Serenity

'Serenity' is the sophomore album from Regina Harper, released on January 6th 2014 via Fusion Records. The album was released alongside the lead single "Soft Grunge". On January 13th, Serenity officially charted at #1 on the UK albums charts, becoming Regina's second #1 album there, and #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Background
Regina began writing tracks for the follow-up to How Many Miles To Hollywood? as early as January 2013. She decided she wanted a more cohesive album and thus worked solely with only four producers: Liam Howe, Rick Nowels, Jeff Bhasker and Emile Haynie. Jeff Bhasker served as the album's executive producer. Regina wanted to create an album that was the "reverse" to her debut album; the other side of the same coin. Because of this, the themes of oppression and feminism are not exactly present in Serenity. The main theme of the album was described by Regina as "love".

Composition
The album features a wide variety of different sounds and genres. The first two tracks, "Follow the Sun" and "Soft Grunge", are upbeat punk-pop tracks described by Regina as being "very mainstream". Critics compared these tracks to the work of Avril Lavigne. "For One More Day" explores an 60's retro-rock sound. About this track, Regina said: "It's basically what I'd sound like all the time if I was a Mary Jane-smoking hippy". "Click Your Heels" and "The Award" are power-rock ballads, while "Do The Best I Can" sees Regina introduce some light dub-step into her authentic pop-rock sound. "Cashmere Sweater" sees Regina take a more artistic approach in her sound with a "hipster inspired" track, compared to the work of New Zealand singer/songwriter Lorde. Regina switches rock for electro-pop with "Tropical Goth Aura", often compared to her single "Sydney". The final two tracks "Serenity" and "Chosen" are powerful baroque-pop tracks, similar to Regina's hit single "The Pact".

Artwork, titling, concept
The album's artwork sees Regina and a boy kissing passionately in a field, with a love-heart shaped balloon present. According to Regina, the cover represents the album's theme of love and happiness. This also interweaves with the album title: Serenity. Harper said this was chosen as the album title because of how serene she felt when writing the album and how being in love can cause a person to feel totally at peace.

Release and promotion
There was not much promotion in the United Kingdom in the lead up to the album release. Regina made a public appearance at the Capital FM Jingle Bell Ball, performing four of her hit singles and giving the first ever performance of "Soft Grunge". She later appeared on talk shows The Alan Carr Show, The Graham Norton Show and, in Ireland, The Late Late Show. She performed "Soft Grunge" at all of these appearances also.

Since the album's release, Regina has stated that she feels the promotional campaign was hurt due to her lack of availability as not only was she trying to promote an album, but she was also filming for Initiate, a television series in which Harper is the main star.

Critical Response
Upon release, Serenity received mostly mixed reviews. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 84, based on 24 reviews, indicating "extremely favourable reviews". Allmusic stated that the album was "not as enjoyable" as her debut album and noted that the lack of upbeat songs became boring by the final few tracks. Some of the album's praise has been directed towards the versatility of genres on the album. BBC Music noted how, despite the many genres, the album flowed together very well. Entertainment Weekly called the album a "blessing" and said that "Chosen" was the album's highlight and also called it "an obvious future single". The Guardian's Emily Scott said that "this album cements Regina as a force not to be reckoned with. She really is one of a kind". The Sunday Times criticized the album, giving it only 2.5 stars out of 5. According to them, the album was a "bland, rushed effort" and was reminiscent of the work released by independent artists on a budget, not by someone with a major label backing.

Singles

 * "Soft Grunge" was released as the album's first single on January 6th 2014. The track received mostly positive reviews, despite being different from Regina's usual work. The music video was directed by Regina herself, a first for the singer, and premiered on December 22nd 2013. Upon release, "Soft Grunge" charted at #4 in the UK and #18 in the United States.


 * "Follow the Sun" was released as the album's second single on May 19th 2014. The upbeat pop-rock track received critical acclaim and peaked at #6 on the Urapopstar Singles Charts. An accompanying music video, directed by Regina, premiered on May 7th 2014.


 * "For One More Day" was announced as the album's third single in May 2014. A music video, directed by Yoann Lemoine, was filmed in Finca Al Manzil, Spain in early July 2014. The single received positive reviews from critics and fans and is given praise for it's melancholic lyrics and "retro, 60's production". The track was released on August 18th 2014 and charted at #TBA on the Urapopstar Singles Charts.

Promotional Singles

 * "Do The Best I Can" received a promotional music video that premiered in May 2014. The video was directed by Regina and shows Regina and her friends at a house party. The track did not receive any kind of release, however.


 * "The One That Got Away" was released as the album's first promotional single on June 30th 2014. The accompanying music video was directed by Anthony Mandler and showed Regina in prison after she killed her partner in a house fire after he cheated on her. Orange Is The New Black stars Natasha Lyonne and Danielle Brooks both make appearances and Ian Harding of Pretty Little Liars fame plays the role of Regina's cheating boyfriend. The track peaked at #? on the URAPS Download Charts.

Tracklisting

 * Notes
 * "Click Your Heels" is originally performed by Automatic Loveletter
 * "The One That Got Away" is originally performed by The Civil Wars.

Personnel

 * Writing - Regina Harper
 * Composition and production - Regina Harper, Liam Howe, Rick Nowels, Emile Haynie, Jeff Bhasker
 * Executive producer - Jeff Bhasker
 * Lead/main vocals - Regina Harper
 * Background vocals - Elizabeth Grant, Lambrini Kakalamani, Valerie Poxleitner, Nuhdeen Coyle, Carly Rae Japlip.
 * Guitars - Regina Harper, Butch Walker, Chris Braide, Linda Perry
 * Drums - Nestor Maxwell
 * Keyboards/piano - Regina Harper, Liam Howe, Brian Higgins