Unbreakable (Backstreet Boys album)
| Unbreakable | ||||
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| Studio album by Backstreet Boys | ||||
| Released | October 24, 2007 (See release history) |
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| Recorded | June 25, 2006 - July 2007; The Sound Kitchen, Nashville, TN Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, CA Chalice Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, CA Turtle Sound Studios, New York City |
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| Genre | Pop, R&B, pop rock | |||
| Length | 48:50 | |||
| Label | Jive | |||
| Producer | Dan Muckala, Rob Wells, Emanuel Kiriakou, Adam Anders, John Shanks, Billy Mann, JC Chasez, Neff-U, Kara Dioguardi, Mitch Allan, David Hodges | |||
| Backstreet Boys chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Unbreakable | ||||
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Unbreakable is the Backstreet Boys' sixth studio album, fifth in the United States. It was released on October 24, 2007 in Japan[1] and October 30 in the United States by Jive Records. This is the first Backstreet Boys album that Kevin Richardson has had no involvement in, who made the decision to pursue other interests.
Unlike previous Backstreet Boys albums, this album features no collaborations with longtime producers and friends Max Martin and Kristian Lundin who works from the group's previous albums.
Contents |
[edit] Background
In July 2007, it was announced that the Backstreet Boys would release a new album on October 30, 2007,[2] their first album of new material in two years. Rumoured titles of the album included End to Beginning[3] and Motivation before Brian Littrell and A.J. McLean confirmed on August 13, 2007 that the title of the album would be Unbreakable. Producers include Dan Muckala, who produced the band's 2005 hit single "Incomplete", and Rob Wells.[2] It is the first Backstreet Boys album that former member Kevin Richardson is not involved in, as he had left the group in June the previous year.[4]
In an interview with INROCK magazine, Brian Littrell said the album would include various music styles, combining their earlier late-1990s sound with their more recent guitar-driven pop rock sound. The Boys themselves co-wrote five tracks on this album along with longtime song writer Jeremy Carpenter from Kentucky. (including "Intro").
On October 2, 2007, the tracks, "Unmistakable" and "Something That I Already Know" were released on Promosquad and RateTheMusic. The next day, a Japanese radio station leaked the intro of the album, along with the track, "Everything But Mine".
The closing track of the album, "Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon", is broken into two different parts. The first part leads off the album, and is a one minute a cappella version of the chorus, listed as "Intro" on the record. The second part closes out the album, and is about three and half minutes in length. Commencing with only a piano, the song then adds a live drum beat and orchestral instruments, followed by an electric guitar solo and atmospheric harmonies. All four members co-wrote the song and hailed it as the best song in the album.
[edit] Singles
"Inconsolable" is the first single from their sixth studio album Unbreakable which was released on October 30, 2007. The single hit the U.S. radio outlets on August 27, 2007. It was premiered by Jive at Z-100 - New York's Hit Music Station on August 6. It was written and produced by Emanuel Kiriakou (Nick Lachey "What's Left Of Me", Katharine McPhee "Ordinary World"), and co-written by SibeRya, Lindy Robbins and Jess Cates (Backstreet Boys' "Incomplete").
"Helpless When She Smiles" was the assumed next single from Unbreakable. It had already received airplay on WKSS in Hartford, CT, but this was because of The WKSS Hey Yo! Christmas Show in which the Backstreet Boys were headline. This news was officially confirmed by the boys when they were on Backstage. According to rumors, The Backstreet Boys had expressed discontent with the record label's decision to choose "Helpless When She Smiles" as the second single, feeling that it sounded too much like their previous singles. Jive Records declined this.
The video of "Helpless When She Smiles" was filmed on November 13, 2007 at the Joshua Tree National Park, CA. The video premiered on Yahoo! Music on Wednesday December 12, 2007.
[edit] Sales and reception
The album received positive reviews with critics arguing that it was an improvement over their comeback album Never Gone two years earlier. Despite positive reviews, it became one of their least successful albums. Songs including "Unmistakable", "Love Will Keep You Up All Night", "Nowhere To Go", "One In A Million" and others were uploaded on YouTube before the release of the album and decreased its commercial success substantially. In the United States, the album debuted at number seven, selling about 81,000 copies in its first week.[5] However, the sales quickly fell. By the second week, the album fell to #10 with 45,000 copies sold. It fell to #52 in its third week with 20,000 copies sold. It fell to #78 in its fourth week with 5,000 copies sold making the total sales of 151,000 copies in the US.
In Japan, the album sold 102,043 copies in its first week and went to #1 on the Oricon weekly charts. It maintained its #1 position for a second week beating all of the domestic Japanese competition, a remarkable feat for a foreign band.
Professional Reviews
- Allmusic
link - The A.V. Club (C-) link
- BBC Music (mixed) link
- Billboard (positive)link
- Entertainment.ie
link - Entertainment Weekly (B-) link
- Rolling Stone link
- Virgin Media link
[edit] Unbreakable Tour
[edit] Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Dan Muckala | Dan Muckala | 1:03 |
| 2. | "Everything But Mine" | Jess Cates, Dan Muckala, Lindy Robbins | Dan Muckala | 4:09 |
| 3. | "Inconsolable" | Jess Cates, Emanuel Kiriakou, Lindy Robbins, SibeRya | Emanuel Kiriakou | 3:36 |
| 4. | "Something That I Already Know" | Zukhan Bey, Kara Dioguardi, David Hodges, Mitch Allan | Mitch Allan, Kara Dioguardi, David Hodges | 3:29 |
| 5. | "Helpless When She Smiles" | Brett James, Christopher Lindsey, Aimee Mayo, Troy Verges | John Shanks | 4:04 |
| 6. | "Any Other Way" | Jess Cates, Dan Muckala, Lindy Robbins | Dan Muckala | 3:26 |
| 7. | "One in a Million" | Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Jess Cates, Dan Muckala, Lindy Robbins | Dan Muckala | 3:35 |
| 8. | "Panic" | Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean, Billy Mann, Dan Muckala | Dan Muckala | 2:55 |
| 9. | "You Can Let Go" | Jess Cates, Dan Muckala, Lindy Robbins | Dan Muckala | 3:35 |
| 10. | "Trouble Is" | D. Mescall, Martin Sutton, P. Sheyne | John Shanks | 3:37 |
| 11. | "Treat Me Right" | A.J. McLean, JC Chasez, T. Feemster | Neff-U & JC Chasez | 4:12 |
| 12. | "Love Will Keep You Up All Night" | Dave Schuler, Billy Mann, Brian Paturalski, Larry Gold | Billy Mann | 4:17 |
| 13. | "Unmistakable" | Adam Anders, Nikki Hassman, Dan Muckala | Dan Muckala, Adam Anders | 3:49 |
| 14. | "Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon" | Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean, Billy Mann, Dan Muckala | Dan Muckala | 3:24 |
| Australia / Japan / UK Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks | |||||||||
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| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | |||||
| 15. | "Downpour" | Jess Cates, Emanuel Kiriakou, Lindy Robbins | Emanuel Kiriakou | 3:24 | |||||
| 16. | "In Pieces" | Jess Cates, Dan Muckala, Lindy Robbins | Dan Muckala | 3:45 | |||||
| 17. | "Nowhere To Go" | Rob Wells, Jess Cates, Lindy Robbins | Rob Wells | 2:52 | |||||
| Asian Tour Edition Bonus Tracks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | |||||
| 18. | "Inconsolable" (Jason Nevins Radio Mix) | Jess Cates, Emanuel Kiriakou, Lindy Robbins | Emanuel Kiriakou, Jason Nevins | 3:37 | |||||
| 19. | "Helpless When She Smiles" (Jason Nevins Radio Mix) | Brett James, Christopher Lindsey, Aimee Mayo, Troy Verges | John Shanks, Jason Nevins | 4:24 | |||||
| 20. | "Satellite" | Dan Muckala, Ralf Hamm | Dan Muckala | 3:28 | |||||
| Asian Tour Edition Bonus DVD | |||||||||
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| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | |||||
| 1. | "Inconsolable" (Music Video) | ||||||||
| 2. | "Inconsolable" (Making of the Video) | ||||||||
| 3. | "Helpless When She Smiles" (Music Video) | ||||||||
| 4. | "Helpless When She Smiles" (Making of the Video) | ||||||||
| 5. | "9 Days In Tokyo" (Documentary) | ||||||||
[edit] Charts
| Chart | Country | Peak position | Certification | Sales Based on Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart | Australia | 25[6] | ||
| Austrian Albums Chart | Austria | 21[6] | ||
| Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) | Belgium | 47[6] | ||
| Belgian Albums Chart (Walonia) | Belgium | 37[6] | ||
| Canadian Albums Chart | Canada | 2[7] | Gold [8] | 50,000+ |
| Danish Albums Chart | Denmark | 36[6] | ||
| French Albums Chart | France | 127 [6] | ||
| Finnish Top 40 Albums | Finland | 27[6] | ||
| German Albums Chart | Germany | 4[9] | ||
| Irish Albums Chart | Ireland | 26[10] | ||
| Federation of the Italian Music Industry | Italy | 15[6] | ||
| Japan Oricon Album Chart | Japan | 1[11] | Platinum [12] | 250,000+ |
| Dutch Albums Chart | The Netherlands | 10[6] | ||
| Mexican Albums Chart | Mexico | 23[6] | ||
| Portugal Albums Top 30 | Portugal | 18[6] | ||
| Russian Albums Chart | Russia | Gold[13] | 10,000+ | |
| Spain Albums Top 100 | Spain | 7[6] | ||
| Swedish Top 60 | Sweden | 28[6] | ||
| Swiss Albums Chart | Switzerland | 6[6] | ||
| UK Albums Chart | United Kingdom | 21[14] | ||
| Billboard 200 | United States | 7[15] |
[edit] Release history
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[edit] References
- ^ "Backstreet Boys". http://www.backstreetboys.com/. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
- ^ a b Cohen, Jonathan (2007-07-25). "Backstreet Boys Plot Comeback With October CD". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003616603. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
- ^ "Backstreet's Back again". Entertainment Story. The New Zealand Herald. 2007-08-08. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1501119/story.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10456499. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
- ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (2006-06-26). "Kevin Richardson Leaving Backstreet Boys". News. People. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,26334,1207890,00.html. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
- ^ Katie Hasty, "Eagles Fly Past Britney To Debut At No. 1", Billboard.com, November 7, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "BACKSTREET BOYS - UNBREAKABLE (ALBUM)". Hung Medien. http://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Backstreet+Boys&titel=Unbreakable&cat=a. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- ^ "Backstreet Boys: Billboard 200". Billboard Magazine. http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100#/artist/backstreet-boys/chart-history/171765?f=309&g=Albums. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum Certification: November 2007". CRIA. http://www.cria.ca/gold/1107_g.php. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ^ "Chartverfolgung/BackstreetBoys/Longplay". Musicline.de. http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Backstreet+Boys/?type=longplay. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- ^ "Backstreet Boys' discography in Ireland". irish-charts. http://irish-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Backstreet+Boys. Retrieved 2010-09-011.
- ^ "2007年11月第2週の邦楽アルバムランキ". Oricon. http://www.oricon.co.jp/search/result.php?kbn=ja&types=rnk&year=2007&month=11&week=2&su. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- ^ "ゴールド等認定作品一覧 2007年10月". RIAJ. http://www.riaj.or.jp/data/others/gold/200710.html. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- ^ "Russia's certifications 2007". NFPP. http://2m-online.ru/gold_n_platinum/detail.php?COUNTRY=5077. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- ^ "Albums/Singles peak-positions to Backstreet Boys". Chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=677. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- ^ "Backstreet Boys: Billboard 200". Billboard Magazine. http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100#/artist/backstreet-boys/chart-history/171765?f=305&g=Albums. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by TakiTsuba Best by Tackey & Tsubasa |
Japanese Oricon Weekly number-one album November 5, 2007 – November 12, 2007 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by Pacific by NEWS |
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