Welcome to the Dance
Encyclopedia
Welcome to the Dance is the fifth regular studio album by all-female German pop group No Angels
, released by Polydor
and Universal Music Domestic throughout German-speaking Europe
on September 11, 2009 (see 2009 in music
). The band's second post-reunion effort following their reformation as a quartet in 2007, it was written, produced and recorded in Berlin
, Los Angeles
, and New York
between the years of 2008 and 2009, featuring production by Nasri, Hakim Bell, Bill Blast, Adam Messinger
, and Aaron Pearce, among others.
After releasing lukewarm-received comeback album Destiny
(2007) and their performance at the ESC 2008, the band collaborated with a range of American
and Canadian
producers and songwriters on the album. Pursuing a new musical direction, Welcome to the Dance took the group's work further into the dance
and electronic genre, introducing a more international sound
. However, upon release, the album received generally negative reviews by critics, who criticized the band for their missing individuality.
Commercially, the album underperformed, becoming the group's lowest-charting and -selling effort to date. In Germany
, it debuted and peaked at number twenty-six, becoming the band's first regular album neither to reach the top ten nor the top twenty. The album's leading track "One Life
," still made it to the top twenty on the German Singles Chart. A second single, entitled "Derailed," was actually scheduled for a November 27 released but scrapped for unknown reasons.
(2007) was a commercial success, it received generally lukewarm reviews from music critics and, in comparison to earlier successes, it underperformed with a domestic sales total of about 30,000 copies. From all four regular single releases, leading single "Goodbye to Yesterday
" emerged as the album's only top ten hit, and although both the group members and record company Universal Music felt increasing discontent and uncertainty about the direction of the project by summer 2007, it was not until the band's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
in Belgrade, Serbia, the quartet hit an all-time career low, following their performance with the German ESC entry
"Disappear
," which finished 23rd out of the 25 countries that participated in the final voting in May 2008. As a direct consequence, planned recordings for the band's next studio album during the summer were indefinitely delayed, and the group went on a two months-hiatus to rethink and analyze the past year.
Having managed themselves since their reunion, they eventually agreed on signing a contract with Kool Management in July 2008 after several meetings with Khalid Schröder at the beginning of the year. Schröder, a former event manager and head of the German management of Aura Dione
and Kool & the Gang
, subsequently arranged meetings with his North American clients for the No Angels, including Canadian singer-songwriter Nasri Atweh
and hip-hop producer Hakim "Prince Hakim" Bell, son of Kool founding member Robert Bell. In August 2008, whilst Nadja Benaissa
spent her summer holidays with her daughter in Los Angeles, California
, he spontaneously decided to send fellow band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling
, and Jessica Wahls
overseas to join Benaissa for writing and recording sessions at Donnie Wahlberg
's mansion, eventually green-lighting the start of the project.
in the United States
, and Berlin
and Rastede
in Germany between August 2008 and March 2009. The first session in Los Angeles in August 2008 was overseen by Aaron Pearce and Nasri Atweh, who decided on splitting the band into two halves during the writing process, leaving Benaissa and Diakovska with Pearce and The Writing Camp
members Evan "Kidd" Bogart and David "DQ" Quiñones
, while Mölling and Wahls remained with Adam Messinger
and Atweh. The teams crafted four songs within three days of which all made the final track listing, including "Young Love", "Shut Yout Mouth", and "Up Against the Wall." In the same week, the band met with songwriter Rick Nowels
in Santa Monica
who presented them several of his own demo tracks. The quartet selected ten songs out of his repertoire, of which Nowles agreed on yielding two to the new project. His songs did however not make the cut on the album. The following month, the band re-teamed with Atweh in Berlin to write and record another three songs respectively, including eventual leading single "One Life
."
In October 2008, the No Angels returned to the United States for additional recording sessions in New Jersey
and New York City
, where producers and writers Hakim Bell, Akene "The Champ" Dunkley, Bill Blast, and M'Jestie got involved into the project. In addition, the band worked with writer Chel Hill and Karriem Mack
and Shaun Owens
of production team Soul Diggaz
during their U.S. sojourn. As with Nowles, their songs did however not make the final track listing. After another session in Berlin in early December, the band re-teamed with all three main production teams for a two week stint at Peter Patzer's Bekeeg Studios in Rastede near Oldenburg
in January 2010. They were joined by Nicholas "RAS" Furlong
, who went on to write and produce vocals on several tracks for Welcome to the Dance. The rest of the album was wrapped at the Hansa Studios in Berlin in February 2009, where Pearce and Atweh wrote and recorded the last tracks with the band, including songs such as "Dance-Aholic."
," was one of the first songs ever all band members jointly contributed lyrics to. Conceived during a writing session in Berlin
in September 2009, the track was penned over a backing track by New Jersey
producers Hakim Bell and Akene Dunkley and created as an anthem
ic, self-manifesto
song about the celebration of life. Greatly influenced by dance pop and electropop, the track features effects of auto-tuning
and sprechgesang
during its bridge. The song garnered generally positive reviews by music critics, who noted it the album's standout track, and was released as the album's first and only single from Welcome to the Dance. The album's second track was written by Arnthor Birgisson and Savan Kotecha
and deals with the circumstances of a love-hate relationship
that the song's protagonist compares to a thunderstorm
she feels stuck in. A vocoded, humming male voice provides the bassline of the song, while Jessica Wahls
is featured with background vocals
only. Third and fourth track "Rebel" and "Welcome to the Dance" are two out of three tracks that were contributed by Bill Blast and Alisha "M'Jestie" Brooks. Brooks wrote "Rebel" over a synthesized instrumental track
by Blast, willed to create something "hard" for the band. Lyrically, the up-tempo composition deals with the refusal to fall in love
.
The album's title song was written as a decidation to "everybody in the club, or to anybody in life that start off in the club," according to Brooks, and was lyrically inspired by Michael Jackson
's 1980 record "Off the Wall
." "Derailed," the album's fifth track, was written by Aaron Pearce, Nasri Atweh
, and Nick "RAS" Furlong, and garnered mixed reviews by critics who summed it as "strained" but also highlighted it one of the better songs on the album. A beat-driven piano ballad
about a broken relationship, it features leading vocals by Sandy Mölling
while Lucy Diakovska appears as a backing vocalist only. Initially scheduled for a November 27, 2009 release, it was eventually scrapped as the album's second single. "Dance-Aholic," an up-tempo anthem about the joy of nightclub dance
, was created the day after the aftershow party of the 2009 ECHO Awards where band members Benaissa
and Wahls had impressed producers Atweh and Pearce with their dance-craziness. Seventh track "Shut Your Mouth" was one of the first songs the band wrote with Evan "Kidd" Bogart and his The Writing Camp
collective during the album's first creative session in Los Angeles, California
in August 2008. A musical reckoning with those people who want to ruin someone's reputation, it has been noted as one of the most autobiographical tracks on Welcome to the Dance as every member had the chance "to write things off her chest" with it. Built around a cheerleading motif
, it shares similarities with fellow Aaron Pearce production Kreesha Turner
's "Passion" (2008).
The ninth track on the album, entitled "Young Love," was the first song contributed to the project. The result of a guitar
jam session
with Adam Messinger
and Nasri, it revolves around the facets of a new-found affection, and has been noted as a musical contrast to the highly synthesized and electronic sound of the album due to its acoustic flair
and singer-songwriter
style. The group noted it the most stereotypical song on Welcome to the Dance. On "Too Old," the album's tenth track, the protagonist requests her lover to get his priorities in order and finally make a decision for or against a relationship with her. It was generally well-received by music critics who noted it the "single-worthiest hit" off the album alongside "One Life." "Down Boy" is the only song on Welcome to the Dance not specifically created for or together with the No Angels. Written by Tiyon Mack, Chad Roper, Le'che Martin, a demo
of the composition, initially produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, was to be recorded by some unknown artist before it was eventually handed over to Aaron Pearce. His re-worked version for the band features similar structures however. Twelfth track "Stop," another Blast/Brooks production, chronicles a woman's feelings on her decision to give her failed relationship a second try. Thirteenth track "Minute by Minute" features guest vocals by Nasri Atweh
while Benaissa provides the female leading voice. Lyrically, the ballad deals with true love.
account, that he had put the final touches on the album and it "should be out by the end of the summer." Two weeks later, the band's official webpage went under construction
and a countdown, dated at July 25, was started. On July 3, 2009, the No Angels made their first appearance in four months at the Sankt Pölten Stadtfest in Lower Austria
, where they held their first official press conference after Benaissa's April 2009 arrest and performed both old tracks and five news songs from the upcoming album, including "Derailed", "Shut Your Mouth", "Tool Old", "Young Love" and "One Life." In the same night, latter song was confirmed as the album's first single during the concert. On July 15, 2010, the album was previewed to about 200 journalists and other media representatives at the Astor Film Lounge theatre at the Berlin Kurfürstendamm
, where the band revealed the album title as Welcome to the Dance.
In Austria, the album debuted at number sixty-five in its only week on the Austrian Albums Chart
. As in Germany, Welcome to the Dance became the group's lowest-charting album here yet, making it their first longplayer not to debut within the top twenty. In Switzerland, the album barely managed to reach the top 100 on the Swiss Albums Chart, debuting and peaking at number ninety-five only. It became the band's first album not to reach the top thirty at least.
Pooltrax felt that the album was only partially answering expectations, and although they were persuaded that the band had not made the most out of it, they complimented the No Angels for their songwriting and the corresponding results which they compared to a "whiff of Rihanna
." Critic Eberhard Dobler, reviewer for laut.de, was disappointed with the album and declared it out-dated, writing: "Suchlike sound may be new to the No Angels. But indeed, it's an old hat - why didn't they come around with this at [previous album] Destiny
(2007) times?" He gave the album one out of five stars. In his consumer guide for LetMeEntertainYou.de, Michael Bauer also rated the album one star out of five, summing it "a dance in towards career ending." He felt that Welcome to the Dance was "nothing but monotonous club stamping," and dismissed the heavy usage of effects on the voices and beats.
No Angels
The No Angels are an all-female pop trio from Germany, consisting of band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls. Critically acclaimed, the band has won dozen of awards and prizes since their establishment in the early 2000s, including three ECHOs, a World Music Awards, a NRJ...
, released by Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
and Universal Music Domestic throughout German-speaking Europe
German-speaking Europe
The German language is spoken in a number of countries and territories in West, Central and Eastern Europe...
on September 11, 2009 (see 2009 in music
2009 in music
The following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year...
). The band's second post-reunion effort following their reformation as a quartet in 2007, it was written, produced and recorded in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
between the years of 2008 and 2009, featuring production by Nasri, Hakim Bell, Bill Blast, Adam Messinger
Adam Messinger
Adam "Messy" Messinger is a Canadian songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist currently based in Los Angeles, California. Besides his solo work, he is part of the writing and production duo "The Messengers" along with Nasri Atweh.-Career:...
, and Aaron Pearce, among others.
After releasing lukewarm-received comeback album Destiny
Destiny (No Angels album)
Destiny is the fourth studio album by German pop group No Angels, released by Polydor Records and Universal Music Domestic on April 13, 2007...
(2007) and their performance at the ESC 2008, the band collaborated with a range of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
producers and songwriters on the album. Pursuing a new musical direction, Welcome to the Dance took the group's work further into the dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and electronic genre, introducing a more international sound
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
. However, upon release, the album received generally negative reviews by critics, who criticized the band for their missing individuality.
Commercially, the album underperformed, becoming the group's lowest-charting and -selling effort to date. In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, it debuted and peaked at number twenty-six, becoming the band's first regular album neither to reach the top ten nor the top twenty. The album's leading track "One Life
One Life (No Angels song)
"One Life" is a song by German pop band No Angels. It was written by American musicians Nasri Atweh, Hakim Bell, Adam Messinger, Akene "The Champ" Dunkley, and group members Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls for their fifth regular studio album Welcome to the Dance...
," still made it to the top twenty on the German Singles Chart. A second single, entitled "Derailed," was actually scheduled for a November 27 released but scrapped for unknown reasons.
Background
While the No Angels' comeback album DestinyDestiny (No Angels album)
Destiny is the fourth studio album by German pop group No Angels, released by Polydor Records and Universal Music Domestic on April 13, 2007...
(2007) was a commercial success, it received generally lukewarm reviews from music critics and, in comparison to earlier successes, it underperformed with a domestic sales total of about 30,000 copies. From all four regular single releases, leading single "Goodbye to Yesterday
Goodbye to Yesterday
"Goodbye to Yesterday" is a pop song performed by German pop group the No Angels. It was written and produced by Pelle Ankarberg, David Jassy, Niclas Molinder, and Joacim Persson and co-produced by Twin and Ankarberg for the band's fourth studio album Destiny...
" emerged as the album's only top ten hit, and although both the group members and record company Universal Music felt increasing discontent and uncertainty about the direction of the project by summer 2007, it was not until the band's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Eurovision Song Contest 2008
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Contest. It was hosted in Belgrade, Serbia after Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Finland. This year was the first contest to have two semi-finals which were held on 20 and 22 May, and the final held on 24 May 2008...
in Belgrade, Serbia, the quartet hit an all-time career low, following their performance with the German ESC entry
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
As a "Big 4" member , Germany qualifies directly for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 alongside last year's winner Serbia and the three other "Big 4" members France, Spain and the United Kingdom....
"Disappear
Disappear (No Angels song)
"Disappear" is a pop song recorded by German pop band No Angels. It was written by Scandinavian songwriters Remee, Hanne Sørvaag, and Thomas Troelsen and co-produced by Remee and Troelsen. The track served as Germany's entry for the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, having earned tight...
," which finished 23rd out of the 25 countries that participated in the final voting in May 2008. As a direct consequence, planned recordings for the band's next studio album during the summer were indefinitely delayed, and the group went on a two months-hiatus to rethink and analyze the past year.
Having managed themselves since their reunion, they eventually agreed on signing a contract with Kool Management in July 2008 after several meetings with Khalid Schröder at the beginning of the year. Schröder, a former event manager and head of the German management of Aura Dione
Aura Dione
Mariah Dione , professionally known as Aura Dione, is a Danish singer-songwriter of Faroese, Spanish, French and Danish origin. In 2008 she released her debut album, Columbine which as of 2011 has sold 100,000 copies worldwide...
and Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang are an American jazz, R&B, soul, and funk group, originally formed as the Jazziacs in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964.They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and...
, subsequently arranged meetings with his North American clients for the No Angels, including Canadian singer-songwriter Nasri Atweh
Nasri
Nasri meaning support or victory is an Arabic male given name, which also appears as a surname.-Given name:* Nasri Tony Atweh, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer* Nasri Maalouf , Lebanese politician...
and hip-hop producer Hakim "Prince Hakim" Bell, son of Kool founding member Robert Bell. In August 2008, whilst Nadja Benaissa
Nadja Benaissa
Nadja Benaissa is a German singer, songwriter and occasional actress, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date", according to the German media.After a series of commercially successful releases...
spent her summer holidays with her daughter in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, he spontaneously decided to send fellow band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling
Sandy Mölling
Sandy Mölling , known professionally as Sandy, is a German singer-songwriter, dancer, television presenter and occasional actress, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date," according to the German...
, and Jessica Wahls
Jessica Wahls
Jessica Martina Wahls , also known under her nickname Jess, is a German pop singer, songwriter and television host, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date," according to the German media.-Early...
overseas to join Benaissa for writing and recording sessions at Donnie Wahlberg
Donnie Wahlberg
Donald Edward "Donnie" Wahlberg, Jr. is an American singer, actor and film producer. He is a member of the popular 1980s and 1990s boy band New Kids on the Block. His work background includes music, feature films, and television...
's mansion, eventually green-lighting the start of the project.
Writing and recording
Most of Welcome to the Dance was written and recorded during five separate studio sessions in Los Angeles and New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Rastede
Rastede
Rastede is a municipality in the Ammerland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 12 km north of Oldenburg. It is the site of the Schloss Rastede.-References:...
in Germany between August 2008 and March 2009. The first session in Los Angeles in August 2008 was overseen by Aaron Pearce and Nasri Atweh, who decided on splitting the band into two halves during the writing process, leaving Benaissa and Diakovska with Pearce and The Writing Camp
The Writing Camp
The Writing Camp is an American songwriter collective, founded by Evan "Kidd" Bogart and David "DQ" Quiñones. Since its formation in 2007, the team has been responsible for a series of successful released in pop, R&B and dance music, including 2008's "Right Here " by Brandy and Beyoncé Knowles's...
members Evan "Kidd" Bogart and David "DQ" Quiñones
The Writing Camp
The Writing Camp is an American songwriter collective, founded by Evan "Kidd" Bogart and David "DQ" Quiñones. Since its formation in 2007, the team has been responsible for a series of successful released in pop, R&B and dance music, including 2008's "Right Here " by Brandy and Beyoncé Knowles's...
, while Mölling and Wahls remained with Adam Messinger
Adam Messinger
Adam "Messy" Messinger is a Canadian songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist currently based in Los Angeles, California. Besides his solo work, he is part of the writing and production duo "The Messengers" along with Nasri Atweh.-Career:...
and Atweh. The teams crafted four songs within three days of which all made the final track listing, including "Young Love", "Shut Yout Mouth", and "Up Against the Wall." In the same week, the band met with songwriter Rick Nowels
Rick Nowels
Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is a Grammy / Ivor Novello award-winning songwriter/producer who has worked with many of the most vibrant artists in contemporary music...
in Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
who presented them several of his own demo tracks. The quartet selected ten songs out of his repertoire, of which Nowles agreed on yielding two to the new project. His songs did however not make the cut on the album. The following month, the band re-teamed with Atweh in Berlin to write and record another three songs respectively, including eventual leading single "One Life
One Life (No Angels song)
"One Life" is a song by German pop band No Angels. It was written by American musicians Nasri Atweh, Hakim Bell, Adam Messinger, Akene "The Champ" Dunkley, and group members Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls for their fifth regular studio album Welcome to the Dance...
."
In October 2008, the No Angels returned to the United States for additional recording sessions in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where producers and writers Hakim Bell, Akene "The Champ" Dunkley, Bill Blast, and M'Jestie got involved into the project. In addition, the band worked with writer Chel Hill and Karriem Mack
Soul Diggaz
Soul Diggaz are a R&B/hip-hop production duo composed of Karriem "K-Mack" Mack, Shaun "Bless" Owens and songwriter Corté "The Author" Ellis. Corté Ellis, who is currently putting the final touches on his debut album, is the younger cousin of Hip-Hop Superstar Missy Elliott. They have recently added...
and Shaun Owens
Soul Diggaz
Soul Diggaz are a R&B/hip-hop production duo composed of Karriem "K-Mack" Mack, Shaun "Bless" Owens and songwriter Corté "The Author" Ellis. Corté Ellis, who is currently putting the final touches on his debut album, is the younger cousin of Hip-Hop Superstar Missy Elliott. They have recently added...
of production team Soul Diggaz
Soul Diggaz
Soul Diggaz are a R&B/hip-hop production duo composed of Karriem "K-Mack" Mack, Shaun "Bless" Owens and songwriter Corté "The Author" Ellis. Corté Ellis, who is currently putting the final touches on his debut album, is the younger cousin of Hip-Hop Superstar Missy Elliott. They have recently added...
during their U.S. sojourn. As with Nowles, their songs did however not make the final track listing. After another session in Berlin in early December, the band re-teamed with all three main production teams for a two week stint at Peter Patzer's Bekeeg Studios in Rastede near Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
in January 2010. They were joined by Nicholas "RAS" Furlong
Nicholas RAS Furlong
Nicholas Michael Furlong is an American songwriter, record producer, vocal producer, and engineer. He has worked with various artists such as Ryan Tedder, Jordin Sparks, Leona Lewis, Big Time Rush, Cody Simpson, Far East Movement, Colbie Caillat, Mario, JC Chasez, Leon Thomas, Wynter Gordon, Guy...
, who went on to write and produce vocals on several tracks for Welcome to the Dance. The rest of the album was wrapped at the Hansa Studios in Berlin in February 2009, where Pearce and Atweh wrote and recorded the last tracks with the band, including songs such as "Dance-Aholic."
Content
The album's opening track, "One LifeOne Life (No Angels song)
"One Life" is a song by German pop band No Angels. It was written by American musicians Nasri Atweh, Hakim Bell, Adam Messinger, Akene "The Champ" Dunkley, and group members Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls for their fifth regular studio album Welcome to the Dance...
," was one of the first songs ever all band members jointly contributed lyrics to. Conceived during a writing session in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in September 2009, the track was penned over a backing track by New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
producers Hakim Bell and Akene Dunkley and created as an anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
ic, self-manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
song about the celebration of life. Greatly influenced by dance pop and electropop, the track features effects of auto-tuning
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
and sprechgesang
Sprechgesang
Sprechgesang and Sprechstimme are musical terms used to refer to an expressionist vocal technique between singing and speaking. Though sometimes used interchangeably, sprechgesang is a term directly related to the operatic recitative manner of singing , whereas sprechstimme is...
during its bridge. The song garnered generally positive reviews by music critics, who noted it the album's standout track, and was released as the album's first and only single from Welcome to the Dance. The album's second track was written by Arnthor Birgisson 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...
and deals with the circumstances of a love-hate relationship
Love-hate relationship
A love–hate relationship is an interpersonal relationship involving simultaneous or alternating emotions of love and hate. This relationship does not have to be of a romantic nature, and may be instead of a sibling one...
that the song's protagonist compares to a thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
she feels stuck in. A vocoded, humming male voice provides the bassline of the song, while Jessica Wahls
Jessica Wahls
Jessica Martina Wahls , also known under her nickname Jess, is a German pop singer, songwriter and television host, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date," according to the German media.-Early...
is featured with background vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
only. Third and fourth track "Rebel" and "Welcome to the Dance" are two out of three tracks that were contributed by Bill Blast and Alisha "M'Jestie" Brooks. Brooks wrote "Rebel" over a synthesized instrumental track
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
by Blast, willed to create something "hard" for the band. Lyrically, the up-tempo composition deals with the refusal to fall in love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
.
The album's title song was written as a decidation to "everybody in the club, or to anybody in life that start off in the club," according to Brooks, and was lyrically inspired by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's 1980 record "Off the Wall
Off the Wall (song)
"Off the Wall" is the third single released from singer Michael Jackson's album Off the Wall.Released on February 2, 1980, the Rod Temperton-composed number became Jackson's third top 10 single from Off the Wall, which eventually spawned four top 10 singles; Jackson was the first person to...
." "Derailed," the album's fifth track, was written by Aaron Pearce, Nasri Atweh
Nasri
Nasri meaning support or victory is an Arabic male given name, which also appears as a surname.-Given name:* Nasri Tony Atweh, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer* Nasri Maalouf , Lebanese politician...
, and Nick "RAS" Furlong, and garnered mixed reviews by critics who summed it as "strained" but also highlighted it one of the better songs on the album. A beat-driven piano ballad
Piano ballad
Piano ballad is a term often used to refer to a piece for solo piano in the 19th century, during the romantic era. It was a term used to refer to a piece written in a "narrative" style, and was often lyrical in nature. This type of work made its premiere with Chopin's first romantic ballad, the...
about a broken relationship, it features leading vocals by Sandy Mölling
Sandy Mölling
Sandy Mölling , known professionally as Sandy, is a German singer-songwriter, dancer, television presenter and occasional actress, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date," according to the German...
while Lucy Diakovska appears as a backing vocalist only. Initially scheduled for a November 27, 2009 release, it was eventually scrapped as the album's second single. "Dance-Aholic," an up-tempo anthem about the joy of nightclub dance
Nightclub dance
In a wider sense, the term nightclub dance, or club dance, is used in the meaning of disco dance .In a narrower sense, especially in the context of dance competitions, the term nightclub dance is used to denote a group of social partner dances less formalized than ballroom dance, but more...
, was created the day after the aftershow party of the 2009 ECHO Awards where band members Benaissa
Nadja Benaissa
Nadja Benaissa is a German singer, songwriter and occasional actress, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date", according to the German media.After a series of commercially successful releases...
and Wahls had impressed producers Atweh and Pearce with their dance-craziness. Seventh track "Shut Your Mouth" was one of the first songs the band wrote with Evan "Kidd" Bogart and his The Writing Camp
The Writing Camp
The Writing Camp is an American songwriter collective, founded by Evan "Kidd" Bogart and David "DQ" Quiñones. Since its formation in 2007, the team has been responsible for a series of successful released in pop, R&B and dance music, including 2008's "Right Here " by Brandy and Beyoncé Knowles's...
collective during the album's first creative session in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in August 2008. A musical reckoning with those people who want to ruin someone's reputation, it has been noted as one of the most autobiographical tracks on Welcome to the Dance as every member had the chance "to write things off her chest" with it. Built around a cheerleading motif
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
, it shares similarities with fellow Aaron Pearce production Kreesha Turner
Kreesha Turner
Kreesha Turner , is a Canadian R&B/pPop recording artist. She cites as her inspirations R&B acts such as Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and D'Angelo, hip-hop acts including A Tribe Called Quest, Andre 3000 and Common and rock acts like the Foo Fighters and Our Lady Peace.-Early life:The oldest of three...
's "Passion" (2008).
The ninth track on the album, entitled "Young Love," was the first song contributed to the project. The result of a guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
jam session
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
with Adam Messinger
Adam Messinger
Adam "Messy" Messinger is a Canadian songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist currently based in Los Angeles, California. Besides his solo work, he is part of the writing and production duo "The Messengers" along with Nasri Atweh.-Career:...
and Nasri, it revolves around the facets of a new-found affection, and has been noted as a musical contrast to the highly synthesized and electronic sound of the album due to its acoustic flair
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
and singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
style. The group noted it the most stereotypical song on Welcome to the Dance. On "Too Old," the album's tenth track, the protagonist requests her lover to get his priorities in order and finally make a decision for or against a relationship with her. It was generally well-received by music critics who noted it the "single-worthiest hit" off the album alongside "One Life." "Down Boy" is the only song on Welcome to the Dance not specifically created for or together with the No Angels. Written by Tiyon Mack, Chad Roper, Le'che Martin, a demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
of the composition, initially produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, was to be recorded by some unknown artist before it was eventually handed over to Aaron Pearce. His re-worked version for the band features similar structures however. Twelfth track "Stop," another Blast/Brooks production, chronicles a woman's feelings on her decision to give her failed relationship a second try. Thirteenth track "Minute by Minute" features guest vocals by Nasri Atweh
Nasri
Nasri meaning support or victory is an Arabic male given name, which also appears as a surname.-Given name:* Nasri Tony Atweh, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer* Nasri Maalouf , Lebanese politician...
while Benaissa provides the female leading voice. Lyrically, the ballad deals with true love.
Release and promotion
The band expected the production of Welcome to the Dance to last longer than any work on previous records, and thus, a scheduled release date was not set prior to spring or summer 2009, respectively. On June 8, 2009, producer Aaron Pearce announced on his official MySpaceMySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
account, that he had put the final touches on the album and it "should be out by the end of the summer." Two weeks later, the band's official webpage went under construction
Under Construction
Under Construction is the fourth studio album by American rapper Missy Elliott, released by The Goldmind Inc. and Elektra Records on November 12, 2002 in the United States...
and a countdown, dated at July 25, was started. On July 3, 2009, the No Angels made their first appearance in four months at the Sankt Pölten Stadtfest in Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
, where they held their first official press conference after Benaissa's April 2009 arrest and performed both old tracks and five news songs from the upcoming album, including "Derailed", "Shut Your Mouth", "Tool Old", "Young Love" and "One Life." In the same night, latter song was confirmed as the album's first single during the concert. On July 15, 2010, the album was previewed to about 200 journalists and other media representatives at the Astor Film Lounge theatre at the Berlin Kurfürstendamm
Kurfürstendamm
The Kurfürstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former Kurfürsten of Brandenburg. This very broad, long boulevard can be considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin — full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants...
, where the band revealed the album title as Welcome to the Dance.
Chart performance
Released on September 11, 2009 in German-speaking Europe, Welcome to the Dance debuted at number twenty-six on the German Albums Chart, making it the band's lowest-selling week ever. Since the album failed to reach either the top ten or the top twenty of the national albums chart and eventually fell out of the top 100 in its third week, it also became the No Angels' lowest-charting regular studio album yet, resulting into lackluster sales in general and the release of just one single.In Austria, the album debuted at number sixty-five in its only week on the Austrian Albums Chart
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. As in Germany, Welcome to the Dance became the group's lowest-charting album here yet, making it their first longplayer not to debut within the top twenty. In Switzerland, the album barely managed to reach the top 100 on the Swiss Albums Chart, debuting and peaking at number ninety-five only. It became the band's first album not to reach the top thirty at least.
Critical response
Upon its release, Welcome to the Dance received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. Astrid Weist from MusicHeadQuarter.de praised the band for their decision to revamp their sound and gave the album eight stars out of ten, indicating it "a surprising album in several aspects." Generally satisfied with the input of contemporary dancefloor tracks and familiar sounding ballads, she summed the album a "rather convincing musical mixture." CDStarts.de writer Tanja Kraus gave the album five out of ten stars and complimented its international niveau and self-penned, well-produced pop character. Otherwise, she criticised the album for its "missing individuality and corresponding soul," and the "predominant amount of fillers as against the number of possible chart hits."Pooltrax felt that the album was only partially answering expectations, and although they were persuaded that the band had not made the most out of it, they complimented the No Angels for their songwriting and the corresponding results which they compared to a "whiff of 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...
." Critic Eberhard Dobler, reviewer for laut.de, was disappointed with the album and declared it out-dated, writing: "Suchlike sound may be new to the No Angels. But indeed, it's an old hat - why didn't they come around with this at [previous album] Destiny
Destiny (No Angels album)
Destiny is the fourth studio album by German pop group No Angels, released by Polydor Records and Universal Music Domestic on April 13, 2007...
(2007) times?" He gave the album one out of five stars. In his consumer guide for LetMeEntertainYou.de, Michael Bauer also rated the album one star out of five, summing it "a dance in towards career ending." He felt that Welcome to the Dance was "nothing but monotonous club stamping," and dismissed the heavy usage of effects on the voices and beats.
Track listing
Credits and personnel
- Nasri – production, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
- Adil Bayyan – executive productionExecutive producerAn executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
- Hakim Bell – production, instrumentationInstrumentationInstrumentation is defined as the art and science of measurement and control of process variables within a production, or manufacturing area....
, programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock... - Arnthor Birgisson – production
- Bill Blast – production, vocal production, instrumentation, engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Alisha Brooks – vocal production, arrangerArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
- Akene Dunkley – production, instrumentation, programming
- Nick Furlong – engineering
- Alex Greggs – protools editing, special FX
- Tiyon "TC" Mack – arranger
- Adam Messinger – production, instrumentation, mixing
- Rashad Muhammad – engineering
- Carlos Oyanedel – mixing assistance
- Peter Patzer – instrumentation, vocal production, engineering, mixing
- Aaron Pearce – production, vocal production, instrumentation, programming, engineering
- Herb Powers – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- David "DQ" Quinones – arranger
- Khalid Schröder – executive production
- Phil Tan – mixing
- Ben Wolf – photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums Chart | 65 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
26 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
95 |