A Girl Like Me (Emma Bunton album)
A Girl Like Me is the debut solo album by English recording artist Emma Bunton It was released by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2001. Following the release of the Spice Girls' third studio album, Forever (2000), the group announced that they were beginning an indefinite hiatus and would be concentrating on their solo careers in regards to their foreseeable future.[1] Recording sessions for Bunton's first solo album took place from July 1999 to October 2000 at several recording studios.
The album debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, with 21,500 copies sold in its first week. Although initial success was promising, A Girl Like Me fell down the chart quickly. However, singles "What I Am", "What Took You So Long?", "Take My Breath Away" and "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" helped the album stay on the UK Albums Chart for several weeks. On 7 September 2001, A Girl Like Me was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies.[2]
Critical reception
A Girl Like Me received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Stewart Mason of AllMusic felt that Emma's singing voice lacked depth but that it worked well with the well-crafted and addicting pop songs, concluding that "A Girl Like Me isn't an album for the ages, but it's better than 'not bad.'"[3] Timothy Park of NME said that there were great tracks and Emma performs them adequately but felt the album lacked ambition or honesty, concluding that "'A Girl Like Me', like Emma, is very sweet but, like Emma also, it has no balls."[6] Erik Missio of CHARTattack said he saw promise in the album but felt disappointed by its attempts to resemble the Spice Girls' sound.[4] Stephen Robinson of Hot Press criticized the tracks for being overly sweet and borrowing from other genres but being unoriginal with them, calling it "another album to chuck aboard the pop blandwagon."[5]
Track listing
Credits adapted from the liner notes of A Girl Like Me.[7]
B-sides
| Title |
Single B-side |
Producer(s) |
Length |
|---|
| "(Hey You) Free Up Your Mind" |
"What Took You So Long?" CD single |
Rhett Lawrence |
3:21 |
| "Merry-Go Round" |
Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers |
3:54 |
| "Close Encounter" |
"Take My Breath Away" CD single |
Andrew Frampton |
3:32 |
| "Invincible" |
"Take My Breath Away" DVD single |
Bryan Adams, Phil Thornalley |
3:01 |
| "Let Your Baby Show You How to Move" |
"We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" CD single |
Rhett Lawrence |
3:07 |
Known Outtakes
- "To Have to Let Go" – 4:18
- "That's Why It Hurts" – 3:35
- Leaked online on 22 May 2016.
Personnel
- Emma Bunton – vocals
- Tom Bender – mixing assistant (track 3)
- Stefan Boman – string engineer (track 3)
- Jason Bonilla – engineer (track 10)
- Chris Braide – arranger (tracks 6, 8)
- Will Catterson – engineer (track 10)
- Dylan "3D" Dresdow – mixing (track 10)
- Matt Fields – mixing assistant (track 1)
- Andrew Frampton – producer, arranger (tracks 6, 8); string arrangements (track 6)
- Daniel Frampton – engineer (tracks 6, 8)
- Ulf Forsberg – string concertmaster (track 3)
- Julian Gallagher – producer (tracks 1, 4, 9)
- Brad Gilderman – mixing (tracks 6, 8, 11)
- Mick Guzauski – mixing (track 3)
- Simon Hale – string arrangements (track 4, 9); brass arrangements (track 9)
- Al Hemberger – engineer (tracks 3, 5, 11)
- Ash Howes – engineer (tracks 1, 4, 9); programming (tracks 1, 4); mixing (track 4)
- Nick Ingman – string arrangements (track 6)
- Henrik Janson – string arrangements, string conductor (track 3)
- Ulf Janson – string arrangements, string conductor (track 3)
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- Lawrence Johnson – additional vocal arrangement (track 7)
- Jan "Stan" Kybert – mix engineer, Pro Tools (track 1)
- Rhett Lawrence – producer, arranger, programming, engineer, mixing, guitar (track 10)
- Chris Laws – engineer (track 2)
- Evan Lloyd – assistant engineer (track 10)
- Steve Mac – producer, arranger, mixing (track 2)
- Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado – mixing (track 10)
- Steve Price – string engineer (track 6)
- Terry Richardson – photography
- Evan Rogers – producer (tracks 3, 5, 11)
- Ian Ross – design
- Ruth Rowland – lettering
- Ramon Stagnaro – guitar (track 10)
- Richard "Biff" Stannard – producer (tracks 1, 4, 9)
- Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (track 1)
- StoneBridge – additional producer, mixing, keyboards (track 5)
- Carl Sturken – producer (tracks 3, 5, 11)
- Alvin Sweeney – additional engineer (track 1, 4, 9); Pro Tools (track 1)
- Tin Tin Out – producer, mixing (tracks 7, 12)
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Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications and sales
Release history
| Country |
Date |
Label |
| United Kingdom |
16 April 2001 |
Virgin Records |
| Australia |
14 May 2001 |
EMI |
References
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| Singles | |
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