The Beginning (The Black Eyed Peas album)
The Beginning | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by The Black Eyed Peas | ||||
Released | November 26, 2010 | |||
Recorded | 2010 | |||
Genre | Pop[1] | |||
Length | 54:05 | |||
Label | Interscope | |||
Producer |
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The Black Eyed Peas chronology | ||||
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Deluxe edition | ||||
Singles from The Beginning | ||||
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The Beginning is the sixth studio album by American group The Black Eyed Peas. The album was released on November 26, 2010 by Interscope. It is a prequel to the group's previous album The E.N.D (2009). The lead single, "The Time (Dirty Bit)," was released on November 9, 2010. The second single was "Just Can't Get Enough" and it was released on February 18, 2011. The final single was "Don't Stop the Party" and was released on June 24, 2011. The album debuted at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 119,000 copies.
Background
On June 6, 2010, the band confirmed that they were working on a new album in an interview for The Big Issue. The album was described as a sequel to The E.N.D. will.i.am announced that the new album, which "symbolizes growth, new beginnings, and starts a fresh new perspective," would be titled The Beginning and be released on November 30, 2010.[2] The album was officially announced in a press release on October 26, 2010.[3]
Some songs were made available as promotional singles for the album release. The first, "Do It Like This", was released on November 15, 2010,[4] and the second, "Light Up the Night", on November 22, 2010.[5] The Beginning was one of Oprah's Favorite Things for 2010, and members of Oprah's audience were given copies of the album 11 days before its official release.[6]
A tour called "The Beginning Massive Stadium Tour" began in June 2011 in France and ended in November 2011 with a total of 20 shows.[7]
Reception
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 119,000 copies in the United States.[8] It is their third album to chart inside the top ten, but their lowest charting album since Elephunk, which peaked at number 14 in 2003. As of October 2011, the album had sold over 800,000 copies in the United States.[9]
In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 17 selling 34,006 copies. After a performance on The X Factor on December 5, 2010, the album rose eight places to number nine and subsequently spent three weeks in the top ten. In Canada, it debuted at number two selling 27,400 copies in its first week, being kept off the top spot by a margin of 200 copies behind Susan Boyle's The Gift.[10] The album debuted at number one in France, selling 35,653 copies in its first week.[11] It is The Black Eyed Peas' third consecutive number-one album in the country.
In Germany, the album debuted at number five and started to slowly fall down. In its third week, the album was at No. 9 but could jump to No. 7 the following week. Following the success of the single "The Time (Dirty Bit)", the album rose from No. 7 to No. 2 in its fifth week, the album's peak position.[12][13]
Critical reception
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 47/100[14] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [15] |
The A.V. Club | F[16] |
Consequence of Sound | [17] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[1] |
The Guardian | [18] |
Los Angeles Times | [19] |
musicOMH | [20] |
Rolling Stone | [21] |
Slant Magazine | [22] |
Spin | (7/10)[23] |
The Beginning received generally mixed to negative reviews from most music critics. The album was praised for its production, but it was heavily criticized by the lack of appearance of Fergie, will.i.am's vocals, use of Auto-Tune, and lyrics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 47, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews."[24]
Monica Herrera wrote for Billboard that "the music is expertly produced, but problems arise when Will.i.am claims the same of his wordplay. On the track "Don't Stop the Party," he chest-thumps, "Kill you with my lyricals/Call me verbal criminal." It's a silly boast for an artist who clearly focuses on beats over rhymes, and is probably better off for it."[25] Kevin O'Donnell of Spin described the album as "one of the year's wildest sonic stews" and concluded "Pop's reigning peddlers of dumb fun are actually starting to sound stylishly avant-garde on their sixth album." The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan gave the album 3 out of 5 stars calling it "upscale hip-pop" and said that "the Black Eyed Peas have created an album similar to 2009's enormously successful The END, but with more Auto-Tune and less input from the wonderful Fergie."[18] Rolling Stone reviewer Jon Dolan viewed that the album "largely picks up where The E.N.D. left off" and felt that "they give themselves over more fully than ever to the groove palette of club culture, stirring up electro funk, Euro-trance and classic disco."[21] John Bush of Allmusic gave the album 2 out of 5 stars, and noted that although David Guetta only appears on one track "his production job for 2009’s “I Gotta Feeling” casts a long shadow on this record of don't-stop-the-party jams and club-life tracks."[15]
Entertainment Weekly writer Simon Vozick-Levinson gave the album a very positive review and stated "The Beginning wisely sticks with the heavier electronic beats they began importing from European clubs for The E.N.D. — a key ingredient that transformed the Black Eyed Peas from merely major stars to arguably the biggest chart act going [...] Every song is piled high with sticky pop melodies, slick hip-hop rhythms, bright synth parts, and vocals that have been diced and processed to high heaven, all furthering the goal of maximum catchiness."[1] Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune gave the album 1.5 out of 4 stars and called it "the quartet’s tamest, most hook-deprived album in the Fergie era" and stated "the music’s reliance on rhythmic and lyrical repetition (as opposed to progression and surprise) becomes wearying."[26] In his review for The Independent, Andy Gill gave it three out of five stars and wrote "It's a textbook blend of the over-familiar and the electronically treated, though their use of auto-tune and digital-stutter vocal effects is a touch more restrained than usual. From there on, the aspect never extends beyond the dancefloor, with martial synth-stomp riffs, spartan electro beats and loping bass grooves driving tracks."[27] Ben Ratliff of The New York Times gave the album a negative review and noted it similarities with its predecessor, The E.N.D. with few differences, "less of Fergie’s actressy, un-Autotuned belting (too bad about that), bolder two-step techno beats, more heavily draped synthesizer tones and a fascination with late ’70s and early ’80s pop radio." and found the lyrics "soggy" and "cynical."[28] musicOMH writer Luke Winkie stated that "will.i.am's productions sound like the bare minimum one could throw together and call a beat, usually encompassed by a simplified drum sequence and a buzzsaw synth turned up to the red and repeated long enough for DJs to make their paycheck" and wrote "the band has a knack of elongating their elementally good ideas into preposterously tiresome compositions."[20]
Singles
- "The Time (Dirty Bit)" was released as the lead single from The Beginning on November 5, 2010. It officially debuted on United States radio on November 16, 2010.[29][30] The music video for "The Time (Dirty Bit)" was released on November 23, 2010 and was directed by Rich Lee, who had previously directed the video for "Rock That Body" and "Imma Be". The song topped the charts in more than 15 countries.
- "Just Can't Get Enough" was released as the album's second single when it impacted U.S. mainstream on February 8, 2011.[31][32] It was announced on January 21, 2011 via Twitter and their official site that it would become a single.[33] The music video for "Just Can't Get Enough" was directed by Ben Mor. It was shot over a three-day period in Tokyo just one week before the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.The song topped the charts in many countries.
- "Don't Stop the Party" was announced as the third single from The Beginning by will.i.am on May 9, 2011. A music video for the song was released on iTunes the next day, along with the single.[34] The video, which is directed by Ben Mor, features on stage and backstage footage of the group during their 'The E.N.D World Tour' throughout 2009 and 2010.[35]
Promotional singles
- "Do It Like This", was released on November 16, 2010 worldwide and on November 26 on iTunes. It was the first promotional single from the album as part of "The Countdown to The Beginning".
- "Light Up the Night" was the second promotional single from the album and was released on November 24, 2010 worldwide and on November 26 on iTunes. The song charted at number 99 at the Canadian Hot 100.
Other notable songs
- "Love You Long Time" had charted, at the first week after the album's release, at number 36 on the UK Dance Chart chart.
- "Someday" had charted in 2011. The first was featured in the 2010 film Knight and Day and charted at number 80 on the Canadian Hot 100 and the second at number 16 on the French Singles Chart.
- "Whenever" also serves as the fourth single from the album in France, and is used to promote the album in TV spots.
Track listings
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Time (Dirty Bit)" |
| 5:07 | |
2. | "Light Up the Night" |
| will.i.am | 4:21 |
3. | "Love You Long Time" |
| will.i.am | 3:45 |
4. | "XOXOXO" |
| will.i.am | 3:45 |
5. | "Someday" |
|
|
4:33 |
6. | "Whenever" |
| will.i.am | 3:16 |
7. | "Fashion Beats" |
|
|
5:20 |
8. | "Don't Stop the Party" |
|
|
6:07 |
9. | "Do It Like This" |
| DJ Ammo | 5:29 |
10. | "The Best One Yet (The Boy)" |
|
|
4:25 |
11. | "Just Can't Get Enough" |
|
|
3:39 |
12. | "Play It Loud" |
| Free School | 4:21 |
Deluxe edition | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
10. | "The Situation" |
|
|
3:45 |
11. | "The Coming" |
| will.i.am | 4:19 |
12. | "Own It" | Adams | will.i.am | 3:13 |
13. | "The Best One Yet (The Boy)" |
|
|
4:25 |
14. | "Just Can't Get Enough" |
|
|
3:39 |
15. | "Play It Loud" |
| Free School | 4:21 |
Super Deluxe edition bonus tracks | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
16. | "Everything Wonderful" (featuring David Guetta) | Adams, Baptiste, Guetta, Tuinfort, Pineda | 4:03 |
17. | "Phenomenon" | Adams, Alvarez, Baptiste, Ryan Buendia, Ferguson, Pineda | 3:40 |
18. | "Take It Off" | Adams, Gomez, Beleegh Hamdi, Ferguson, Pineda, Hamza Mohamed | 4:02 |
Super Deluxe edition (Disc 2 – The Best of The E.N.D) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
1. | "Boom Boom Pow" | Adams, Pineda, Ferguson, Gomez | will.i.am, Jean Baptiste*, Poet Name Life* | 4:11 |
2. | "I Gotta Feeling" | Adams, Pineda, Ferguson, Gomez, Guetta, Riesterer | David Guetta, Frédéric Riesterer | 4:49 |
3. | "Meet Me Halfway" | Adams, Pineda, Ferguson, Gomez, Harris, Baptiste, Gordon | Keith Harris, will.i.am | 4:44 |
4. | "Imma Be" | Adams, Pineda, Ferguson, Gomez, Harris, Jared Tankel, Daniel Foder, Thomas Brenneck, Michael Deller | Keith Harris, will.i.am | 4:17 |
5. | "Rock That Body" | Adams, Pineda, Gomez, Ferguson, Guetta, Mark Knight, Adam Walder, Baptiste, Jamie Munson, Robert Ginyard | David Guetta, will.i.am, Mark Knight*, Funkagenda* | 4:32 |
- Notes
- ^a signifies a co-producer
- "The Time (Dirty Bit)" interpolates "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," originally performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing.
- "Light Up the Night" contains a sample of "Children's Story" by Slick Rick.
- "Fashion Beats" contains a sample of "My Forbidden Lover" by Chic.
- "Love You Long Time" contains a sample of "Give It Up" by KC and the Sunshine Band.
Personnel
Credits for The Beginning adapted from Allmusic.[36]
|
|
Charts and certifications
Chart procession and succession
Preceded by Lunatic by Booba |
French Albums Chart number-one album December 5, 2010 – December 12, 2010 |
Succeeded by Bleu Noir by Mylène Farmer |
Release history
Region | Date | Label | Edition |
---|---|---|---|
Australia[70][71] | November 26, 2010 | Universal Music |
|
Germany[72] | |||
Argentina[73] | Deluxe | ||
Poland[74] |
| ||
United Kingdom[75] | November 29, 2010 | Polydor |
|
France[76] | |||
Hong Kong[77] | Universal Music | ||
Mexico[78] | November 30, 2010 | Interscope | |
Greece | |||
United States | |||
Italy | |||
Japan[79] | December 1, 2010 | Universal Music |
|
Colombia[80] | |||
Brazil[81][82] | December 3, 2010 |
References
- 1 2 3 Vozick-Levinson, Simon (November 24, 2010). "The Beginning | Music | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
sticky pop melodies, slick hip-hop rhythms
- ↑ "MusicSearch Blog – Black Eyed Peas Reveal New Album Details!". BlackEyedPeas.com. June 10, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ↑ "The Black Eyed Peas to Release Brand-New Album – The Beginning – On November 30, 2010" (Press release). PR Newswire. November 26, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- ↑ "New Black Eyed Peas Single "Do It Like This" available on iTunes!". Dipdive. November 15, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
- ↑ "Light Up the Night – Single". iTunes Store United States. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
- ↑ Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things – Page 21. Oprah.com. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
- ↑ Graff, Gary (November 23, 2010). "Black Eyed Peas Testing Waters for Stadium Tour in 2011". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
- 1 2 Caulfield, Keith (December 8, 2010). "Boyle Back to No. 1 on Billboard 200, Peas Begin At No. 6 | Billboard.com". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
- ↑ Langhorne, Cyrus. Chris Brown's Fame Glows Gold, Wiz Khalifa Rolls Back Into Top 10, Nicki Minaj Rides A Small Boost. SOHH. 4CONTROL Media. Retrieved on May 4, 2011.
- 1 2 Williams, John (December 8, 2010). "CANOE – JAM! Music – Artists – Boyle, Susan: Boyle battles Peas on charts". CANOE Jam!. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
- ↑ "Ventes de disques : Black Eyed Peas devant Jean-Louis Aubert" (in French). LeParisien. December 7, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
- ↑ "Black Eyed Peas im Höhenflug – media control". Media-control.de. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche". musicline.de. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Metacritic".
- 1 2 Bush, John. "The Beginning – The Black Eyed Peas". Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ Martins, Chris (December 7, 2010). "The Black Eyed Peas: The Beginning". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ↑ Barber, Kevin (December 13, 2010). "Album Review: The Black Eyed Peas - The Beginning". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- 1 2 Sullivan, Caroline (November 25, 2010). "Black Eyes Peas: The Beginning – review | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ Brown, August (November 30, 2010). "Album review: Black Eyed Peas' 'The Beginning'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- 1 2 Winkie, Luke (November 29, 2010). "The Black Eyed Peas – The Beginning | album reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- 1 2 Dolan, Jon (November 30, 2010). "The Beginning by Black Eyed Peas | Rolling Stone Music | Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ Henderson, Eric (November 30, 2010). "The Black Eyed Peas: The Beginning". Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ↑ O'Donnell, Kevin (November 30, 2010). "The Black Eyed Peas, 'The Beginning'(will.i.am/Interscope)". Spin. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ "The Beginning Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". CBS Interactive. Metacritic. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
- ↑ Herrera, Monica (November 19, 2010). "The Black Eyed Peas, "The Beginning" | Billboard.com". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ Kot, Greg (November 26, 2010). "Turn It Up: Album review: Black Eyed Peas, 'The Beginning'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ Gill, Andy (November 26, 2010). "Album: Black Eyed Peas, The Beginning (Interscope/Polydor) – Reviews, Music – The Independent". The Independent. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ Ratliff, Ben (November 29, 2010). "CDs from Black Eyed Peas, Calle 13 and Eric Benét - Review". The New York Times. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ "Top 40/M Future Releases | Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release". Allaccess.com. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases | R&B Song and Hip-Hop Music Release Dates |". Allaccess.com. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ "Top 40/M Future Releases | Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates". Allaccess.com. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Look at the 2/8 section on mainstream". Fmqb.com. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "The next single is....". BlackEyedPeas.com. January 21, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
- ↑ BEPnews (May 9, 2011). "The next BEP single is....". Black Eyed Peas.com. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
- ↑ Corner, Lewis. "Black Eyed Peas unveil new music video – Music News – Digital Spy". Digital Spy. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
- ↑ "The Beginning – Black Eyed Peas". AllMusic. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "The Black Eyed Peas – The Beginning (album)". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
- ↑ "ČNS IFPI". Hitparáda – TOP50 Prodejní (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
- ↑ "Musicline.de – Chartverfolgung – Black Eyed Peas – The Beginning". Media Control Charts (in German). PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ↑ "MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége". mahasz.hu. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
- ↑ "Chart Track". Irish Albums Chart. GfK. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
- ↑ "Chart Track". FIMI. GfK. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
- ↑ "The Beginning / Black Eye Peas" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
- ↑ "Archive Chart". Scottish Albums Chart. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
- ↑ "Archive Chart". UK Albums Chart. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
- ↑ "Archive Chart". UK Albums Chart. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
- ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2010". ARIA. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
- ↑ "VIVA Album Top 50 - Alle Musikvideos - Chart". VIVA.tv. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
- ↑ Archived October 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2011". ARIA. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
- ↑ "Ö3 Austria Top40 – Album Charts 2011". oe3.ORF.at. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Billboard.BIZ". Billboard.BIZ. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "MTV | Album Jahrescharts 2011 | charts". Mtv.de. December 31, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ Archived January 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2011". hitparade.ch. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Billboard 200 Year-End 2011". Billboard.BIZ. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
- ↑ "Top 50 Albums Chart – Australian Record Industry Association". Ariacharts.com.au. February 13, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Ultratop Belgian Charts". ultratop.be. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Black Eyed Peas". abpd.org.br/. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
- ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2011". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ↑ "Disque en France". Disque en France. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "The Black Eyed Peas – Details zur News – "Don't Stop The Party" – ab sofort!". Black-eyed-peas.de. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "The Irish Charts – 2010 Certification Awards – Platinum". IRMA. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ↑ "Italian Certifications" (PDF). FIMI. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ↑ ゴールド等認定作品一覧 2011年2月 [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (February 2011)]. RIAJ (in Japanese). March 10, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
- ↑ "AMPROFON Top 100 Albums Chart" (PDF). AMPROFON. Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. December 21, 2010.
- ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ↑ "Certified Awards". Bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
- ↑ Deluxe Edition JB Hi-Fi Online.com.au Retrieved November 22, 2010.
- ↑ Standard Edition JB Hi-Fi Online.com.au Retrieved November 22, 2010.
- ↑ "The Beginning: Black Eyed Peas: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "The Beginning PL – Black Eyed Peas za 37,99 zł" (in Polish). empik.com. November 26, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "The Beginning: The Black Eyed Peas: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ "The Beginning – Edition Super Deluxe : The Black Eyed Peas en CD album : tous les disques à la Fnac". Musique.fnac.com. June 17, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ "BLACK EYED PEAS / BEGINNING (2CD) – HMV Hong Kong". Hmv.com.hk. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ "Mixup Music Store". Mixup.com. November 25, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ↑ "The Beginning-Deluxe Edition-(Special Edition (Deluxe))【CD】-Black Eyed Peas Release Country: Japan|Hip Hop & Rap|Dance & Soul|Music|HMV ONLINE Buy Music & Movie CD / DVD". Hmv.co.jp. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ Entertainment Store (November 32, 2010). "The Time (Dirty Bit) Nuevo Vídeo de Black Eyed Peas" (in Spanish). Facebook. Retrieved November 26, 2010. Check date values in:
|date=
(help) - ↑ "Temos mais de 4.650.737 títulos esperando por você". Livraria Cultura. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
- ↑ Black Eyed Peas/The Beginning – Músicas – Terra Sonora:Sonora