You Light up My Life: Inspirational Songs
Encyclopedia
You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs is the third album
by American country singer LeAnn Rimes
, released in the United States by Curb Records
on September 9, 1997
, when Rimes was 15 years old. The album was hugely successful but many critics thought that much of the material did not do Rimes' talent justice. The album has been certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA. It is the only album to ever debut number one on the Billboard 200
, Top Country Albums, and Contemporary Christian charts at the same time.
(Unchained Melody: The Early Years
was a collection of early recordings), You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs carried a lot of expectations. It was a record that should have consolidated LeAnn Rimes' status as contemporary country's brightest new star, but instead it does a curious thing—it positions her as an adult contemporary crossover artist. You Light Up My Life has as much pop as country, relying on such easy listening standards as the title track, "The Rose," and "God Bless America." As a result, the album has a bit of a bland, homogenous quality—it certainly could have used a bit of country grit. Rimes sings well throughout You Light Up My Life, but she often doesn't seem to connect completely with the material—it's telling that a remix of her previous hit "How Do I Live" stands out as one of the finest cuts here. You Light Up My Life is far from disastrous—Rimes has too much natural talent to be sunk by poorly chosen material—but it isn't the great leap forward it could have been.
" is the first single released from the album, it peaked at number 34 and was certified gold in the United States
. The second and final single released from the album is "On the Side of Angels
" which peaked at number 4 on the US Country Chart.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by American country singer LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes is an American country/pop singer. She is known for her rich vocals and her rise to fame as an eight-year-old champion on the original Ed McMahon version of Star Search, followed by the release of the Patsy Cline-intended single "Blue" when Rimes was only age 13, resulting in her...
, released in the United States by Curb Records
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...
on September 9, 1997
1997 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy...
, when Rimes was 15 years old. The album was hugely successful but many critics thought that much of the material did not do Rimes' talent justice. The album has been certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA. It is the only album to ever debut number one on the 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...
, Top Country Albums, and Contemporary Christian charts at the same time.
Track listing
Critical response
As the official sequel to BlueBlue (LeAnn Rimes album)
Blue is the debut album by American country singer LeAnn Rimes, released in the United States on July 9, 1996 by Curb Records. It reached #3 on Billboard 200, and #1 on Top Country Albums....
(Unchained Melody: The Early Years
Unchained Melody: The Early Years
Jose F. Promis of Allmusic gave the album two and a half out of five stars stating that it's "a tad bizarre" due to the album consisting of recordings released prior to Blue, that were recorded when Rimes was eleven years old, as a flow up to her debut album....
was a collection of early recordings), You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs carried a lot of expectations. It was a record that should have consolidated LeAnn Rimes' status as contemporary country's brightest new star, but instead it does a curious thing—it positions her as an adult contemporary crossover artist. You Light Up My Life has as much pop as country, relying on such easy listening standards as the title track, "The Rose," and "God Bless America." As a result, the album has a bit of a bland, homogenous quality—it certainly could have used a bit of country grit. Rimes sings well throughout You Light Up My Life, but she often doesn't seem to connect completely with the material—it's telling that a remix of her previous hit "How Do I Live" stands out as one of the finest cuts here. You Light Up My Life is far from disastrous—Rimes has too much natural talent to be sunk by poorly chosen material—but it isn't the great leap forward it could have been.
Singles
Two singles were released from the album, "You Light Up My LifeYou Light Up My Life
You Light Up My Life is a 1977 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Joseph Brooks. The picture stars Didi Conn, Stephen Nathan and Michael Zaslow, and follows a girl named Laurie , who wants to be a singer. Soon, she finds herself pressed by young friends to sing and her father, who...
" is the first single released from the album, it peaked at number 34 and was certified gold in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The second and final single released from the album is "On the Side of Angels
On the Side of Angels
"On the Side of Angels" is a song by LeAnn Rimes, released as a promotional single from her album You Light up My Life: Inspirational Songs. It was also later featured on her Greatest Hits album.- "Holiday in Your Heart" Promotion :...
" which peaked at number 4 on the US Country Chart.
Charts & certifications
You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs debuted at number one on Billboard 200 with 186,000 copies sold in its first week, the album dropped to number two in its second week but with a 10% increase with sales of 204,500. It returned to one in its sixth week with 131,500 copies sold. The album spent 13 weeks in the top 5, 17 weeks in the top 10 and a total of 55 weeks in Billboard 200. You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs was certified 4× Platinum by RIAA, denoting shipments of over 4 million copies. It is the only album in history to debut at number one on three separate charts at the same time, the three charts being the Billboard 200, the Billboard Top Country Albums, and the Billboard Contemporary Christian.Peak Positions
| Chart (1997/98) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 12 |
| Canadian RPM Top Albums | 13 |
| Canadian RPM Country Albums | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 41 |
| UK Albums Chart | 170 |
| US Billboard 200 | 1 |
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 1 |
| US Billboard Contemporary Christian | 1 |
End of decade chart
| Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 | 78 |
Year-End Charts
| Chart (1997) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 59 |
| Canadian RPM Country Albums | 15 |
| US Billboard 200 | 31 |
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 6 |
| Chart (1998) | Position |
| Canadian RPM Country Albums | 8 |
| US Billboard 200 | 14 |
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 3 |
| Chart (1999) | Position |
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 54 |