, Arnthor Birgisson
Arnthor Birgisson
Arnthor Birgisson born on February 12, 1976, in Reykjavik, Iceland, is a Swedish songwriter and producer. His music can be described as a mixture of pop and R&B...
and Savan Kotecha
Savan Kotecha
Savan Kotecha is an American songwriter and vocal producer from Austin, Texas of Indian descent. Kotecha has sold over 60 million records with artists such as Usher, Enrique Iglesias, Carrie Underwood, Britney Spears, One Direction and Celine Dion...
. The album was commercially successful, debuting at number two on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. It sold 95,801 units within a week of release, although ultimately less successful than its predecessor, Ward's self-titled album
Shayne Ward (album)
Shayne Ward is the self-titled debut album by English pop singer and the second X Factor winner Shayne Ward. It was released on 17 April 2006 and debuted at the top position in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. Since its release, it has been certified platinum in the UK, selling 531,659 copies...
. Two singles were released from the album, one of which was a Double A-Side. On October 31, 2007, an official Breathless DVD, which included exclusive interviews and five music videos, was released via Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
stores in the UK. The album has earned a platinum certification in the United Kingdom and went five times platinum in Ireland.
Background
Shayne Ward worked on the album for nearly a year and a half, longer than he had spent on his previous solo album and the X FactorThe X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
put together. Ward described the album as a more "funky, sexy and different step from him." Producers Rami Yacoub
Rami Yacoub
Rami Yacoub is a Swedish music producer and songwriter of Palestinian descent, and former member of the successful songwriting/production houses Cheiron Studios and Maratone...
, Arnthor Birgisson, and Ryan Tedder
Ryan Tedder
Ryan Benjamin Tedder is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the pop rock band, OneRepublic, though he has an independent career as songwriter and producer for various artists such as Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, Far East Movement, Jordin Sparks, Leona...
also worked on the album. The first single from the album, "If That's OK with You
If That's OK with You
"If That's OK with You" is a song written by Savan Kotecha, Arnthor Birgisson and Max Martin for The X Factor winner Shayne Ward from his second studio album "Breathless". It was released as his fourth single overall, a double A-side with "No U Hang Up"...
" / "No U Hang Up
No U Hang Up
"No U Hang Up" is a song written by Arnthor Birgisson, Rami Yacoub and Savan Kotecha and performed by The X Factor winner, Shayne Ward. The song was released as a double A-side single along with "If That's OK with You".-Charts:...
", was released to radio on September 7, 2007. The video for "If That's OK With You" were premiered on August 18, 2007. On September 14, 2007, the single was released physically, and the video for "No U Hang Up" was released via Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and Ward's official YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
page. The single reached number two in the Britain and number eleven in Ireland. The second single and final single from the album was "Breathless", which was released on November 19, 2007. Television promotion included appearances on the fourth series of The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
on 10 November 2007 and The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...
on 19 November 2007. The single entered the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at #2 on 25 November 2007. During the release of "Breathless", it was announced that Ward was planning a six-month long British tour to support the album. The tour started in Glasgow, Scotland on 12 May 2008 and eventually ended in Ireland on 29 December 2008, following extra dates being added. The tour visited cities such as London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Commercial performance
On 2 December 2007, the album reached number one in the Irish Albums ChartIrish Albums Chart
The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically...
, knocking Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
off the top. It debuted at number two in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
selling 95,801 in its first week , being held off by Lewis To date it has sold over 450,000 copies in the UK.
Critical reception
The album was received with positive reviews. Times Online gave the album three out of five stars stating "With chart battles involving producers rather than artists, poor Ward finds himself fighting it out with the big budget likes of Justin TimberlakeJustin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
in the sweet voice stakes." The website also commented that the album was largely ballad-free, and the gleeful If That’s OK With You borrows deftly from Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
’s "Pon De Replay
Pon de Replay
"Pon de Replay" is a song recorded by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, from her debut studio album Music of the Sun . The song was made available to download via iTunes on August 26, 2005, released as the album's lead single. The song was written and produced by Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers and...
". "Damaged" and a cover of the SOS Band’s "Just Be Good to Me
Just Be Good to Me
"Just Be Good to Me" is a 1983 single by The SOS Band, written and produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. The single reached number two on the U.S. R&B chart, number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number three on the dance chart that year...
" eschew bland international R&B for the pop reggae that Ace of Base
Ace of Base
Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...
once sold by the million. Better still is "Stand by Your Side" and the soul stomper "Tangled Up", both reminiscent of George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
’s finest, could signpost his future." The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
gave the album a mixed-to positive review, calling it "an album that sums up the predicament of the reality pop star. Having taken the fast track to the big time, Shayne has no style of his own and is open to the whims of his production team."
Track listing
Charts
| Chart (2007–2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Danish Albums Chart | 39 |
| European Top 100 Albums European Top 100 Albums The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100... |
12 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
1 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
2 |
Certifications
| Country | Provider | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | IRMA Irish Recorded Music Association Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:... |
5xPlatinum | 80,000+ |
Release history
| Region | Date | Edition |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 26 November 2007 | Standard Edition |
| Japan | 2 February 2008 | Standard Edition |
| Asia | 4 November 2008 | Special Edition |