Wide Awake (Joe McElderry album)
Encyclopedia
Wide Awake is the debut album of English
pop
singer Joe McElderry
, winner of the sixth series
of British talent competition The X Factor
. The album was released digitally on 22 October 2010, with a physical release following on 25 October 2010.
Two retailer exclusive versions of the album were available, with Asda
offering four bonus cards and play.com
offering signed copies of the album.
. The singer received 61.3% of the final public vote. Joe's prize was a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music, a subsidiary of Sony BMG including a £150,000 advance payment. After completing X Factor Live tour, various meetings of the album took place and recording on the album began in July, before being completed in early September. Joe worked with producers Ray Hedges, Dallas Austin and John Shanks on the album.
Simon Cowell
contacted Journey
for permission to release a cover of "Don't Stop Believin'
", which McElderry had covered on the show before, as a single, but was declined. The album was originally planned to include a selection pop-rock, ballad and slow songs, however, the album's direction was changed upon completion of the single "Ambitions".
Ahead of the album's release Digital Spy
reported that it would outsell previous male winners of the X-Factor based on pre-order charts where Wide Awake was 49% higher sales than 2006's winner Shayne Ward
's debut album
, 23.2% higher than 2008's winner Leon Jackson
's Right Now
and 40.7% higher than Steve Brookstein
's Heart and Soul
. McElderry had said before its release that the album had "some different elements" and is "definitely going to be a bit of a shocker", while Simon Cowell said that McElderry "has moved on to new musical territory" and that fans would be "pleasantly surprised". McElderry launched the album at G-A-Y
. "Until the Stars Run Out" contains elements of "Faith
" by George Michael
.
' single, was released on 14 December 2009, as the X Factor winner's single. It reached number-one on the UK Singles Chart
, Scottish Singles Chart
and Irish Singles Chart
. It also peaked at number four on the European Hot 100 Singles chart, and appears as a bonus track on the album, for the UK and Ireland editions only.
"Ambitions", a cover of Donkeyboy
's single, was released as the lead single from Wide Awake, and second overall single. The track made its debut on The 5:19 Show on 19 September 2010. McElderry performed the single on the seventh series of the The X Factor on 10 October 2010, the same day that the single was released by digital download, causing the iTunes
store to crash for two minutes as fans tried to download the track. The physical CD single was released following day, reaching number 4 on the Irish Singles Chart and number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. "If You Love Me" is the B-Side.
"Someone Wake Me Up
" is the third single from the album. It was released on 5 December 2010. The video contains clips from the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
but the song will not appear in the film, however, the B-Side "There’s A Place For Us" is played during the credits of the film. The single peaked at number 68 in the UK and number 69 in Ireland.
in its first week of release, with retail sales of 39,405 copies in the country during that week. The album fell to number 20 on the chart the following week, and to number 40 the week after that.
As of 24 October 2011, 100,040 copies of the album had been sold at retail in the United Kingdom.
The album received a Gold certification in the United Kingdom, for sales by the label of at least 100,000 copies to British retailers.
awarded the album 2 out of 5 stars, calling McElderry's vocals "perfectly characterless", an album which "sounds like everyone else who's made a pop record in 2010." Virgin Media
also gave the album 2 out of 5 stars, calling the album "mediocre" and the tracks "anodyne, written-by-committee post-X Factor fodder." The Daily Mirror
was the third review to also give 2 out of 5 stars, reviewing that Wide Awake had "oddly chosen, largely hollow songs." The Observer
s review describes the album as "a tidal wave of production, atop which [McElderry's] voice rides rather meekly." The Daily Express gave a negative review, calling the album "a collection of limp pop sweepings-up, albeit backed by the best producers hard money can buy", referring to McElderry as having "as much personality as a Spam sandwich. With no pickle."
Critical acclaim came from, Heat
which called Wide Awake "The best album ever released by a winner of The X Factor" and gave it 5 stars. Unreality Shout praised the album and said it is "the best X Factor winner's album to date, despite it being nearly schizophrenic of nature: one minute you're flouncing you're way through some of the campest songs of the year ('Real Late Starter', 'Fahrenheit'), throwing some suggestive moves and jazz hands while you do so, and the next you're relaxing in the shade of a veranda in the back garden of a country farm house, looking out on fields upon fields of lush greenery ('Smile', 'Wide Awake')." Gay Times
gave the songs on the album a positive review. BBC Music
said the album is a "a disco-dusted debut of giddy pop pleasures." Yahoo! Music
gave the album 7/10. 4music
gave the album 4 stars, saying "rather than making the ballad-heavy collection that everyone was expecting, Joe has produced a fun, upbeat pop album which takes its inspiration from acts such as Alphabeat
('Feel the Fire') and Scissor Sisters
('Fahrenheit')" OK!
also gave the album 4 stars, saying "recent single 'Ambitions' sets the tone, with its chugging guitars, while 'Someone Wake Me Up' is an epic lighters-aloft stunner and 'Real Late Starter' has a definite Take That vibe."
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer Joe McElderry
Joe McElderry
Joseph "Joe" McElderry is an English singer and model. He won the sixth series of the ITV show The X Factor in 2009. His first single "The Climb" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Charts. He was also crowned the winner of the second series of Popstar to Operastar, two...
, winner of the sixth series
The X Factor (UK series 6)
The sixth series of British television music competition The X Factor started on ITV on 22 August 2009 and was won by Joe McElderry on 13 December 2009. Cheryl Cole emerged as the winning mentor for the second consecutive year, the first time in the show's history that a mentor has won back-to-back...
of British talent competition 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...
. The album was released digitally on 22 October 2010, with a physical release following on 25 October 2010.
Two retailer exclusive versions of the album were available, with Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
offering four bonus cards and play.com
Play.com
Play Ltd., trading as Play.com, is a Jersey-based online retailer of DVDs, CDs, books, gadgets, video games, DRM-free MP3 downloads, and other electronic products, as well as clothes and accessories. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rakuten Group....
offering signed copies of the album.
Background
McElderry recorded his first single "The Climb" in December 2009, releasing it on 14 December, shortly after he won the sixth series of the British television talent contest The X FactorThe X Factor (UK series 6)
The sixth series of British television music competition The X Factor started on ITV on 22 August 2009 and was won by Joe McElderry on 13 December 2009. Cheryl Cole emerged as the winning mentor for the second consecutive year, the first time in the show's history that a mentor has won back-to-back...
. The singer received 61.3% of the final public vote. Joe's prize was a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music, a subsidiary of Sony BMG including a £150,000 advance payment. After completing X Factor Live tour, various meetings of the album took place and recording on the album began in July, before being completed in early September. Joe worked with producers Ray Hedges, Dallas Austin and John Shanks on the album.
Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
contacted Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
for permission to release a cover of "Don't Stop Believin'
Don't Stop Believin'
"Don't Stop Believin is a popular song by the American rock band Journey, originally released as a single from their 1981 album Escape, which became a #9 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 on its original release. It re-entered the UK Singles Chart in 2009 as a result of increased prominence of digital...
", which McElderry had covered on the show before, as a single, but was declined. The album was originally planned to include a selection pop-rock, ballad and slow songs, however, the album's direction was changed upon completion of the single "Ambitions".
Ahead of the album's release Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
reported that it would outsell previous male winners of the X-Factor based on pre-order charts where Wide Awake was 49% higher sales than 2006's winner 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...
's debut 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...
, 23.2% higher than 2008's winner Leon Jackson
Leon Jackson
Leon Jackson is a Scottish singer-songwriter. He won the fourth series of British talent show The X Factor in 2007. Following his win, Jackson was the main star of his on-web series entitled Leon's Life, which ran from 2007 until 2008...
's Right Now
Right Now (Leon Jackson album)
Right Now is the debut album by Scottish Jazz singer Leon Jackson, released on October 20, 2008 on Syco Music. Jackson described the album as "a mixture in styles of modern jazz with singer-songwriter elements, and a lot of it is really soulful." The album was released via Syco Music and Sony BMG,...
and 40.7% higher than Steve Brookstein
Steve Brookstein
Steve Brookstein is an English jazz and soul singer, who rose to fame in the UK in 2004 after winning the first series of The X Factor...
's Heart and Soul
Heart and Soul (Steve Brookstein album)
Heart and Soul is the debut album from X Factor winner Steve Brookstein, released in May 2005. It was released only several months after his X Factor win and therefore he opted to produce a record of cover songs of classic soul and jazz songs, including "If You Don't Know Me By Now" and his debut...
. McElderry had said before its release that the album had "some different elements" and is "definitely going to be a bit of a shocker", while Simon Cowell said that McElderry "has moved on to new musical territory" and that fans would be "pleasantly surprised". McElderry launched the album at G-A-Y
G-A-Y
G-A-Y is a gay nightclub in London. It operated from the London Astoria music venue for 15 years until July 2008. The Boston Globe described it as "London's largest gay-themed club night", NME reported that it "attracts 6,000 clubbers each week", and The Independent described it as "the one London...
. "Until the Stars Run Out" contains elements of "Faith
Faith (George Michael song)
"Faith" is a #1 song, written and performed by George Michael, released as a single on Columbia Records, from his 1987 Faith album. According to Billboard magazine, it was the top-selling single of the year in the United States in 1988....
" by 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...
.
Singles
"The Climb", a cover of Miley CyrusMiley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
' single, was released on 14 December 2009, as the X Factor winner's single. It reached number-one on 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 ...
, Scottish Singles Chart
Scottish Singles and Albums Chart
The Scottish Singles Chart and Scottish Albums Chart are charts compiled by The Official Charts Company, based on physical and digital sales in the STV North, STV Central and ITV Border regions....
and Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
. It also peaked at number four on the European Hot 100 Singles chart, and appears as a bonus track on the album, for the UK and Ireland editions only.
"Ambitions", a cover of Donkeyboy
Donkeyboy
Donkeyboy are a pop band from Drammen, Norway, formed in 2005. The band consists of Cato Sundberg , Kent Sundberg , Peter Michelsen , Thomas Drabløs , and Alexander Garborg Ågedal .-Biography:Donkeyboy were signed to Warner Music after an employee came across their music on MySpace...
's single, was released as the lead single from Wide Awake, and second overall single. The track made its debut on The 5:19 Show on 19 September 2010. McElderry performed the single on the seventh series of the The X Factor on 10 October 2010, the same day that the single was released by digital download, causing the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
store to crash for two minutes as fans tried to download the track. The physical CD single was released following day, reaching number 4 on the Irish Singles Chart and number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. "If You Love Me" is the B-Side.
"Someone Wake Me Up
Someone Wake Me Up
"Someone Wake Me Up" is a 2010 pop song by singer Joe McElderry. The single was released on 5 December 2010 as the third and final single from his debut album, Wide Awake. The single's B-side, "There's a Place for Us", was recorded for the soundtrack of the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage...
" is the third single from the album. It was released on 5 December 2010. The video contains clips from the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a 2010 3D fantasy-adventure film based on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia . It is the third installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media...
but the song will not appear in the film, however, the B-Side "There’s A Place For Us" is played during the credits of the film. The single peaked at number 68 in the UK and number 69 in Ireland.
Sales
Wide Awake debuted at number 3 on the UK Albums ChartUK 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...
in its first week of release, with retail sales of 39,405 copies in the country during that week. The album fell to number 20 on the chart the following week, and to number 40 the week after that.
As of 24 October 2011, 100,040 copies of the album had been sold at retail in the United Kingdom.
The album received a Gold certification in the United Kingdom, for sales by the label of at least 100,000 copies to British retailers.
Critical reception
Wide Awake received mixed reviews from critics. British newspaper, The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
awarded the album 2 out of 5 stars, calling McElderry's vocals "perfectly characterless", an album which "sounds like everyone else who's made a pop record in 2010." Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
also gave the album 2 out of 5 stars, calling the album "mediocre" and the tracks "anodyne, written-by-committee post-X Factor fodder." The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
was the third review to also give 2 out of 5 stars, reviewing that Wide Awake had "oddly chosen, largely hollow songs." The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
s review describes the album as "a tidal wave of production, atop which [McElderry's] voice rides rather meekly." The Daily Express gave a negative review, calling the album "a collection of limp pop sweepings-up, albeit backed by the best producers hard money can buy", referring to McElderry as having "as much personality as a Spam sandwich. With no pickle."
Critical acclaim came from, Heat
Heat (magazine)
Heat is a British entertainment magazine published by German company Bauer Media Group. it is one of the biggest selling magazines in the UK, with a regular circulation over half a million. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in...
which called Wide Awake "The best album ever released by a winner of The X Factor" and gave it 5 stars. Unreality Shout praised the album and said it is "the best X Factor winner's album to date, despite it being nearly schizophrenic of nature: one minute you're flouncing you're way through some of the campest songs of the year ('Real Late Starter', 'Fahrenheit'), throwing some suggestive moves and jazz hands while you do so, and the next you're relaxing in the shade of a veranda in the back garden of a country farm house, looking out on fields upon fields of lush greenery ('Smile', 'Wide Awake')." Gay Times
Gay Times
Gay Times is one of the United Kingdom's leading gay magazine for gay and bisexual men.-Publication and content:...
gave the songs on the album a positive review. BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
said the album is a "a disco-dusted debut of giddy pop pleasures." Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
gave the album 7/10. 4music
4Music
4Music is a music and entertainment channel in the United Kingdom and available on some digital television providers in the Republic of Ireland - its web component can be found at with its own and pages. It is the only channel within the Box Television Network to be branded under Channel 4 and...
gave the album 4 stars, saying "rather than making the ballad-heavy collection that everyone was expecting, Joe has produced a fun, upbeat pop album which takes its inspiration from acts such as Alphabeat
Alphabeat
Alphabeat are a Danish pop band from Silkeborg, fronted by singers Stine Bramsen and Anders SG and signed to Polydor Records. Their single "Fascination" was a major hit in Denmark during the summer of 2007 and a significant hit in the United Kingdom in 2008...
('Feel the Fire') and Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters are an American band "spawned by the scuzzy, gay nightlife scene of New York" who took their name from a sexual position between two women also known as tribadism...
('Fahrenheit')" OK!
OK!
OK! is a British weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, OK! publishers Northern and Shell launched in Australia as a monthly title – the magazine went weekly in October 2006...
also gave the album 4 stars, saying "recent single 'Ambitions' sets the tone, with its chugging guitars, while 'Someone Wake Me Up' is an epic lighters-aloft stunner and 'Real Late Starter' has a definite Take That vibe."
Track listing
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| 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... |
5 |
| Scottish Albums Chart Scottish Singles and Albums Chart The Scottish Singles Chart and Scottish Albums Chart are charts compiled by The Official Charts Company, based on physical and digital sales in the STV North, STV Central and ITV Border regions.... |
2 |
| 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... |
3 |
| European Albums Chart | 10 |