The Martyr

The Martyr is the seventh studio album by British recording artist Alesha. It was released on January 10, 2011, by Holy Trinity Music Group. For the first time in her career, Alesha autonomously wrote and produced the album in its entirety. The Martyr features references to the dissolution of Alesha's relationships with ex-wife Neyssa and close friend Shell Ruin, who had staged her own death in November 2009. The album closely examines fame and its many effects on Alesha's personal and family life. The Martyr explores electronica and experimental music, as well as influences of art rock and dream pop on many tracks.

The album received mixed reviews from music critics. While reviews noted its consistency, many critics lamented the lack of radio-friendly hooks and found the album confusing. While The Martyr entered the albums chart at number one with higher first-week sales than Alesha's previous releases, it was also her first studio album to fall short of a diamond certification since Buried Underneath (2005). Still, The Martyr was nominated for Best Album at the 20th Urapopstar Awards and earned Alesha the award for Best Songwriter.

Three singles were released from the album. The lead single, "Silent Holocaust", charted at number two and received a nomination for Best Single at the Urapopstar Awards. "The Hunted" returned Alesha to number one following a high-profile performance at the URAPS Legends concert. The album's third single, "Sister", continued a three-year streak of platinum, top-two singles; a remix featuring Candi was also released. "Alpha & Omega", a duet with Putanovska, was slated to appear on a re-issue of The Martyr following its release in July 2011; Alesha instead focused on the film project Prime Cut. Alesha embarked on the Heathen Tour to promote the album.

Development
In March 2010, Alesha announced her third pregnancy and plans to retire from the music industry. She intended to end her career with a celebratory onslaught of releases, such as the greatest hits collection Last Judgment (2010) and the double-platinum single "The Last Temptation" in June. However, within months, Alesha was persuaded to work on new material by close friend Putanovska. During her pregnancy, Alesha conceptualized an "electro-pop opera" inspired by the science-fiction film Blade Runner (1982). Only one song emerged from these sessions, in the form of "Blush (Response)" by Emily Henning.

In August 2010, it was revealed that Alesha's close friend and recurring collaborator Shell Ruin had in fact staged her own death a year before. Alesha was hounded by members of the press, who demanded to know how much Alesha knew about Ruin's "pseudocide". Alesha was questioned during several interviews but refused to comment. After increasing pressure for her to discuss the situation, a representative for Alesha issued a statement stating that Alesha was not aware that Ruin's death was fake and that the pair hadn't spoken. The fallout between the pair was highly publicized as Ruin prepared to release her own album, Paper Doll (2010).

At the same time, Alesha and her wife Neyssa Kurdadze had encountered marital problems in the wake of Neyssa's continued drug use. The pair had been together since 2005 and married since 2008. Alesha gave birth to twin boys, bizarrely named Rafiki and Zazu Kurdadze after characters from Disney's The Lion King (1994), in October 2010. In January 2011, while promoting The Martyr, Alesha filed for divorce. In a 2014 interview, Alesha revealed that she had suffered from severe postnatal depression during the creation of The Martyr, giving the album a noticeably more somber tone.

Music and lyrics
The Martyr is widely perceived as Alesha's darkest, most alternative, and most avant-garde release. Musically, the electronica album explores ambient music, industrial musical, and trip hop. Art rock and dream pop also influence many tracks. Alesha cited Björk as the album's greatest inspiration during her writing and recording process, as well as Putanovska's own experimental release, Putanovska's The Black Sea (2010). Alesha also listened to shoegaze bands like Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine.

The album's opening track, "God Is Dead", serves as a "farewell" to the previous chapter in Alesha's career, which was dominated by themes of religion and sacrilege. It was noted by critics as the "antithesis" to "The Creation", which opened Alesha's previous release Last Judgment (2010). "Silent Holocaust", a "dark wave" song, is the set's second track. Lyrically, it deals with postnatal depression and the perceived loss of power and control over one's own life.

“In Matrimony” discusses Alesha’s need for fame as something that gives her life significance. “Caesar” is about Alesha’s feud with Shell Ruin. “Sister,” written about Alesha’s sister Maria and her sisterhood with Putanovska and Ruin, employs minimalist and trip hop influences and has more of a hook than the album’s other tracks. “Mother” discusses the struggles of raising children under scrutiny in the public eye. Second single “The Hunted” contains an interpolation of Björk’s “Hunter.” The song is about Ruin, the perils of fame and the superficiality of the music industry. The album ends with “Summer Skin,” a more hopeful, melodic track with only piano and vocals.

Critical reception
The Martyr received mixed reviews from music critics, holding a score of 66/100 on music review website Metacritic, based on 27 professional reviews.

Billboard's Michael Paoletta noted the lyrical differences from past albums such as Bigger Than God positively, saying "The Martyr relies less on spiritual introspection and more on woman-in-the-mirror confrontation."

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated that The Martyr is better for what it promises than what it delivers, and that it is better in theory than practice. James Hannaham from Spin compared the album's introspective themes to her previous albums Bigger Than God and Last Judgment and noted Alesha spends much of The Martyr bemoaning the emptiness of celebrity culture.

The Martyr was nominated for Best Album at the 20th Urapopstar Awards, while “Silent Holocaust” was nominated for Best Single; Alesha also received nominations for Best Alternative/Rock, Best Female, Best Live and Best Overall Artist. Alesha was the recipient of the ceremony's Best Songwriter award.

Commercial response
Upon its release, The Martyr entered the albums chart at number one, becoming Alesha’s eighth consecutive number one album. It gave Alesha her highest first-week sales frame at that time. Upon the release of “The Hunted,” the album returned to the top spot. The Martyr was certified triple platinum (indicating 900,000 units shifted), selling a total of 983,647 copies. Although it became Alesha’s first studio album to miss out on a diamond certification since 2005, the album was the tenth best-selling album of 2011.

Singles
The album was accompanied by lead single “Silent Holocaust”. Performed for the first time on the 2010 Christmas Chart Show, the song was released in January and ended Alesha's number one streak, but earned Alesha her seventeenth consecutive top two hit and was quickly certified platinum. "Silent Holocaust" ranks as Alesha's highest-selling number two to date, becoming the twelfth best-selling single of 2011 and the most commercially successful of the album's campaign. The song was nominated for Best Single at the 20th Urapopstar Awards.

Alesha hosted the 19th Urapopstar Awards with Putanovska and Just Ginger in February, winning five awards and performing at the ceremony with Putanovska and Shell Ruin (who Alesha had now reconciled with). Alesha released “The Hunted” as the album’s second single in March 2011. Promotion included a high-profile performance at the URAPS Legends concert. The single was soon followed by “Sister”, continuing a three-year streak of top-two hits. Alesha also appeared on newcomer Candi’s second single “Gold”; Candi appeared on a remix of "Sister" to return the favour. In July 2011, Alesha released “Alpha & Omega”/“Who Do You Think You Are” with Putanovska to promote their film ‘’Prime Cut’’ and its soundtrack.

Alesha was due to release “Summer Skin” together with “Sex Scene” from the ‘’Prime Cut’’ soundtrack in September 2011 but plans for the release were canceled. A greatest hits compilation ‘’God Save the Queen: The Best of Alesha’’ was released in August 2011 and remained Alesha’s last release until 2014.

Tour
On 28 February, Alesha launched the ‘’’Heathen Tour’’’, her fifth world tour in as many years. Support acts included Ace Rejects, Luke Ramada and Sandi Cohen in Europe, Genevere Johnson in North America, Helena Rossi in Africa/Asia/South America, and Becca Hayworth. The tour did not receive a televised broadcast or a home video release, causing many Alesha fans to call it “the lost tour.”

Track listing
All songs written by Alesha Kurdadze.


 * 1) “God Is Dead”
 * 2) “Silent Holocaust”
 * 3) “In Matrimony”
 * 4) “Caesar”
 * 5) “Sister”
 * 6) “Mother”
 * 7) “The Hunted”
 * 8) “Summer Skin”


 * Notes
 * “Silent Holocaust” contains a sample of Antony and the Johnson’s “Where Is My Power” in its middle-8.
 * “The Hunted” contains an interpolation of Björk’s “Hunter.”