Light Me Up
Encyclopedia
Light Me Up is the debut studio album
by American alternative rock
band The Pretty Reckless
, first released on August 27, 2010. The album received commercial success with the singles "Make Me Wanna Die
", "Miss Nothing
" and "Just Tonight
".
met the producer Kato Khandwala and his partner and songwriter Ben Phillips. By the summer of 2009, they felt they had found an authentic sound. Two months before the album's release, the band released the self-titled EP containing four songs expected to appear in the future record. However the song Zombie was not present in the initial track listing, later appearing on the US track list.
The album received much more success in the U.K., where it was released months before the American release. The warmer English reception spanned the singles "Miss Nothing
" and "Just Tonight
", which were not released anywhere else.
As stated by Momsen, the album does not have a Parental Advisory sticker on it because, instead, the record company decided to censor the lyrics to Miss Nothing in the album booklet. Momsen stated in another interview the reason for the song being censored was when she sings the lyric "miss construed," she meant it as "miss cunt-strewed" and did not want to change the lyric.
" was released on March 30, 2010 in the USA and on May 13, 2010 in the UK. A promotional video was released which features live performances and backstage footage of the band. This video is widely recognized as a viral version and was released on May 13, 2010. The official music video was postponed due to legal issues involving censorship, but premiered on September 15, 2010 on iTunes and VEVO.
"Miss Nothing
" was released on August 23, 2010 only in the UK. The music video for "Miss Nothing" was released on July 20, 2010 on VEVO.
"Just Tonight
" was released on December 27, 2010 only in the UK after being pushed back from November 9. It was confirmed on Radio 1 future releases. The Music Video was released on VEVO on November 2.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band The Pretty Reckless
The Pretty Reckless
The Pretty Reckless are an American rock band from New York. The current members are Taylor Momsen , Ben Phillips , Mark Damon and Jamie Perkins ....
, first released on August 27, 2010. The album received commercial success with the singles "Make Me Wanna Die
Make Me Wanna Die
"Make Me Wanna Die" a song recorded by American alternative rock band The Pretty Reckless. The song was written by Taylor Momsen, Kato Khandwala, Ben Phillips, and produced by Khandwala for their debut studio album, Light Me Up . It was released on March 30, 2010 in the United States, as the band's...
", "Miss Nothing
Miss Nothing
"Miss Nothing" is the second single by American alternative rock band The Pretty Reckless to be released from their debut album, "Light Me Up". The single was released in the U.S. on the 27 July 2010 and in the UK on 22 August 2010.-Release:...
" and "Just Tonight
Just Tonight
"Just Tonight" is the third single by the American alternative rock band The Pretty Reckless, taken from their debut studio album Light Me Up. The song was written by band members Taylor Momsen, Ben Phillips and producer Kato Khandwala.-Release:...
".
Background
The record process started in 2008, after Taylor MomsenTaylor Momsen
Taylor Michel Momsen is an American actress, musician and model who portrays the character of Jenny Humphrey on the CW television series Gossip Girl and portrayed the role of Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and fronts the rock band The Pretty Reckless.-Early life and career:Taylor...
met the producer Kato Khandwala and his partner and songwriter Ben Phillips. By the summer of 2009, they felt they had found an authentic sound. Two months before the album's release, the band released the self-titled EP containing four songs expected to appear in the future record. However the song Zombie was not present in the initial track listing, later appearing on the US track list.
The album received much more success in the U.K., where it was released months before the American release. The warmer English reception spanned the singles "Miss Nothing
Miss Nothing
"Miss Nothing" is the second single by American alternative rock band The Pretty Reckless to be released from their debut album, "Light Me Up". The single was released in the U.S. on the 27 July 2010 and in the UK on 22 August 2010.-Release:...
" and "Just Tonight
Just Tonight
"Just Tonight" is the third single by the American alternative rock band The Pretty Reckless, taken from their debut studio album Light Me Up. The song was written by band members Taylor Momsen, Ben Phillips and producer Kato Khandwala.-Release:...
", which were not released anywhere else.
As stated by Momsen, the album does not have a Parental Advisory sticker on it because, instead, the record company decided to censor the lyrics to Miss Nothing in the album booklet. Momsen stated in another interview the reason for the song being censored was when she sings the lyric "miss construed," she meant it as "miss cunt-strewed" and did not want to change the lyric.
Critical reception
The album received a metascore of 74 out of 100 indicating "generally favorable reviews" based on 5 critics. Blare Magazine's reviewer, Leah Beresford, gave it four of five stars and said, "Lyrically, Light Me Up seems to capture the highs and lows of one’s existence, as well as everything in between like being courageous and empowering and expressing pain". The website Review Rinse Repeat heavily criticized the lyrics, but praised Momsen's vocals.Singles
"Make Me Wanna DieMake Me Wanna Die
"Make Me Wanna Die" a song recorded by American alternative rock band The Pretty Reckless. The song was written by Taylor Momsen, Kato Khandwala, Ben Phillips, and produced by Khandwala for their debut studio album, Light Me Up . It was released on March 30, 2010 in the United States, as the band's...
" was released on March 30, 2010 in the USA and on May 13, 2010 in the UK. A promotional video was released which features live performances and backstage footage of the band. This video is widely recognized as a viral version and was released on May 13, 2010. The official music video was postponed due to legal issues involving censorship, but premiered on September 15, 2010 on iTunes and VEVO.
"Miss Nothing
Miss Nothing
"Miss Nothing" is the second single by American alternative rock band The Pretty Reckless to be released from their debut album, "Light Me Up". The single was released in the U.S. on the 27 July 2010 and in the UK on 22 August 2010.-Release:...
" was released on August 23, 2010 only in the UK. The music video for "Miss Nothing" was released on July 20, 2010 on VEVO.
"Just Tonight
Just Tonight
"Just Tonight" is the third single by the American alternative rock band The Pretty Reckless, taken from their debut studio album Light Me Up. The song was written by band members Taylor Momsen, Ben Phillips and producer Kato Khandwala.-Release:...
" was released on December 27, 2010 only in the UK after being pushed back from November 9. It was confirmed on Radio 1 future releases. The Music Video was released on VEVO on November 2.
Track listing
- All songs written by Taylor MomsenTaylor MomsenTaylor Michel Momsen is an American actress, musician and model who portrays the character of Jenny Humphrey on the CW television series Gossip Girl and portrayed the role of Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and fronts the rock band The Pretty Reckless.-Early life and career:Taylor...
, Kato Khandwala and Ben Phillips. - All songs were produced, mixed and engineered by Kato Khandwala.
Charts
| Charts (2010) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
|
| Deutsche Alternative Charts Deutsche Alternative Charts The Deutsche Alternative Charts is the primary record chart for Germany's alternative music scene. The charts cover genres ranging nu metal to Britpop, from rock music to alternative electronic... |
|
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
|
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
|
| UK Rock Chart UK Rock Chart The UK Rock Chart usually refers to the Top 40 Rock Singles and the Top 40 Rock Albums Chart compiled by the Official Charts Company from physical record sales in British retail outlets with larger than average genrespecific sales.... |
|
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|
| US Billboard Top Rock Albums |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | August 27, 2010 | Universal Music Group 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... |
|
| Australia | |||
| United Kingdom | August 30, 2010 | Polydor Records Polydor Records Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone... |
|
| Germany | August 31, 2010 | Universal Music Group | B003XU75QG |
| France | December 6, 2010 | B003XU75QG | |
| United States (Digital) | February 8, 2011 | ||
| Canada | February 8, 2011 | ||
| Japan | March 2, 2011 | B004HHARS2 | |
| United States (Physical) | April 12, 2011 | Interscope |