Popstar By Numbers - Greatest Hits

”Popstar By Numbers – Greatest Hits” was the 2020 compilation from British recording artist Jack Stevens, which was certified silver for sales in excess of 250,000 on the official Urapopstar album chart.

Recording & composition
Recording for Jack’s fifth studio album Close Encounters was completed in secret at Jack’s home in The Cotswolds, during the Summer 2020 period when the majority of the United Kingdom was in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Jack recorded and produced the album from his home studio and worked remotely with his long-term collaborators Shell Ruin and Knobfeelers.

Initially reluctant to record an album, the process of recording simply began as a hobby and a chance to reconnect with Shell and his production team, during a time in which like many others Jack found he had more time on his hands and a desire to be creative in a time that felt the majority of those outlets had been taken from him. After recording in the early part of the Summer, Jack shelved the album but was eventually persuaded to ‘test the waters’ with the release of a Greatest Hits collection by friend and business partner Emily Henning, CEO of Blush Recordings who Jack signed an exclusive licensing and distribution deal with for his own imprint JSM. As well as an opportunity to ‘test the waters’ ahead of a full album release, the Greatest Hits collection also proved a chance to remaster Jack’s old recordings specifically for the streaming market and provided the opportunity for him to purchase his back catalogue from his former labels Ensemble and Inner’Sense who continue to both be credited on the tracks although are now both registered to Jack on Companies House. Accompanying the collection, Jack recorded a new track, specifically for the album Nothing In Common which would be the first, last and only release from the collection and was a track initially written and composed by Richard X but never released. Jack’s 2020 version was produced by long time collaborators Knobfeelers and marked their first collaboration in a decade.

Release & reception
“Nothing In Common” was initially announced a stand along single in early Summer 2020 through Jack’s official website and social media channels, with the Greatest Hits collection being announced shortly afterwards. Although there was much fanfare at Jack’s first musical endeavour in ten years, fans of the single had a somewhat mixed response to another collection of the singers hits, his third retrospective since 2008 and after the tracklisting was announced were dismayed to see only one new recording and a number of his singles missed off the collection altogether. “Nothing In Common” was premiered on July 23, 2020 through the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 and received general praise from fans and critics, this was ahead of it’s official single release, where it charted in the top five and has since been certified Gold for sales in excess of 300,000 copies on the Urapopstar singles chart. Promotion for the collection was limited due to it’s release during the height of the coronavirus pandemic but Jack appeared on a number of TV shows through video call and completed an online concert “Live In Your Living Zoom”, a spoof of old 90’s Sky Box Office shows and broadcast through the video call app Zoom. A video for the single was filmed in Venice, Italy and was completed shortly before stricter restrictions around travel and quarantine were brought in to the country and features Jack walking around the city and sailing a boat across it’s famous waters, the video was teased on the Lorraine programme on July 24, 2020 before being premiered on his official YouTube channel later the same day.

Critical response
Critical reception to the album was muted, with the majority of critics questioning the need for a further Greatest Hits collection for Jack as well as the relevance of such a compilation in the streaming world, but the majority scored praise on the quality of his earlier material and Jack’s success as a whole in the early part of the millennium. Response to the single fair similarly, with many praising the mature sound of the track but disappointed it was a cover version and not an original recording, at the time both the press and fans alike were unaware that Jack has recorded a studio album of original material, Close Encounters to be released in Q4, 2020.

Track listing & formats
01.	Reverend Stevens 02.	Hands Up! Pants Down! 03.	Jack For Justice 04.	Trendy Pop Boys (feat. Jake & Jon Farley) 05.	Shame On You 06.	Popstars By Numbers 07.	Electropop Discosound 08.	Something Kinky 09.	In For The Kill (vs. Shell Ruin) 10.	Alright Dynamite 11.	The Wolves 12.	Scared 13.	Hook, Line & Sinking Sailor 14.	Anonymous Girls 15.	Electric Eccentric (feat. Indigo Peak & Izzy) 16.	Captain Jack 17.	Sexxxy Robots 18.	Late Night Safari (Remix) 19.	The Siren’s Call 20.	Nothing In Common

Charts
“Popstar By Numbers – Greatest Hits” reached number 2 on the official Urapopstar album chart and has since been certified Silver, to date the album has sold 423,332 copies and spent 17 weeks on the chart.