Alesha (album)

Alesha is the ninth studio album by British recording artist Alesha. Released on May 12, 2014, the self-titled album served as Alesha’s first new material in three years. A complete departure from the alternative, experimental influences of The Martyr (2011), Alesha marks a return to pop roots for the singer-songwriter. Having grown tired of all the political diatribes she had included in her previous works, Alesha felt the need to relax and be in a happy mood. The album was mainly recorded in privacy at Alesha's home studio in late 2013 and early 2014.

Musically, the album has been described as "a journey from dark to light" and is divided into three acts and an epilogue. With an overarching synth-pop sound, Alesha has elements of alternative R&B and electronic dance music. The album includes a collaborations with breakout success Malaya and fellow industry veteran Paulo Araujo. Inspired by her marriage to American publishing mogul Austin Roosevelt, Alesha contains themes of love and romance, as well as empowerment and feminism.

Contemporary critics lauded the album calling it a return to form for Alesha. Reviewers praised Alesha for exploring pop sounds while maintaining a sense of artistic maturity. The album was preceded by the promotional single “Renaissance” and accompanied by the lead single “Witch”, featuring guest vocals from Malaya. Alesha debuted on the albums chart at number two, spending five weeks in the top three upon release. The album also spawned the single "Japan".

Development
In 2011, Alesha filed for divorce from wife three years (and partner of six years) Neyssa and released her eighth studio album The Martyr whilst suffering from post-partum depression. The album was Alesha's most alternative and experimental release to date. Despite continued success with The Martyr and the number one soundtrack album Prime Cut, sales were dipping when compared to previous albums. Alesha felt the effects of depression moreso after a break-up between her and girlfriend Just Ginger. After stepping away from the music industry to focus on her health and her family, Alesha met publishing mogul Austin Roosevelt in January 2013. They were married by July.

Alesha began recording new material for her ninth studio album in late 2013 at her home studio. The album purposefully strived to be Alesha's most "pop" since Alesha Is the Queen and The Second Coming in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Following The Martyr, the self-titled release is Alesha’s second album to be entirely self-written and self-produced. For inspiration, Alesha looked at pivotal albums in her idols’ careers, hoping to create a supreme quality album with great attention to detail and a coherent sound. Alesha wanted to create an album without pretense. She felt inspired by "love and romance," describing being with new beau Roosevelt as "the most confidently she could ever say she's found the one."

Music and lyrics
The album is divided into three acts and an epilogue with tracks arranged by both subject matter and musical style. Act one, "Nox" (meaning "night" in Latin), featured the album’s darker songs with heavy electronic and R&B influences. Act two, "Lux” (meaning "light" in Latin), has a more celebratory, synth pop sound, while act three, "Amō" (meaning "I love" in Latin), speaks more to love and relationships. The final song on the album is listed as the epilogue, "Vita" (meaning "life" in Latin). Alesha purposefully titled the first song in each act after a supernatural being – "Witch", "Ghosts", "Mermaids" and "Banshee" – but for no particular reason.

The album’s opening track is lead single "Witch." The song was originally intended to feature guest vocals from The Uraps Factor series two winner Malaya, but Alesha felt that her lead single needed to stand on its own. The self-described feminist anthem musically recalls the "brassy swagger" of The Second Coming (2008); critics noted the lyrics as being "classic Alesha" whilst being "a gigantic party tune." Tracks two and three, "For Dead" and "Velvet Aura / Earth," are both inspired by electronic R&B music; the former include an excerpt from Gil–Scott Heron & Jamie xx’s "NY Is Killing Me," while the latter samples The Weeknd's "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" in its introduction and chorus. "Wolves" is a mid-tempo electro-pop song with a shuffle beat.

Act two begins with "Ghosts," a "robotic" mid-tempo dance-pop song that draws its bass line from New Order's "Blue Monday." "Renaissance," released as a promotional single in April 2014, is an atmospheric synth pop song with "sighing backing vocals and spiraling harpsichord-esque synths." "White Naomi" was written as an update on Alesha's 2007 Buffi-penned single "Fashion Kills," a number one single and a breakthrough moment in her career. The song incorporates EDM and '90s house influences, referencing both the fashion industry and drag culture. "Japan" is a "wistful EDM ballad" that contains a spoken middle-8. It was the last song recorded for Alesha.

"Mermaids" is a "spaced-out" pop song with a persistent snare beat. "Opulence" is a mid-tempo synth pop song with R&B influences, particularly in the vocals. Alesha began writing the song without a guest artist in mind, but while working on "Opulence," she felt a collaboration would enhance the song. Alesha selected fellow industry veteran and friend Paulo Araujo, stating he was the "only choice" for the song. "Opulence" features excerpts of dialogue from the film Paris Is Burning. "Number One" is a "rousing pop anthem" that reviewers described as "euphoric" and "radio-ready." "Symposium" is an anthemic love song that pays homage to '90s dance music and references Greek philosopher Plato's Symposium. Album closer "Banshee" combines dance music with brass instruments.

Critical reception
Alesha garnered universal acclaim from music critics, holding a score of 80/100 on Metacritic based on 48 professional reviews. Keith Caulfield from Billboard commented that Alesha is a "welcome return to form for the Queen of Pop." Alan Braidwood from the BBC commented that "[t]his is the most commercial album Alesha has made in 7 years and it's magic." Stephen M. Deusner from Pitchfork Media noted that with the album "Alesha again reinvents herself, and it appears she's nearly lapped herself." According to Deusner, the music also makes her appear young. However he felt that the first half of the album was strong, while the second half "loses its delicate balance between pop frivolity and spiritual gravity."

Thomas Inskeep from Stylus Magazine stated that the album is "Alesha’s most purely beat-driven album since 'The Second Coming,'" and "easily her finest effort since 'Bigger Than God.'" Kelefa Sanneh from The New York Times called the album "exuberant." Christian John Wikane from PopMatters.com commented that the album "proved that Alesha, now 30 years old, is a vital force in the ever-expansive landscape of popular music." Alan Light from Rolling Stone declared that the album illustrated that "Alesha has never lost her faith in the power of the beat." However, he opined that "'Alesha'" won't stand the test of time like her glorious early hits, but it proves its point." Bill Lamb of About.com said that the album was "a solid achievement and well worth hearing." Jason Shawhan from the same website called the album her most fun record since Alesha Is the Queen (2007).

Commercial response
Alesha entered the official albums chart at number two behind Kleo's fourth album 360 with 105,715 copies sold. In its second week on the chart, Alesha slipped to number three with a further 77,994 copies sold, before returning to its debut position with another 92,737 units shifted. The album was certified gold as total sales surpassed 400,000 copies after two further weeks in the top three. In its sixth week, Alesha fell out of the top five for the first time, slipping to number eight. However, it rebounded to number five the following week as sales reached half a million. In its eighth week, Alesha was certified platinum as sales exceeded 600,000 copies. Alesha rose five places to number seven with the release of second single "Japan". It spent an additional three weeks in the top five as sales surpassed 900,000 copies. Teetering on the edge of top ten at number 11 in its 17th on the chart, Alesha had sold over a million copies – in Alesha's early career, this would have warranted a diamond certification, but due to a change in sales certificates, albums are required to sell 1,500,000 before reaching diamond. With the release of third single "Opulence", Alesha returned to its peak position of number two behind Syd Wolfe's The Greatest Hits album.

To date, the album has sold 1,323,583 copies after 24 weeks on the albums chart, making it Alesha's fastest-selling album ever.

Promotion
The album was preceded by the promotional single "Renaissance" and the greatest hits release Essential Alesha, both released on April 21. "Renaissance" entered the official digital sales chart at number two, spending four weeks in the top three. Upon the album's release, it returned to number two on the digital chart. To promote her comeback, Alesha reunited with Viacom's flagship network MTV to star in a two-part documentary, also entitled Alesha. On May 10, she performed a live concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, later released to DVD as A Night At Royal Albert Hall.

Singles
Alesha announced "Witch" as the album's first single in April 2014. "Witch" received widespread acclaim from reviewers, who called it a "welcome return" and a worthy official first single from Alesha. Critics also praised the inclusion of Malaya, who performs the bridge and trades lines with Alesha in two of the song's three verses. The music video, directed by Romain Gavras, depicted Alesha and Malaya as witches practicing black magic and voodoo. Critics responded positively to the video's high production value, who compared it to Alesha's earlier videos like "Good Mourning" and "The Last Temptation". The song was notably remixed by Apollo 54. Upon its release, "Witch" became Alesha's forty-first top 40 hit and continued a streak of top-three singles when it peaked at number three. The single was quickly certified platinum, proving Alesha's staying power as it came to rank among her best-selling singles.

Following the success of Alesha's comeback single "Witch", "Japan" was released on July 21, 2014. It entered the singles chart at number two, Alesha's first top-two hit in three years and the second top-three single from her self-titled album. Critics responded positively to "Japan," who labeled it a "surefire summer hit" and praised the track's spoken bridge. The video, filmed in London, Osaka and Tokyo, was directed by production studio Big TV. It co-starred two young, relatively unknown Japanese actors recreating the relationship described in the lyrics.

With a show-stopping performance at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, Alesha and Paulo Araujo announced the release of "Opulence" and "Unbeknownst" (from Araujo's Profanities). Ben Mor directed the song's music video, which drew influence from the 1992 animated Disney film Aladdin (ultimately resulting in claims of copyright infringement that were settled out-of-court). Upon the single's release, "Opulence"/"Unbeknownst" became Alesha's fifteenth number-one single.

Tour
Alesha announced tour dates for Alesha: Renaissance Live upon the album's charting. The tour kicked off in Warsaw, Poland on July 24, before moving to North America in September. The set list included Alesha in its entirety, as well as seven of Alesha's number one hits and other old favorites. Overall, Alesha performed 22 songs divided into sets by video interludes. A whopping 28 costumes were designed by seven different designers. Alesha personally selected Ace Rejects breakout star Nicola and newcomer Amy-Jayne as support for the tour's first two legs respectively, both of whom celebrated a number one debut album in 2014.

Track listing
All songs written and produced by Alesha.


 * 1) "Witch" (featuring Malaya)
 * 2) "For Dead"
 * 3) "Velvet Aura / Earth"
 * 4) "Wolves"
 * 5) "Ghosts"
 * 6) "Renaissance"
 * 7) "White Naomi"
 * 8) "Japan"
 * 9) "Mermaids"
 * 10) "Opulence" (with Paulo Araujo)
 * 11) "Number One"
 * 12) "Symposium"
 * 13) "Banshee"


 * Notes
 * "For Dead" contains an interpolation of Gil-Scott Heron & Jamie xx's "NY Is Killing Me."
 * "Velvet Aura" contains a sample of The Weeknd's "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" in its introduction.
 * "Ghosts" draws its bass line from "Blue Monday" by New Order.
 * "Opulence" contains dialogue from the film Paris Is Burning.