Ready or Not

'Ready or Not' is Bella-May's third studio album, released throughout Europe and Oceania on August 5th 2013 and in the United States and Canada on November 5th 2013. The album was Bella's first album release in two years and was delayed for release a number of times, most notably from it's original date of February 25th, due to the under-performance of it's lead single "Ain't Got Shit". Ready or Not was released alongside it's second single "Jägerbomb" and debuted at #1, becoming Bella's second #1 album.

The album spawned two more singles, "Outer Space" and "Song For Jesy". A fifth single, "Sex Before Marriage", was released internationally on June 2nd 2014, becoming Bella's second single not to be released in the UK. Bella promoted the album further by embarking on her first world tour in January 2014.

Background
Bella began writing and recording tracks for the album as early as December 2011. According to the singer, the album was initially complete in September 2012 but she decided to record more tracks in order to have a larger selection to choose from for the final product. The first producer connected to the album was Fernando Garibay, who produced Bella's hit "Hooker On A Church Corner. Bella then began working with more urban producers such as Agent X, Alex Da Kid, Bangladesh and HyGrade. None of the HyGrade tracks made the album, though.

Critical Reception
Prior to release, Ready or Not received favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, the record received an average score of 82, based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Allmusic gave the album a high rating of 4.5/5 and praised tracks such as "Outer Space", "Club Banger" and "Song for Jesy". They called it "a superb pop record, worth waiting two long years for". Over at BBC Music, the album was received positively also. Naomi Bruce of BBC Music stated that the album was "very dance orientated" and cited the only filler tracks as being the two UK bonus tracks "Dragon" and "Last One Standing", which she called "good songs, but not very memorable". Popjustice gave Ready or Not an exceptionally positive track-by-track review. They claimed "Sex Before Marriage" was one of their favorites and called it "an obvious single choice". Other tracks noted for their single potential were "Outer Space", "Bella From the Block" and "Touch the Booty". They described "Touch the Booty" as "a delicious, urban-pop mess which uses it's sample perfectly and sounds like everything The Saturdays' "Gentleman" wanted to be". NME's review of the album saw them give it a rating of 7.5/10. They praised the quality of the lyrics and the production, but claimed the album's downfall was the "lack of diversity". According to them, the album's dance sound became tiring by the final few tracks.

Chart Performance
Upon release, Ready or Not charted at #1 in the United Kingdom and Scotland. It reached a peak position of #2 in Ireland and stayed in that position for three consecutive weeks. On it's fourth week on the Irish Albums Charts, it slipped to #3, before rising back up to #2 a week later. The album also charted inside the top 20 in most European countries.

In Australia and New Zealand, Ready or Not charted at numbers #7 and #5 respectively. The album peaked at #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 after it was released in the US and Canada in November 2013. In Canada, the album charted at #2 and has since been certified platinum.

Singles

 * "Ain't Got Shit" was the first single released from the album. It was released on February 25th 2013 using the On Air/On Sale method of releasing music. The track sparked major controversy and is considered a "minor flop" by Bella due to it not having the big "comeback sales" she hoped for. Despite this, the track did sell over 250,000 copies and was certified gold.
 * "Jägerbomb" was released as the album's second single on August 5th 2013. It was written by Bella and produced by David Guetta. The music video was shot in Gran Canaria and received positive reviews. The single shot to #1 and sold 504,782 copies, being certified platinum and becoming Bella's best selling single. It was also the ninth best-selling single of 2013.
 * "Outer Space" was released as the album's third single on November 3rd 2013. It served as the second single in the USA as "Ain't Got Shit" was not released there. The single peaked at #7 on the UK singles chart and at #3 in the USA, becoming another hit single for Bella.
 * "Song For Jesy" was released on May 26th 2014 as the fourth (and final in the UK) single from the album. The accompanying music video marked was written and directed by Bella herself, becoming the first video of hers she directed. Hollywood actress Bianca Lawson portrayed Bella's love interest, Jesy, in the video. The single charted at #4 in the UK and #38 in the USA.

Other Songs

 * "Sex Before Marriage" was the fourth and final single to be released from the album in the United States on June 2nd 2014. The track was not given a physical release, unlike the previous four singles. The music video premiere in late May 2014.

Tracklisting
All tracks on the album were written by Bella-May (except "Airtight", written by 8-Bit and "Bella From the Block", written by J-Lo and Birds of Prey)