Come to Life
Encyclopedia
Come to Life is the fourth studio album by Australia
n singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia
and is her first on her own label, Malabar Records. It was released on Island Records
on 2 October 2009 in Australia
. It was announced UK release was delayed so that Imbruglia could concentrate on her duties with the Australian version of The X Factor
franchise. As of mid-2011, the album has still not been released in the UK.
In February 2009, The Sun
claimed that Imbruglia was collaborating with Chris Martin
from Coldplay
. It was later confirmed by Martin himself and people involved in the recording process that he had worked with Imbruglia on a "string of tracks".
In April 2009, she discussed the direction of the album with an Australian journalist. "I feel the same creative buzz I felt when I first started my career...It's just fun and artistic and creative and all the things it should be. There's still a lot of depth to the songs...It just sounds fresher to me. I've tried different things - there's more electronic stuff in there, and that's different for me, more dance beats. There's a freedom overall, and a sense of confidence. It's slightly less introspective ..." The album "combines dark, driving beats and gorgeously wistful ballads".
The song "Lukas", produced by Brian Eno
and Rik Simpson, has been confirmed to be left-off from Coldplay's recording session for the album "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
". "Scars" and "My God" were recorded between 2006 and 2007. A snippet
of "Scars" and a full instrumental track were posted on Imbruglia's official MySpace
. An early demo of the latter was leaked to the Internet
in early February 2009.
"Flirting", which appears as the bonus track in the Japanese release, is written by Goldspot frontman Siddhartha Khosla and Natalie Imbruglia.
was filmed for the song "Wild About It" in London, England. The video was directed by Mike Baldwin and features cameo appearances by British comedians Alan Carr
and David Walliams
.
"Want" was officially released as the album's lead single
on 28 September 2009. Released only as a digital download
, the track reached number six on the Italian singles chart
and number 88 on the UK singles chart
.
"Scars
" was supposed to become the second and final single. The single was originally due to be released on 26 April 2010, however, due to contractual issues with the record label, was cancelled. It was announced three weeks later the single would actually be released on 5 July, nearly a year after the previous single, "Want
" was released, but it was cancelled along with the UK album release.
at #67 on 19 October 2009, making this Imbruglia's worst performing album to date. It sold 740 copies in its first week of release. In its second week, it dropped to #89, spending only two weeks in the top 100. In Switzerland
, the album started at #70 in the charts on 18 October 2009.
1 Chart by Australian artists.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...
and is her first on her own label, Malabar Records. It was released on Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
on 2 October 2009 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It was announced UK release was delayed so that Imbruglia could concentrate on her duties with the Australian version of The X Factor
The X Factor (TV series)
The X Factor is a television talent show franchise originating in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for Pop Idol. It is a singing competition, now held in various countries, which pits contestants against each other. These contestants are aspiring pop singers drawn from...
franchise. As of mid-2011, the album has still not been released in the UK.
Production history and song information
The album took nearly four years to complete, with Imbruglia acknowledging to a journalist in April 2009 "I get frustrated because I’d like to produce more work...It’s something that bugs me about myself, but I don’t really know any other way. And I’m not motivated by money, so I need to get things done right."In February 2009, The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
claimed that Imbruglia was collaborating with Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
from Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
. It was later confirmed by Martin himself and people involved in the recording process that he had worked with Imbruglia on a "string of tracks".
In April 2009, she discussed the direction of the album with an Australian journalist. "I feel the same creative buzz I felt when I first started my career...It's just fun and artistic and creative and all the things it should be. There's still a lot of depth to the songs...It just sounds fresher to me. I've tried different things - there's more electronic stuff in there, and that's different for me, more dance beats. There's a freedom overall, and a sense of confidence. It's slightly less introspective ..." The album "combines dark, driving beats and gorgeously wistful ballads".
The song "Lukas", produced by Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
and Rik Simpson, has been confirmed to be left-off from Coldplay's recording session for the album "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, often referred to as simply Viva la Vida is the fourth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone. The album was named after a Spanish phrase that translates in English as "long live life"...
". "Scars" and "My God" were recorded between 2006 and 2007. A snippet
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
of "Scars" and a full instrumental track were posted on Imbruglia's official MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
. An early demo of the latter was leaked to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
in early February 2009.
"Flirting", which appears as the bonus track in the Japanese release, is written by Goldspot frontman Siddhartha Khosla and Natalie Imbruglia.
Track listing
Singles
Although not officially released as a single, a music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was filmed for the song "Wild About It" in London, England. The video was directed by Mike Baldwin and features cameo appearances by British comedians Alan Carr
Alan Carr
Alan Carr is an English comedian and television personality. Born in Weymouth, he was raised in Northampton before moving to Manchester during his early 20's....
and David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
.
"Want" was officially released as the album's lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
on 28 September 2009. Released only as a digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
, the track reached number six on the Italian singles chart
Federation of the Italian Music Industry
The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy....
and number 88 on the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
"Scars
Scars (Natalie Imbruglia song)
"Scars" was due to be the second and final single from Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia's fourth studio album, Come to Life. The single was originally due to be released on 26 April 2010, however, due to contractual issues with the record label, was cancelled.-Release:The digital download was...
" was supposed to become the second and final single. The single was originally due to be released on 26 April 2010, however, due to contractual issues with the record label, was cancelled. It was announced three weeks later the single would actually be released on 5 July, nearly a year after the previous single, "Want
Want (Natalie Imbruglia song)
"Want" is the first single taken from Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia's fourth studio album, Come to Life. The single was released on 28 September 2009, two weeks prior to the release of the album in Europe and Australia. The single is available from iTunes Australia and iTunes UK...
" was released, but it was cancelled along with the UK album release.
Promotion
Natalie Imbruglia announced some warm up shows to promote her new album.- 4 August 2009 – Concorde 2, BrightonBrightonBrighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
- 6 August 2009 – O2 Academy Oxford, UK
- 8 August 2009 – The Wedgewood RoomsThe Wedgewood RoomsThe Wedgewood Rooms is a venue, in Southsea , Hampshire, UK, that hosts music and comedy events.It has a capacity of 450-500 people, and is located on Albert Road in Southsea. Recently it has hosted events from up-and-coming British pop and rock artists, such as You Me At Six, Kasabian, Mercury...
, PortsmouthPortsmouthPortsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island... - 12 August 2009 – The LuminaireThe LuminaireThe Luminaire was a live music venue on Kilburn High Road in north west London, UK. It opened on 1 March 2005 in what was a nightclub called Late, above McGovern's Pub and The Kilburn Bar...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - 15 August 2009 – Rock Oz'Arènes Festival, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
- 19 August 2009 – The Lexington, London
- 22 / 23 August 2009 – V FestivalV FestivalThe V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
, Stafford and Chelmsford, UK - 24 September 2009 – Guinness Storehouse Dublin
- 1 October 2009 – HeavenHeaven (nightclub)Heaven is a Superclub in London, England which appeals predominantly to the gay market. It is located underneath Charing Cross railway station in Central London, just off Trafalgar Square.-Early history:...
, London - 16 October 2009 – Charity Gig LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- 17 October 2009 – Concert for Tolerance MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
- 5 November 2009 – MySpace Secret Gig MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
- 12 November 2009 – MySpace Secret Gig RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
- 11 December 2009 – B1 Maximum Club, MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
Chart performance and sales
Come to Life entered the Australian albums chartARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
at #67 on 19 October 2009, making this Imbruglia's worst performing album to date. It sold 740 copies in its first week of release. In its second week, it dropped to #89, spending only two weeks in the top 100. In Switzerland
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...
, the album started at #70 in the charts on 18 October 2009.
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| ARIA Top 100 Albums | 67 |
| ARIA Top 100 Physical Albums | 81 |
| ARIA Top 20 Australian Albums1 | 18 |
| Italian Albums Chart | 34 |
| Russian Albums Chart | 25 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 70 |
1 Chart by Australian artists.
Release history
| Region | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | 2 October 2009 | Island Records Island Records Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group... |
| Austria | ||
| Italy | ||
| United Kingdom (Digital release) |
(cancelled) | |
| New Zealand | 9 October 2009 | Universal Australia |
| Australia | ||
| Europe | 12 October 2009 | Island Records |
| Japan | 14 October 2009 | Universal Music Universal Music Group Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations... |
| Mexico (Digital release) |
20 October 2009 | Malabar Records |
| Germany | 6 November 2009 | Island Records |
| United Kingdom (Physical release) |
Cancelled |