The Second Coming

The Second Coming is the fifth studio album by British recording artist Alesha. Released on 2 June, 2008 by Ensemble Entertainment, the album served as the follow-up to the hugely successful Alesha Is the Queen (2007). The Second Coming was written and produced by Alesha and Shell Ruin, marking the first in a long string of collaborations.

Alesha drew on religious and military themes, depicting herself as both a Messianic figure and a revolutionary. The Second Coming features a number of musical styles including alternative pop and rock, dance, electronica and hip-hop. The album features vocal contributions from male artists Jack Stevens, Jon Farley and Ryan Dawson.

Critics responded well to the album and the advancement Alesha’s sound. The album was a lightning rod for religious controversy, leading the Vatican to condemn Alesha’s music and persona. Commercially, The Second Coming became an international success like its predecessor, reaching the top of the charts in multiple territories. It was certified diamond with one-and-a-half million copies sold.

The album spawned four hit singles: “Tsunami of the Soul”, “Original Sin”, “Disciplinary”/“Guerrilla” and the “Crucify” EP. “Disciplinary”/“Guerrilla” became Alesha’s most successful single at that time. Ensemble re-issued the album again following Alesha's number one collaboration with Indigo Peak, “Filthy Preacher”/“Shoot to Kill”. The album preceded Alesha’s ground-breaking Jesus Christ Supertour.

Development
In 2007, Alesha released her fourth studio album Alesha Is the Queen. The album became Alesha’s first diamond-certified album, spawning six singles including the number one “Fashion Kills”. In March 2008, Alesha released the rarities album The Good That Won’t Come Out, accompanied by the number one single “Diamonds & Dollars” (a duet with Putanovska).

Alesha began working on her fifth studio album in November 2007, towards the end of the Alesha Is the Queen campaign. Inspired by Shell Ruin’s The Dirty Is Done (2007), Alesha began exploring a variety of music styles and a new approach to songwriting. Ruin wrote five songs for the album and co-wrote another, leading to the first in a long history of songwriting collaborations between the pair (famously referred to as “Shellesha”).

“Tsunami of the Soul,” written by Ruin, served as a blueprint for much of the album. The pair had previously collaborated on 2007’s “Power Power”, the controversy of which inspired the lyrics to certain songs. Alesha was inspired by artists such as M.I.A., Santigold, their shared producer Switch and also the left field production of pop powerhouse Xenomania.

Music and lyrics
The Second Coming is a pop album that draws influences from alternative pop and rock, dance, electronica and hip-hop.

Album opener “Tsunami of the Soul,” the lead single, is a chaotic, electronica-inspired song. It was described as “bold, sassy, slightly loopy and unbelievably catchy” and “the most daring thing Alesha has released.” “Jesus Christ Supermodel” has a “house-y feel” and paints Alesha as a Messianic figure. “Blow Your Speakers Out” was inspired by early 1990s rave music. “Disciplinary,” written by Shell Ruin, features an army cadence performed by guest vocalist Jon Farley. Described as a sequel to Ruin’s “My Teaches,” the song features heavy snare. Second single “Origina Sin,” a duet with Alesha’s protégé Ryan Dawson, is a “seedy” electro-pop song that sounds both “state-of-the-art” yet “reminiscent of 1980s London.”

“Hunting for Love,” penned by Ruin, is an anthemic dance-pop number, while “Sheep & Wolf” is a synth pop ballad. “Smoking Gun (Fuckery)” is the only song on the album co-written by Alesha and Ruin. The song is a brooding, mid-tempo song with electronica overtones. “Guerrilla” is a grime-inspired track with military themes that is “sung with a snarl.” “Warning! Fragile Popstars” is a duet with Jack Stevens, who also co-penned the track. The song is “typical Jack Stevens with a smart Alesha spin.” “Devils to the Ground,” the fourth track penned by Ruin, is “a thrilling mixture of Prodigy-style beats and intergalactic synths.”

“Fear the Call,” Ruin’s final contribution, is a “forward-thinking drum-and-bass track.” “The Angels in This City” is an indie rock song comprised of pieces of different demo tracks. The lyrics reference Neeley O’Hara, a character in the popular book and film Valley of the Dolls; Alesha would later go on to play Helen Lawson in a Broadway revival of Valley of the Dolls. “Timebomb” is an indie pop song with New Wave influences. ”Crucify” is a mid-tempo electronic track with hip-hop influences in which Alesha draws parallels between people living under public scrutiny and the crucifixion of Jesus.

Critical reception
The Second Coming received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 37 reviews. A Rolling Stone review dubbed the album “…as close to art as pop music gets.” Talia Kraines of BBC Music labelled the album "yet another unrelenting pop masterpiece" by Alesha, while praising the "challenging pop music" production "without ever losing her sense of fun" and calling Alesha “undoubtedly an icon in the making.” John Lucas of Allmusic considered it "a short, sharp and tight collection of some of the most exciting music in a particularly exciting career" and complimented it for being "a perfectly constructed whole without becoming a tedious homogeny.” A reviewer for Virgin Media rated The Second Coming four and a half out of five starts, describing the album as "ballsy pop with moments of eclecticism which [...] results in hair-curlingly exciting music" and stating that “Alesha excels herself.”

Nick Levine of Digital Spy found the songs "fun, frivolous, catchy, sexy and innovative," and noted that The Second Coming was Alesha’s “ballsiest album to date.” A reviewer for NME reated the album a 7 out of 10, saying that the singer’s career "has been marked by genre-hopping, and lots and lots of headlines,” while commenting that The Second Coming “will continue the trend." In a less enthusiastic review, Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine felt that the album is less successful than ‘’Alesha Is the Queen’’ because it lacks its predecessor's immediate hooks and clever pop sensibility. Alexis Petridis, writing in The Guardian, felt that The Second Coming is still a "unique" listen in spite of occasionally tuneless songs.

The album was nominated for Best Album at the 16th Urapopstar Awards but lost.

Commercial performance
The Second Coming charted at number one upon its release, Alesha’s fourth number one album. It eventually selling 1,502,180 copies after 53 weeks on the chart, becoming Alesha's second diamond-certified album.

Singles
“Tsunami of the Soul” was released as the album’s lead single in May 2008, charting at number two behind URAPS Idol winners Sleazy Sisters. The song and its music video were nominated for Best Single and Best Video at the 16th Urapopstar Awards. The album’s second single, “Original Sin” (with Ryan Dawson), became Alesha’s fifth number one single.

“Disciplinary”/“Guerrilla” became Alesha’s sixth number one single, outselling all of Alesha’s previous singles. The Second Coming’s era was ended with the “Crucify” EP, which featured “Jesus Christ Supermodel”, “The Angels in This City,” “Timebomb,” “Crucify” and two exclusive songs, “Boytoy” and “Judas.” It continued Alesha's streak of singles to chart within the top two.

Tour
Alesha headlined the 2008 Glastonbury Festival alongside Shell Ruin, performing a highly publicized and memorable twenty-six song set that spanned three hours. That evening, Alesha announced her second world tour, the Jesus Christ Supertour. The tour started on August 1, 2008 in Belfast, Northern Island and concluded four months later on December 8, 2008 in Vancouver, Canada. The costumes were designed by legendary fashion designer Alexander McQueen, with creative input from Alesha herself. The tour generated positive reviews from critics. After its ending, the Jesus Christ Supertour was dubbed as the highest grossing tour ever for a female artist at its time, grossing over US $194.7 million.