Alesha Is the Queen

Alesha Is the Queen is the fourth studio album by British recording artist Alesha. It was released on February 5, 2007, by Ensemble Entertainment. Following the dissolution of her previous record deal and the premature release of a greatest hits album, Chic/Freak (2006), Alesha opted to re-establish her music career instead of pursuing other endeavors as she had originally planned. Described by Alesha as her "first real album", Alesha Is the Queen represents a musical departure from her earlier work, which she had grown to feel "disconnected" from. As executive producer, Alesha autonomously wrote and produced a majority of the album, while enlisting songwriting from mentor Buffi and peer Kati. Frequent collaborators Josie Matthews and Neyssa contribute guest vocals.

In a reversal of her third studio album's – Buried Underneath (2005) – guitar-driven, soft rock sound, Alesha Is the Queen is a primarily pop record that relies heavily on synthesizers and drum machines. Within its pop framework, the album displays influences from a diverse range of genres, such as disco, electroclash, R&B, hip hop, and indie rock. Lyrically, Alesha Is the Queen explores themes of celebrity, fashion, and wealth, as well as sex and romance. Promotion of the album included the release of six commercially successful singles, including the number one "Fashion Kills", and The Queen Tour. Promotional efforts for Queen continued to associate Alesha with an increasingly provocative image, marked by a brief stint in rehab, a banned music video for "London Brat" and the controversial single "Power Power".

Alesha Is the Queen was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, who appreciated its overall production value and originality but were ambivalent towards Alesha's public persona. The album debuted at number one on the official albums chart, eventually selling over 1.7 million copies in the United Kingdom (and seven million worldwide). In doing so, it became Alesha's first album to receive a diamond certification. In addition to earning Alesha five additional nominations, Alesha Is the Queen received the Best Album award at the 14th Urapopstar Awards.

Background and development
Alesha released her breakthrough third studio album Buried Underneath in 2005, spawning two number one singles. By the year's end, Alesha had started work on a follow-up. She recorded songs written by Amy Marshall and girlASKboy, continuing in the pop-rock direction of Buried Underneath. Sarah Summers approached Alesha about collaborating on the song "Happy Slappers", which was released in February 2006. The electropop duet, which peaked at number two, led Alesha to re-think plans for her fourth studio album. As a placeholder, Alesha released her first greatest hits collection, Chic/Freak (2006). Alesha had intended to focus on other endeavors following the compilation's release, but ultimately began recording for her fourth studio album in late summer.

Feeling pressure to perform well from both herself and her record label (Ensemble Entertainment), Alesha scrapped an entire album's worth of "subpar" material. Alesha heard "Fashion Kills", a disco-inspired track written by singer-songwriter Buffi, which was being shopped around to different artists. According to Alesha, she "desperately" wanted the track for her fourth studio album. Alesha described the song as a turning point and a catalyst in the album's creation. Following the recording of "Fashion Kills", witing and recording sessions for Alesha Is the Queen were completed within four months. Buffi helped Alesha to coin the album's title, which is taken from a lyric in "Fashion Kills". She also wrote "Delicious" (included on the standard edition) and "The Teachings of Alesha" (from a re-issued deluxe edition).

"Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train" was originally an unfinished track written and performed by Alesha's then-girlfriend Neyssa, appearing on 2006's The Beat That My Heart Skipped in its demo form as an interlude. Alesha found the first verse and chorus "so beautiful" that she completed the track as a duet between herself and Neyssa. The pair had previously collaborated on the number one single "Close the Door"/"He's Done It Again" in 2005, the third single from Buried Underneath. Alesha approached her friend Josie Matthews to appear on the song "Just for the Thrills". Alesha would later write and produce Matthews' second studio album Resurrection in its entirety. Meanwhile, Alesha's friend Kati contributed songwriting with "Stopping Time".

Music and lyrics
Alesha Is the Queen is primarily a pop album, which also integrates elements of electroclash, hip hop and indie rock music. The lyrics showcase themes of fame, fashion and wealth, as evident on tracks like "Fashion Kills", "London Brat" and "The OH in Ohio". A fifteen-track set, the album opens with the "full-on dance" track "Fashion Kills", which was inspired by legendary disco and synthpop producer Giorgio Moroder. The first song recorded for Alesha Is the Queen, "Fashion Kills" was ultimately chosen as the lead single for the record. An ode to fashion, as the title would suggest, the song references designers Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Minolo Blahnik and Vivienne Westwood with a middle-8 that echoes Madonna's 1984 hit "Material Girl". The second track (and second single) "Just for the Thrills" features vocals from Alesha's protege Josie Matthews. Centred around sleeping with rich men for money, "Just for the Thrills" was described as "deliciously slutty." It was called a "well-produced, upbeat pop tune, with a great hook in the chorus" by The Sunday Times. The song was featured in the straight-to-video film Heartbreakers 2, starring Matthews.

"London Brat", the album's third single, is a "dark, squiggly synthpop epic" with "a collision of warp-speed funk guitar riffs and distorted Giorgo Moroder-style techno-disco." Many critics compared the song, which parodies Alesha's recent exposure in the media to the music of British girl group Girls Aloud and their producers Xenomania. Alesha had been dubbed a member of the 'London Brat Pack' by the British tabloids, a name attributed to a collective of young, female pop-rock singers who were often photographed together. "Lucky Draw," which was called "the album's hidden highlight", was labelled "weighty, sultry electro-pop [...] layered with beautifully enticing synth melodies." The song is about spontaneity and jumping into a new relationship, a theme Alesha would revisit more successfully with her 2014 hit "Japan". Track five, "A Hole in My Heart", is an electro-bossanova track that reminisces a summer fling, while "When the Glitter Fades" is a synthpop song that details the loneliness of fame.

"Delicious," the second song written by Buffi on the album, has more indie rock influences, indicative of Buffi’s usual musical style. "Career Suicide" is a darker, mid-tempo song with electronica influences that details an aging popstar with a penchant for drugs (Alesha joked the song was about Buffi). The album proceeds with track nine, "This Is Not a Peepshow", is an electroclash song about turning down suitors on a night out. "Like Freddy" references iconic A Nightmare on Elm Street slasher Freddy Kreuger with its title and the lyric, "I’m gonna turn you indie out like Freddy." The song's chorus is built around the playground chant heard in the film series. Another electroclash-inspired track, "Like Freddy" was written using a Roland MC-505 sequencer/drum machine. "The OH in Ohio" is inspired by hip-hop and R&B subgenre crunk. Alesha received criticism for the song's "classist" lyrics, which maintained Alesha's superiority over girls with "torn Chuck Taylors" and "nails to match their trailers". Track 11, "Candy Cigarettes", is a darker, electropop ballad comparing a toxic relationship to a nicotine addiction. "May", an acoustic indie rock song, and "Stopping Time", a Kati-penned pop-rock power ballad, are both reminiscent of Alesha's previous studio album Buried Underneath (2005). "Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train", a duet with Neyssa, is an indie-folk "suicide note."

The album's deluxe edition came out in July 2007. It includes two new songs from the "Power Power" EP, a collaboration with Buffi, Shell Ruin and Taylor Brookes. "Power Power", written by Alesha and Ruin, is a dancehall-inspired electropop song that boats a "gangster rap swagger". "Cherry Bomb", written by Buffi, is a darker, indie rock song. Other songs on the deluxe edition include "Kill from the Rear", a duet with Putanovska from her album Fierce & Working It: Chic, as well as the '80s-inspired "The Teachings of Alesha", the Othello-penned "A Fire Died Inside My Heart" and "Candy Cigarettes" sequel "Burns".

Reception
Alesha Is the Queen received generally positive reviews from contemporary pop music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71, based on 32 reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the album "intermittently exciting and embarrassing," and Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times described it as "clever and sometimes enticing" but stated that it "doesn't quite add up." Jennifer Nine of Yahoo! Music praised the album as "the hottest, coolest, best-dressed pop album of the year" and found it to be "sleek, shimmery, and dripping with all-killer-no-filler musical bling." In a review for About.com, Jason Shawhan noted that the album "manages a near-impossible feat—it spans almost every genre of fun party and dance music you can name, yet remains a cohesive whole." Lisa Haines of BBC Music stated that Alesha rivaled Lucreacia and Emma Brown. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone viewed it as "an irresistible party: trashy, hedonistic and deeply weird." The magazine later placed the album at number thirty-nine on its list of the top fifty albums of 2007.

The album received some criticism for its large number of collaborations and producers. The Guardian’s Caroline Sullivan argued that although "others lend a hand [...] it's very much Alesha’s show"; however, most others disagreed. Anthony Carew of Neumu expressed that the album's fragmentation kept it from being "a bright-and-shiny pop-music tour-de-force.” Eric Greenwood wrote for Drawer B that "Alesha tries to be all things to all people here", but that the result "comes off as manipulative and contrived.” Entertainment Weekly's David Browne shared this opinion, stating that the album "is like one of those au courant retail magazines that resembles a catalog more than an old-fashioned collection of, say, articles." Many reviewers focused on the album's light lyrical themes, but Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine commented that the album's "fashion fetish [...] gives the album a sense of thematic cohesiveness.”

Alesha Is the Queen debuted at number one on the official albums chart, becoming Alesha's second number one album (following 2005's Buried Underneath). The record became Alesha’s first to receive a diamond certification, indicating one million copies sold. It sold a total of 1,792,817 copies after 54 weeks on the chart. For many years, Alesha Is the Queen remained Alesha's best-selling album and ranked in the top ten best-selling albums of all-time, although it no longer holds each other status. At the 14th Urapopstar Awards, Alesha Is the Queen won Best Album. Alesha also earned nominations for Best Collaboration (“Just for the Thrills”), Best Female, Best Live (The Queen Tour), Best Single/Album Art (“The OH in Ohio”/“Candy Cigarettes” and Best Songwriter. At the 15th Urapopstar Awards, Alesha won Best Female and received nominations for Best Collaboration (“Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train”) and Best Promotion.

Promotion
The album was launched with "Fashion Kills", becoming Alesha’s third number one single after an extensive promotional campaign. The music video was inspired by the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada. Alesha performed the song at the 13th Urapopstar Awards. A transformative single in Alesha’s career, it has been said that it "heralded a new era of success" for Alesha by The Guardian. Alesha Is the Queen was additionally promoted through the documentary of the same name, which premiered through MTV ahead of the album's release; it covered the production of the project and the lead-up to its release. Alesha appeared on the cover of Nylon and Rolling Stone magazines in January 2007. "Just for the Thrills" with Josie Matthews was released as the album’s second single in April 2007. Alesha and Matthews visited Africa for Comic Relief; scenes from their visit were televised during the live telethon. They appeared on special Comic Relief celebrity editions of Countdown and Ready Steady Cook. The song’s b-side, "Primark Honey," is an infamous parody of Melissa Moore’s "Gucci Baby". The single charted at number two. "London Brat" became the third top five single from the album in June.

Alesha teamed up with her close friends and recurring collaborators Buffi, Shell Ruin and Taylor Brookes in July 2007 to release "Power Power", which they described as an "epic tour-de-force". The EP consisted of two brand new tracks, the titular song and "Cherry Bomb", in addition to collaborative versions of songs taken from their respective albums. Adverts ran on Channel 4 throughout the campaign and both songs were A-listed by BBC Radio 1 within the first week of their initial release. The released experienced extreme setback during early stages of promotion when all four musicians were arrested. It emerged soon after that the police had unearthed plans for the women to copycat the Moors murders of the 1960s. The girls adopted Myra Hindley's appearance — mirroring her eye makeup, hair style and sardonic attitude. However, their stint behind bars was short-lived and they were soon released and given a timely amount of community service, which included cleaning the doorstep of Jill Dando. The video, which showed the girls hellbent on world domination, also proved controversial. Despite the highly publicised promotional campaign and hype, the song failed to set the charts alight - it didn't even enter the top ten. "Power Power" has become famed as a trainwreck and one of the most shocking singles of Urapopstar. While fans and some fellow celebrities felt that the low charting was undeserved, a large number of people thought it was justified. All four parties received criticism for their controversial antics. The song was voted the Worst Single of the Year, Worst Collaboration, and Most Deserved Flop at the 2007 Shit Awards. Alesha maintains that the single is one of her favourite memories.

In an attempt to appeal to regain the public's support, Alesha targeted a new audience with the fifth single from Alesha Is the Queen. "The OH in Ohio" and "Candy Cigarettes" were chosen. Promotion was launched at the 14th Urapopstar Awards, as Alesha put on a mind-blowing performance of "Ohio" with Twist which poked fun at Camilla Holmes, Dalisay, Ellen Fitzpatrick, Lady Lou, and Lavina. She also created a clothing line for high street chain River Island, furthering her mainstream appeal. "The OH in Ohio"/"Candy Cigarettes" proved Alesha's career was still thriving when it peaked at number two in September 2007. The album's final single, the Neyssa duet “Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train”, also peaked at number two. Alesha embarked on her first world tour The Queen Tour in 2007, performing in arenas in Europe, Asia and North America. Jamie King directed, while John Galliano designed costumes. Alfie Outcast and Lola Elle were chosen as opening acts. The tour was televised in September 2007 and received a CD+DVD release in December 2007.

Legacy
Alesha stated that she "started over" as an artist with the release of Alesha Is the Queen. In a later interview, she elaborated that she recognizes Queen to be her official debut record, deprecating her earlier projects. According to biographer Andrew Morton, the album made Alesha a household name, and was instrumental in introducing her star power. The album was listed in the top-ten best-selling albums of all-time for a number of years; due to inflation and an increase in digital album sales, the album has since been outsold by a number of releases, including Alesha's own.

A revised edition of Alesha Is the Queen appears as part of the box set, The Albums: 2003-2014. The disc features 14 of the standard edition's 15 tracks, replacing "May" with "Power Power". This revised track listing has since appeared on streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify and BLOC. In February 2017, Alesha appeared in a U.S. Vogue editorial that celebrated ten years of Alesha Is the Queen. Alesha was photographed by Tim Walker in a number of couture and ready-to-wear looks that echoed the album's portrayal of fashion and luxury.