Turn It Up (Pixie Lott album)

Untitled

Turn It Up is the debut studio album by English recording artist Pixie Lott. It was released in the United Kingdom on 14 September 2009 by Mercury Records. The album debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart, before dropping to number thirteen in its second week. Turn It Up has so far spent five weeks in the UK top ten and over fifty weeks in the top forty. The album's first two singles, "Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)" and "Boys and Girls", both peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, while subsequent singles "Cry Me Out", "Gravity" and "Turn It Up" all reached the top twenty. The British Phonographic Industry certified the album double platinum, with sales of over one million copies in the UK.

The album was re-released as Turn It Up Louder on 18 October 2010. It was preceded by the release of "Broken Arrow" as its lead single, and includes nine other bonus songs. In 2010, it was reported that Interscope Records was planning to release Turn It Up in the United States with new songs in early 2011, although nothing has materialised as yet.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(51/100)
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
BBC Music	(favourable)
Daily Express	(2/5)
Daily Star	(favourable)
The Daily Telegraph
Digital Spy
musicOMH
The Observer	(mixed)
The Sunday Times
Yahoo! Music	(7/10)

Turn It Up received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 51, based on 8 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". Paul Lester of BBC Music described the album as "[a] classy, if not classic, debut from potential-rich pop newcomer" and stated that the songs on the album "do indeed sound as though they could be farmed out to other RnB starlets. That's a compliment as much as it is a criticism: from the 1960s soul stomp of her number one hit 'Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)' to new single 'Boys & Girls' with its brassy Mark Ronson-esque production, some of the material here lacks character." Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote for Allmusic that "[d]espite this fondness for swinging girl group sounds and Pixie's predilection for belting out the songs, Turn It Up doesn't play as a retro-soul throwback, the way Winehouse or Duffy do. Lott never attempts to seem wiser than her years, [...] and the production is wisely, slyly modern." Sarah-Louise James of Daily Star remarked that "the photogenic Essex lass seems to combine the best elements of all our favourite British pop divettes: the smoky growl of Wino, the big sultry pipes of Duffy and the pop sass of Sugababes."

Digital Spy music editor Nick Levine commented that "Turn It Up is never dull—Lott has too much natural exuberance for that—but it's a little safe and lacking in surprises", while citing "Gravity", title track "Turn It Up" and "Here We Go Again" as highlights. Dan Cairns from The Sunday Times believed that "[b]ar two missteps ('My Love' and 'Nothing Compares'), Turn It Up is superior, infectious, expertly tailored pop that, had it been recorded 30 or so years ago, would very likely now be being praised to the heavens in reissue sections." Dan Gennoe from Yahoo! Music noted that "[t]he sass, swagger, killer hooks and big production have been focused on the obvious chart contenders and the rest of the album is, true to tradition, a lot of middle of the road balladry and overly earnest swaying, also known as filler." Daily Express reviewer Robert Spellman felt that the single "Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)" "promised what the album hasn't delivered, a sort sultry self-confidence with a pinch of the wreckless that would do Lady Gaga proud", adding that "corny power ballads such as 'Cry Me Out' and too much half-baked R&B mistakenly attempt to give Pixie depth when she—or rather her writers—should be gunning for surface only." The Daily Telegraph's Helen Brown referred to Lott as "[f]un and feisty but hard to distinguish from the rest of this year's girl pop pack." In a review for musicOMH, Michael Cragg dismissed the album as "a fairly average pop album being strangled by a talented vocalist who equates loudness with emotion." Imogen Carter from The Observer compared the album to a Disney teen-film soundtrack, calling it "cloying and cliche-ridden, particularly the slow numbers."

Chart performance

Turn It Up debuted and peaked at number six on the UK Albums Chart on the issue dated 20 September 2009. Following the album's re-release as Turn It Up Louder on 18 October 2010, it rose from number twenty-nine to number nine on 24 October 2010. Since its debut, it has spent eighty-four consecutive weeks on the chart, five of which in the top five and twenty-three in the top twenty. On 13 August 2010, the album earned a double platinum sales certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and has sold over one million copies in the UK alone. Additionally, it became the UK's fifty-third best-selling album of 2009, and the eighteenth best-selling album the following year.

In Ireland, Turn It Up debuted and peaked at number eighteen on the Irish Albums Chart for the week of 17 September 2009, remaining on the chart for fifty-five weeks altogether. The album saw modest success across continental Europe, reaching number sixteen in Denmark, number twenty-four on the European Top 100 Albums chart, number forty-nine in Switzerland, number sixty in France, number seventy in Austria and Belgium's Wallonia, number eighty-one in Germany, number ninety-two in the Netherlands and number ninety-nine in Belgium's Flanders. In Oceania, it peaked at number eight on the Australian Hitseekers Albums Chart and at number thirty in New Zealand.

Singles

"Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)" was released digitally in the United Kingdom on 6 June 2009 and physically on 8 June as the album's lead single. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, making Lott the first British female solo artist to have a debut single enter atop the chart without previously appearing on a reality show. Follow-up single "Boys and Girls" was released on 5 September 2009, a week before the album's release. The song debuted at number seventy-three on the UK Singles Chart before climbing to number one the following week, earning Lott her second consecutive chart-topper and breaking yet another record by becoming the biggest leap to the top position in the UK chart history. "Cry Me Out", released as the third single on 30 November 2009, peaked at number twelve on the UK chart, and was therefore Lott's first single to miss the number-one spot, as well as the top ten. Released as the fourth single on 8 March 2010, "Gravity" charted at number twenty in the UK, making it her fourth consecutive top twenty single. "Turn It Up" was released as the fifth single on 7 June 2010, for which a music video, directed by Nick Frew, was shot in Los Angeles on 17 April 2010. The single became her fifth consecutive top twenty hit when it peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart.

"Broken Arrow" was released on 10 October 2010 as the lead single (sixth overall) from the Turn It Up Louder reissue. The music video was directed by Gregg Masuak, and premiered on Lott's official YouTube/Vevo account on 16 September 2010. The single reached number twelve on the UK chart, giving Lott her sixth consecutive top twenty single. Although it was initially suggested that "Coming Home", a collaboration with American R&B singer Jason Derülo, would serve as the record's next single after it debuted at number fifty-one on the UK Singles Chart based on digital downloads alone, Lott later confirmed on her official Twitter page that she was filming a video for "Can't Make This Over". The video premiered on 25 November 2010; however, it was later suggested the single release has been cancelled due to poor airplay.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)"	Mads Hauge, Phil Thornalley	Hauge, Thornalley, Greg Kurstin*	3:16
2.	"Cry Me Out"	Pixie Lott, Hauge, Thornalley, Colin Campsie	Hauge, Thornalley	4:04
3.	"Band Aid"	Toby Gad, Lott	Gad	3:30
4.	"Turn It Up"	Lott, Ruth-Anne Cunningham, Jonas Jeberg, Mich Hansen	Jeberg, Cutfather	3:16
5.	"Boys and Girls"	Hauge, Thornalley, Lott	Hauge, Thornalley, Fraser T. Smith*	3:02
6.	"Gravity"	Ina Wroldsen, Jeberg, Hansen, Lucas Secon	Jeberg, Cutfather	3:35
7.	"My Love"	Lott, Cunnigham, Jeberg, Hansen	Jeberg, Cutfather	3:19
8.	"Jack"	Peter Zizzo, Lott, Marion Raven	Zizzo	3:12
9.	"Nothing Compares"	Gad, Kaci Brown, Lott	Gad	3:34
10.	"Here We Go Again"	Lott, RedOne, Steve Kipner, Andy Frampton	RedOne	3:05
11.	"The Way the World Works"	Zizzo, Lott	Zizzo	3:11
12.	"Hold Me in Your Arms"	Lott, Ryan Laubscher	Laubscher	3:30
Total length:				40:34

iTunes bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Use Somebody"	Caleb Followill, Nathan Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill	3:06

Spanish bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Hurt (Sufrirás)" (David Bisbal featuring Pixie Lott)	Dimitri Stassos, Måns Zelmerlöw, Linda Sundblad, Christian Zalles	3:30

UK iTunes deluxe edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Use Somebody"	C. Followill, N. Followill, J. Followill, M. Followill		3:08
14.	"When Love Takes Over"	Kelly Rowland, David Guetta, Fred Rister, Olivia Nervo, Miriam Nervo	Thornalley, Hauge	3:20
15.	"Without You"	Lott, Harvey Mason, Jr., Kara DioGuardi, Steve Russell	Mason	3:50
16.	"Rolling Stone"	Lott, RedOne, Bilal "The Chef" Hajji, Kinnda "Kee" Hamid	RedOne	3:40
17.	"Want You"	Johannes Joergensen, Daniel "Obi" Klein, Tim McEwan, Lott	Deekay	3:58
18.	"Silent Night"	Traditional		3:11

Enhanced CD

The enhanced CD includes a link to a bonus area on Push Entertainment, which can only be accessed by inserting the CD into one's CD/DVD drive, featuring videos of "Boys and Girls" and "Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)" to watch online, and to download for free.

Turn It Up Louder

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)"	Hauge, Thornalley	Hauge, Thornalley	3:16
2.	"Cry Me Out"	Lott, Hauge, Thornalley, Campsie	Hauge, Thornalley	4:04
3.	"Band Aid"	Gad, Lott	Gad	3:30
4.	"Turn It Up" (Single Mix^)	Lott, Cunningham, Jeberg, Hansen	Jeberg, Cutfather	3:16
5.	"Boys and Girls"	Hauge, Thornalley, Lott	Hauge, Thornalley	3:02
6.	"Gravity"	Wroldsen, Jeberg, Hansen, Secon	Jeberg, Cutfather	3:35
7.	"My Love"	Lott, Cunnigham, Jeberg, Hansen	Jeberg, Cutfather	3:19
8.	"Jack"	Zizzo, Lott, Raven	Zizzo	3:12
9.	"Nothing Compares"	Gad, Brown, Lott	Gad	3:34
10.	"Here We Go Again"	Lott, RedOne, Kipner, Frampton	RedOne	3:05
11.	"The Way the World Works"	Zizzo, Lott	Zizzo	3:11
12.	"Hold Me in Your Arms"	Lott, Laubscher	Laubscher	3:30
13.	"Use Somebody"	C. Followill, N. Followill, J. Followill, M. Followill		3:08
14.	"When Love Takes Over"	Rowland, Guetta, Rister, O. Nervo, M. Nervo	Thornalley, Hauge	3:20
15.	"Without You"	Lott, Mason, DioGuardi, Russell	Mason	3:50
16.	"Rolling Stone"	Lott, RedOne, Hajji, Hamid	RedOne	3:40
17.	"Want You"	Joergensen, Klein, McEwan, Lott	Deekay	3:58
18.	"Broken Arrow"	Lott, Cunningham, Gad	Gad, Jay Reynolds*	3:39
19.	"Coming Home" (featuring Jason Derülo)	Lott, Sirach Charles, Jason Derülo	James F. Reynolds	3:36
20.	"Doing Fine (Without You)"	Lott, Chris Braide, Cathy Dennis	Braide, James F. Reynolds*	3:09
21.	"Can't Make This Over"	Daniel Bedingfield, Eve Nelson	John Shanks	3:33
22.	"Catching Snowflakes"	Lott, Teemu Brunila	Jay Reynolds	3:50
Total length:				76:04

UK iTunes bonus track

No.	Title	Length
23.	"Broken Arrow" (Devos & Devereux Remix)	7:41

(*) denotes additional producer
(^) Early CD editions of the album prior to November 2010 and the iTunes release contain the album version, due to a mix-up at the record company

Personnel

Turn It Up

• Pixie Lott – vocals; backing vocals (tracks 1–3, 5, 11)
• Rich Adam – additional programming (track 9)
• Beatriz Artola – engineer (track 5)
• Nick Barr – viola (track 6)
• Natalia Bonner – violin (track 6)
• Kaci Brown – backing vocals, arranger (track 9)
• Ian Burdge – cello (tracks 2, 6)
• Marc Burkhart – assistant engineer (track 3)
• Tom Coyne – mastering (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7)
• Cutfather – producer, percussion (tracks 4, 6, 7)
• Daniel Davidsen – guitar (tracks 6, 7)
• Calina de la Mare – violin (tracks 2, 6)
• William Derella – management
• Sandrine Dulermo – photography
• Clare Finnimore – viola (track 2)
• Jens Gad – drums, drum engineering (track 9)
• Toby Gad – producer, arranger, instrumentation (tracks 3, 9); bass, guitar (track 9)
• Richard George – violin (track 2)
• Jon Green – guitar, piano (track 2)
• Sophie Harris – cello (track 6)
• Mads Hauge – producer, engineer, bass, guitar, programming (tracks 1, 2, 5); backing vocals, Pro Tools (tracks 1, 2); drums, keyboards (track 1); Wurlitzer (track 5)
• Mo Hausler – string engineer (track 6)
• Sally Herbert – string arrangements, string conductor (tracks 2, 6)
• Jonas Jeberg – producer, instrumentation (tracks 4, 6, 7)
• Anders Kallmark – synthesizer (track 1)
• Joe Kentish – A&R
• Rick Koster – violin (tracks 2, 6)
• Greg Kurstin – additional producer (track 1)
• Michael Labica – photography
• Ryan Laubscher – producer (track 12)
• Graham Linehy – string engineer (track 2)
• Miklos Malek – additional synthesizer programming (track 8)

• Tony Maserati – mixing (track 3)
• Everton Nelson – violin (track 2)
• Mads Nilsson – mixing (track 12)
• Jackie Norrie – violin (track 2)
• Louis Odunoye – mixing assistant (track 12)
• Claire Orsler – viola (tracks 2, 6)
• Robert Orton – mixing (track 10)
• Carlos Oyanedel – additional mixing (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6–8)
• Geoff Pesche – mastering (tracks 3, 5, 8–12)
• Marion Raven – backing vocals (track 8)
• RedOne – producer, instrumentation, programming, vocal arrangement, vocal editing, engineer (track 10)
• Chris Sansom – additional engineer (tracks 1, 2, 5)
• Johnny Severin – electric guitar, vocal editing, engineer (track 10)
• Emlyn Singleton – violin (tracks 2, 6)
• Julia Singleton – violin (tracks 2, 6)
• Fraser T. Smith – additional producer, additional mix (track 5)
• Phil Smith – baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 5)
• David Sonenberg – management
• Phil Tan – mixing (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6–8, 11)
• David Tench – Wurlitzer (track 2)
• John Thirkell – trumpet, flugelhorn (tracks 1, 5)
• Phil Thornalley – producer (tracks 1, 2, 5); drums (track 1); piano (tracks 1, 5); glockenspiel (track 2); guitar (track 5)
• Joe Wassell-Smith – design assistant
• Paul West – design
• Jeremy Wheatley – mixing (track 9)
• Bruce White – viola (tracks 2, 6)
• Chris Worsey – cello (track 2)
• Brian Wright – violin (track 6)
• Ina Wroldsen – backing vocals (track 6)
• Warren Zielinski – violin (track 6)
• Peter Zizzo – producer, arranger, engineer, instrumentation, programming (tracks 8, 11); backing vocals (track 8)

Turn It Up Louder

• Pixie Lott – vocals; backing vocals (tracks 14, 18, 19)
• Victoria Akintola – backing vocals (track 19)
• Fred Ball – vocal production (track 22)
• Chris Barrett – additional engineer (track 21)
• Tom Bird – creative director
• Mark Bishop – engineer (track 13)
• David Boyd – engineer, mixing assistant (track 15)
• Chris Braide – producer (track 20)
• Teemu Brunila – piano (track 22)
• Ian Burdge – cello (track 14)
• Paul Canning – backing vocals (track 22)
• Sirach "Angel" Charles – backing vocals (track 19)
• Dan Chase – keyboards, programming (track 21)
• Michael Daley – mixing assistant (track 15)
• Tim Debney – mastering (track 20)
• Deekay – producers, arrangers, mixing (track 17)
• William Derella – management
• Jason Derülo – backing vocals (track 19)
• Sandrine Dulermo – photography
• Toby Gad – producer, instrumentation, arranger, engineer (track 18)
• Matt le Gallez – design assistant
• Angela N. Golightly – production coordinator (track 15)
• Jon Green – piano, tack piano, glockenspiel (track 14)
• Zach Hancock – extra vocal production (track 19)
• Dabling Harward – engineer (track 15)
• Marli Harwood – backing vocals (track 22)
• Mads Hauge – producer, guitar, backing vocals, programming, arranger (track 14)
• Sally Herbert – arranger (track 14)
• Andrew Hey – guitar, engineer (track 15)
• Lars Jensen – additional percussion (track 17)
• Josh – instrumentation (track 17)

• Charles Judge – keyboards (track 21)
• Joe Kentish – A&R
• Rob Knox – drum programming (track 15)
• Michael Labica – photography
• Martin Larsson – additional keys (track 17)
• Harvey Mason, Jr. – producer, music (track 15)
• Tim McEwan – instrumentation (track 17)
• Tom Meadows – drums (track 14)
• Eve Nelson – keyboards (track 21)
• Everton Nelson – violin leader (track 14)
• Obi – instrumentation (track 17)
• Robert Orton – mixing (track 16)
• Mark Pusey – drums (tracks 18, 22)
• RedOne – producer, instrumentation, programming, vocal arrangement, vocal editing, engineer (track 16)
• James F. Reynolds – producer, mixing (track 19); additional producer, mixing (track 20)
• Jay Reynolds – additional producer (track 18); producer (track 22); mixing, programming (tracks 18, 22)
• Jeff Rothschild – engineer, mixing, programming (track 21)
• Dave Russell – mixing (track 15)
• Johnny Severin – electric guitar, vocal editing, engineer (track 16)
• John Shanks – producer, guitar, bass (track 21)
• Al Shux – guitar (track 13)
• David Sonenberg – management
• Shari Sutcliffe – contracted production coordinator (track 21)
• Phil Thornalley – producer, glockenspiel, programming (track 14)
• Fabien Waltmann – programming (track 22)
• Oliver Weeks – keyboards (track 18)
• Paul West – design
• Bruce White – viola (track 14)
• Warren Zielinski – violin (track 14)

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Australian Hitseekers Albums Chart	8
Austrian Albums Chart	70
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)	99
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)	70
Danish Albums Chart	16
Dutch Albums Chart	92
European Top 100 Albums	24
French Albums Chart	60
German Albums Chart	81
Irish Albums Chart	18
New Zealand Albums Chart	30
Swiss Albums Chart	49
UK Albums Chart	6

Certifications

Country	Certification
United Kingdom	2× Platinum

Year-end charts

Chart (2009)	Position
UK Albums Chart	53
Chart (2010)	Position
UK Albums Chart	18

Release history

Country	Date	Label	Edition
Ireland	11 September 2009	Mercury Records	Standard edition
Netherlands		Universal Music
Poland
Denmark	14 September 2009
Portugal
United Kingdom		Mercury Records
Italy	18 September 2009	Universal Music
Mexico	21 September 2009
Brazil	23 September 2009
Belgium	25 September 2009
Australia	2 October 2009
Spain	6 October 2009
France	26 October 2009
Germany	30 October 2009
United Kingdom	21 December 2009	Mercury Records	iTunes deluxe edition
	18 October 2010		Turn It Up Louder