This Is Who I Am (Lena Katina album)

This Is Who I Am

Standard edition release cover
Studio album by Lena Katina
Released 18 November 2014
01 July 2016 (Spanish Album)
Recorded 2009-2014
Los Angeles, California, United States and Moscow, Russia
Genre Pop, rock, soft rock
Length 48:56
Language English
Spanish (re-release)
Label Katina Music Inc.
Producer Katina and Sven Martin (exec.)
Alternative covers
Spanish edition release cover
Singles from This Is Who I Am
  1. "Never Forget"
    Released: 04 August 2011
  2. "Lift Me Up"
    Released: 24 September 2013
  3. "Who I Am"
    Released: 07 October 2014
  4. "An Invitation"
    Released: 18 November 2014

This Is Who I Am is the debut studio album of the Russian singer-songwriter, Lena Katina, released on 18 November 2014. The album marks the beginning of Katina's solo career as she and her former band-mate, Julia Volkova announced the separation of their music group, t.A.T.u. on 2011.[1] Katina has writing credits on all of the album's songs including those co-written with her husband, Sash Kuzma. Musically, the album is a pop genre and lyrically it mostly speaks about herself.[2]

Four singles were released from the album, and her first and main single of the album "Never Forget" reached No. 1 on the MTV Russia Top 10 and also won the said station - 2011 Video of The Year. The remix track of "Never Forget" by Dave Audé also reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and reached No. 1 in Greece.[3][4] "Lift Me Up" released as the second single and the track has a positive feedback from Spanish audiences.[5] The third and fourth single, "Who I Am" and "An Invitation" has been successful in several Europe countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain and her homeland, Russia.[6][7]

This Is Who I Am received both positive and negative reviews from critics. The album was released worldwide as a digital download and the physical copy of the CD was released on Katina's official website.

Background and development

When Katina announced the separation of t.A.T.u., she immediately left Russia and went to USA to find a label and start her solo career. However, several label groups rejected her and Katina said in an interview, "I am trying to find a label, but they don't want me, for some reason..."[8] Despite this, the singer still pursued her own career through funding it with her own money and was supported by former t.A.T.u.'s executive producer, Boris Renski.

Katina spent a few years in Los Angeles, California recording and writing her first solo album with her band members, Sven Martin, Domen Vajevec, Steve Wilson and Jörg Kohring.[9] It took almost five years to finish the entire album and Katina said in an interview, "It is a good result of a hard work and a long path of becoming a solo singer and a songwriter, of finding myself... I am so happy that my fans are still waiting and I finally have a chance to share my emotions with them through my songs"[10]

This Is Who I Am was released with 13 tracks. Katina was highly involved with the packaging, designing the album with several photos of her with friends, parents and Julia Volkova with her personal handwriting as the caption.

On 15 December 2014, the album was released in Italy with 14 tracks. The Italian edition of the album featured the song "Golden Leaves" with the collaboration of Italian singer, Noemi Smorra.[11]

On 01 July 2016, the album was re-release under the Spanish title, "Esta Soy Yo". The reissued album contains the Spanish translated tracks with three remixes such as "Levántame (Dave Audé Radio Remix)", "No Voy A Olvidarte (Maragakis Remix)" and "Perdida En El Baile (Fly_Dream Remix)"[12] Spanish translated lyrics were done by her friend, Karina Nuvo. On the same date of re-release, Katina announced that she and her team are working for the Russian version of the album.

Critical reception

This Is Who I Am received both positive and negative reviews from critics and fans. A fan from ITunes commented, "It's great Lena finally released this album, but with 99% of songs that we've already heard in the last 5 years and album artwork that has silly messages and 99% of photos we've already seen this is nothing exciting."[13] In addition, "For it’s highs, the album does have a few lows...", the Pop Sun said. "With it’s bad, I would still rate this album pretty favorably because of the highs. It’s definitely an album people should listen to, even if you’re not familiar with Lena Katina." he added.[14]

Track listing

Official track listing[15]

This Is Who I Am – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."All Around The World"  
Gray3:29
2."Who I Am"  
  • Lewander
  • Sven Martin
3:18
3."Walking In The Sun"  
  • Katina
  • Maria Abraham
  • Jorg Kohring
  • Martin
Mike Boden4:11
4."The Beast (Inside of You)"  
  • Katina
  • Martin
  • Boris Renski
  • Domen Vajevec
  • Steve Wilson
  • Martin
  • Renski
  • Vajevec
4:05
5."Something I Said"  
  • Katina
  • Steven Lee
  • Martin
  • Sammy Naja
  • Drew Ryan Scott
  • Lee
  • Martin
  • Naja
  • Scott
3:45
6."Lift Me Up"  
Brautbar3:22
7."Fed Up"  
  • Katina
  • Troy MacCubbin
  • Martin
  • Renski
  • Vajevec
  • Wilson
  • Martin
  • Vajevec
  • Renski
3:16
8."An Invitation"  
  • Katina
  • Abraham
  • Kohring
  • Martin
Martin3:53
9."Just A Day"  
  • Katina
  • Lene Dissing
  • MacCubbin
  • Martin
  • Renski
  • Wilson
  • Martin
  • Renski
  • Vajevec
4:41
10."Wish On A Star"  
Martin4:16
11."Waiting"  
  • Katina
  • Sash Kuzma
  • Martin
  • Vajevec
  • Katina
  • Kuzma
  • Martin
  • Vajevec
3:32
12."Never Forget"  
  • Lidbom
  • Martin
3:34
13."Lost In This Dance"  
  • Katina
  • Martin
  • Renski
  • Vajevec
  • Wilson
  • Martin
  • Vajevec
  • Renski
5:34
Total length:48:56

Personnel

Release history

Country Date Version Format Label
Worldwide 18 November 2014 Standard
Katina Music Inc.
Italy 15 December 2014 Standard CD Maqueta Records
Worldwide 01 July 2016 Standard Spanish edition
  • CD
  • digital download
 Katina Music Inc.

References

  1. ↑ "t.A.T.u. Main". www.tatu.ru. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  2. ↑ "t.A.T.u. Media". t.A.T.u. Media. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  3. ↑ "Lena-Katina.com". lena-katina.com. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  4. ↑ "Lena Katina : Never Forget is #1 in... - Lena Katina - Iran | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  5. ↑ "t.A.T.u's Lena Katina "Lift Me Up" Video: Idolator Premiere | Idolator". 2013-10-01. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  6. ↑ "Former t.A.T.u. Member Lena Katina Returns with 'Who I Am': Single Premiere". Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  7. ↑ "Lena Katina Seduces In "An Invitation" Video: Idolator Premiere | Idolator". 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  8. ↑ "VampireFreaks.com - tATu Cult Entry - Lena Katina". legacy.vampirefreaks.com. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  9. ↑ josepvinaixa (2014-11-18). "Lena Katina "This Is Who I Am" | Available on iTunes!". Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  10. ↑ Roth, Kaj (2014-11-08). "Palace of Rock: Interview with Lena Katina". Palace of Rock. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  11. ↑ Records, Maqueta. "LENA KATINA "THIS IS WHO I AM" 2014 ALBUM ITALIAN EDITION". Maqueta Records. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  12. ↑ "Lena Katina* - Esta Soy Yo". Discogs. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  13. ↑ "This Is Who I Am by Lena Katina on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  14. ↑ thepopsun (2014-11-19). "Review: Lena Katina, "This Is Who I Am"". The POPSUN. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  15. ↑ "Lena Katina Official Website | This Is Who I Am Album Pre-order [Physical CD]". www.lenakatina.com. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
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