Tightrope (Stephanie McIntosh album)
Encyclopedia
Tightrope is the debut album from Australian pop singer Stephanie McIntosh
, which was released on 11 September 2006, and re-released on 19 March 2007. It was released to the UK on 20 August 2007 with an alternate track listing and cover, but some Australian editions of the album have been seen in UK music stores such as HMV
.
who has written and produced songs for the likes of Jessica Simpson
, Lindsay Lohan
, Alistair Griffin
, Kylie Minogue
, S Club 7 and Atomic Kitten
.
Nichols has co-written and produced McIntosh’s debut album along with Max Martin
, Rami
, Greg Kurstin
, Klaus Derendorf
and Guy Roche
. The writing and recording process found McIntosh travelling all over the world to studios in LA
, London
and Sweden
along with her hometown of Melbourne
. The album, Tightrope was two years in the making, and McIntosh had a film crew following her around the world documenting the journey. The result was The Steph Show
which debuted on Channel 10 at 6pm on 28 July 2006
The album features a cover of the song, "Wishin' and Hopin'
". McIntosh co-wrote one track on the album, "So Do I Say Sorry First?
" which is a guitar driven rock track. Most of Tightrope was recorded at the beginning of 2006. The album title, Tightrope was decided by McIntosh and Nichols (producer/co-writer) with McIntosh saying "it's a cliché, but life can be like walking a tightrope sometimes".
On 5 September the full album was available for play on Ninemsn music. The album leaked onto the internet on 6 September. It was assumed that it leaked because of the Ninemsn first. Tightrope was re-released on 19 March 2007.
McIntosh arranged numerous radio interviews in the UK to promote Tightrope which was released on 20 August 2007. Although, it was supposed to be released earlier, on 2 July. During her promotion campaign Tightrope debuted at #40 on the UK Preorder Top 100 Albums chart and later on rose to its peak of #11. Universal
poorly promoted the album, the first UK single "Mistake
" debuted at #168 on downloads alone and reached its peak a week later at number forty-seven. Follow up single, "So Do I Say Sorry First?
" peaked at number 258.
wrote that "Steph’s voice isn’t bad, it’s just not very memorable or interesting" and that "[she sounds like] a good singer who’s been given a day in a recording studio as a present, rather than a future star in the making". However, tracks such as "So Do I Say Sorry First?
" and "God Only Knows" were praised, the former being that "[it], in a kind of teen-angsty, ‘rock out in your bedroom after a fight with your parents’ way is pretty OK" and the latter being described as "going back to the rockier flavour of the opener, but again, it’s just not really very stimulating". In reference to the album overall Ennever wrote "if I had to sum Tightrope up in three words, they would be bland, boring and banal", also adding "I love Sky Mangel, I do not like Stephanie McIntosh the pop star".
Tony Bartholomew of Virgin Media
's review was also negative, writing that "McIntosh has pedigree, as well as the prerequisite blonde hair, forgettable voice and complete lack of musical vision" saying that the album was "more Dannii Minogue than Kylie Minogue"
"Mistake" was the album's first single, released on 29 July 2006 in Australia. It made it to the top 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart
and was certified Gold in Australia for sales of over 35,000.
It was also her debut single in the UK and Ireland
, but did not get into the top 40 in either country.
The second single, released only in Australia on 21 October 2006, was Tightrope
. Although it did not do as well on the charts as Mistake, it did get into the top 20, peaking at #16, and was certified Gold.
In late 2006, "Catching My Breath" was officially released to the Australian iTunes store.
"So Do I Say Sorry First?
" was released as the album's third Australian single on 3 March 2007. It is her weakest single to date there and peaked at #34. It was released in the United Kingdom
as the second single as a download-only single on 6 August 2007, and charted at number 258.
Stephanie McIntosh
Stephanie McIntosh is an Australian actress and singer. She is known for her role as Sky Mangel in the Australian soap opera Neighbours and her music career, which began with the release of her debut album Tightrope in September 2006.-Background:McIntosh attended Firbank and then Melbourne Girls...
, which was released on 11 September 2006, and re-released on 19 March 2007. It was released to the UK on 20 August 2007 with an alternate track listing and cover, but some Australian editions of the album have been seen in UK music stores such as HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
.
History
McIntosh worked on her debut album with award winning songwriter/producer Tom NicholsTom Nichols
Tom Nichols is an ASCAP Award–winning Songwriter/producerLiving in London and New York.His first release, Black Coffee, by All Saints went to No.1...
who has written and produced songs for the likes of Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
, Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
, Alistair Griffin
Alistair Griffin
Alistair Richard Griffin is an English singer/songwriter and musician. Already an established songwriter, he first became famous as a solo artist through his appearances on the BBC television show Fame Academy 2 in 2003, where he was "spotted" and championed by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees...
, Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
, S Club 7 and Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten were an English girl group from Liverpool, first established in 1997. Created by Andy McCluskey, the final line-up, and most commercially successful, consisted of Natasha Hamilton, Liz McClarnon, and Jenny Frost...
.
Nichols has co-written and produced McIntosh’s debut album along with Max Martin
Max Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
, Rami
Rami Yacoub
Rami Yacoub is a Swedish music producer and songwriter of Palestinian descent, and former member of the successful songwriting/production houses Cheiron Studios and Maratone...
, Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin
Gregory Allen "Greg" Kurstin is an award-winning American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. In 2009 Kurstin received a Grammy Award nomination for Producer of the Year. That same year he won three Ivor Novello awards for his work with Lily Allen, including Songwriters of the Year for "The Fear"...
, Klaus Derendorf
Klaus Derendorf
Klaus Derendorf, also known as "Klaus D," is a Los Angeles based record producer and songwriter with millions of worldwide record sales to his credit including two Number 1 albums on the Billboard Charts.-Early Years:...
and Guy Roche
Guy Roche
Guy Roche is a record producer and songwriter who is best known for the hit singles he has co-written/co-produced for Christina Aguilera, which include but are not limited to "What a Girl Wants", "I Turn to You", and "Come on Over Baby . He also co-wrote Brandy's Never Say Never single "Almost...
. The writing and recording process found McIntosh travelling all over the world to studios in LA
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, London
London
London 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...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
along with her hometown of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. The album, Tightrope was two years in the making, and McIntosh had a film crew following her around the world documenting the journey. The result was The Steph Show
The Steph Show
The Steph Show is an Australian reality television series based on singer/actress Stephanie McIntosh. This show premiered on Australian TV at 6pm 28 July 2006 on Network Ten. The show, in the same vein as The Ashlee Simpson Show, had cameras following McIntosh as she recorded her debut album...
which debuted on Channel 10 at 6pm on 28 July 2006
The album features a cover of the song, "Wishin' and Hopin'
Wishin' and Hopin'
"Wishin' and Hopin" is a song written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach which was a Top Ten hit for Dusty Springfield in 1964.The song was first recorded by Dionne Warwick and was the B-side of Warwick's single "This Empty Place" in the spring of 1963; the track was also featured on Warwick's debut...
". McIntosh co-wrote one track on the album, "So Do I Say Sorry First?
So Do I Say Sorry First?
"So Do I Say Sorry First?" is a pop rock song written by Klaus Derendorf, Stephanie McIntosh and Tom Nichols, produced by Derendorf and Nichols for McIntosh's debut album Tightrope. It was released as the album's third single on 3 March 2007 in Australia...
" which is a guitar driven rock track. Most of Tightrope was recorded at the beginning of 2006. The album title, Tightrope was decided by McIntosh and Nichols (producer/co-writer) with McIntosh saying "it's a cliché, but life can be like walking a tightrope sometimes".
On 5 September the full album was available for play on Ninemsn music. The album leaked onto the internet on 6 September. It was assumed that it leaked because of the Ninemsn first. Tightrope was re-released on 19 March 2007.
McIntosh arranged numerous radio interviews in the UK to promote Tightrope which was released on 20 August 2007. Although, it was supposed to be released earlier, on 2 July. During her promotion campaign Tightrope debuted at #40 on the UK Preorder Top 100 Albums chart and later on rose to its peak of #11. Universal
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
poorly promoted the album, the first UK single "Mistake
Mistake (song)
"Mistake" is a pop rock song by Stephanie McIntosh. It was released as the first single from her debut album Tightrope on 29 July 2006."Mistake" was written by Tom Nichols and Rami Yacoub and Arnthor Birgisson and produced by the team at Maratone "Mistake" is a pop rock song by Stephanie...
" debuted at #168 on downloads alone and reached its peak a week later at number forty-seven. Follow up single, "So Do I Say Sorry First?
So Do I Say Sorry First?
"So Do I Say Sorry First?" is a pop rock song written by Klaus Derendorf, Stephanie McIntosh and Tom Nichols, produced by Derendorf and Nichols for McIntosh's debut album Tightrope. It was released as the album's third single on 3 March 2007 in Australia...
" peaked at number 258.
Critical reception
Reviews of the album were at most negative, with Lizzie Ennever of the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
wrote that "Steph’s voice isn’t bad, it’s just not very memorable or interesting" and that "[she sounds like] a good singer who’s been given a day in a recording studio as a present, rather than a future star in the making". However, tracks such as "So Do I Say Sorry First?
So Do I Say Sorry First?
"So Do I Say Sorry First?" is a pop rock song written by Klaus Derendorf, Stephanie McIntosh and Tom Nichols, produced by Derendorf and Nichols for McIntosh's debut album Tightrope. It was released as the album's third single on 3 March 2007 in Australia...
" and "God Only Knows" were praised, the former being that "[it], in a kind of teen-angsty, ‘rock out in your bedroom after a fight with your parents’ way is pretty OK" and the latter being described as "going back to the rockier flavour of the opener, but again, it’s just not really very stimulating". In reference to the album overall Ennever wrote "if I had to sum Tightrope up in three words, they would be bland, boring and banal", also adding "I love Sky Mangel, I do not like Stephanie McIntosh the pop star".
Tony Bartholomew of Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
's review was also negative, writing that "McIntosh has pedigree, as well as the prerequisite blonde hair, forgettable voice and complete lack of musical vision" saying that the album was "more Dannii Minogue than Kylie Minogue"
Chart performance and singles
In Australia, the album entered at number four on the ARIA Albums Chart on the issue dated on 18 September 2006 and was the second highest debut for that week. Next week it stayed at number four and was certified gold for shipping 35,000 copies. The album ended up spending fourteen weeks in the top one hundred, nine of which were in the top fifty, and became the ninety-second highest selling album in 2006."Mistake" was the album's first single, released on 29 July 2006 in Australia. It made it to the top 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart
ARIA 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...
and was certified Gold in Australia for sales of over 35,000.
It was also her debut single in the UK and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, but did not get into the top 40 in either country.
The second single, released only in Australia on 21 October 2006, was Tightrope
Tightrope (Stephanie McIntosh song)
"Tightrope" is the second single from singer and actress, Stephanie McIntosh from the album of the same title, Tightrope. "Tightrope" was confirmed as the second single on The Steph Show. It was released on 21 October 2006 in Australia only, as due to poor sales of the album...
. Although it did not do as well on the charts as Mistake, it did get into the top 20, peaking at #16, and was certified Gold.
In late 2006, "Catching My Breath" was officially released to the Australian iTunes store.
"So Do I Say Sorry First?
So Do I Say Sorry First?
"So Do I Say Sorry First?" is a pop rock song written by Klaus Derendorf, Stephanie McIntosh and Tom Nichols, produced by Derendorf and Nichols for McIntosh's debut album Tightrope. It was released as the album's third single on 3 March 2007 in Australia...
" was released as the album's third Australian single on 3 March 2007. It is her weakest single to date there and peaked at #34. It was released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as the second single as a download-only single on 6 August 2007, and charted at number 258.
Track listing
Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 4 |
Certifications
| Country | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|
| Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
Gold |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 92 |
Release details
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
11 September 2006 | 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... |
CD | 1703889 |
| 19 March 2007 | 1726345 | |||
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
20 August 2007 | UMTV UMTV Universal Music TV is a London-based record label that was formed in 1998.Owned by Universal Music Group, UMTV specialises in producing compilation albums and occasional single releases... |
CD | 1735817 |