Riot Grrrl

Riot Grrrl is the third studio album from British-born Latin pop singer MIDNIGHT and was released February 11, 2013 in the UK and February 12, 2013 around the rest of the world. The album and its lead single "Ashes to Ashes" were announced on MIDNIGHT's official website on December 27, 2012, confirming that both released would be made available on the same date in February. The album marks a dramatic shift in sound from the electronic pop influences heard on Demons and UNCENSORED, as MIDNIGHT said in an interview with Inside the Music that she wanted to create "classic and timeless music". Riot Grrrl became MIDNIGHT's third consecutive number one and Diamond certified album.

Announcement


Riot Grrrl was announced in a press release on MIDNIGHT's official website on December 27, 2012, announcing both the title of the album and its lead single, "Ashes to Ashes", as well as the date of release. The press release also gave an insight into the sound of the album, mentioning that MIDNIGHT would step into new territories with her music, including genres such as noise pop, dream pop and alternative rock on the record. The announcement was greatly received by fans and fellow musicians in the industry, showing excitement and support for the singer's return to music after she gave birth in 2012 to Beau Samuel Jacobs, her child with musician Rory Jacobs.

Critical reception
Ahead of the album release, Riot Grrrl began streaming on MIDNIGHT's official web page, where new tracks became unlocked over several days to eventually reveal the whole album. Fan reception towards the record has been overwhelmingly positive, praising the new elements in MIDNIGHT's music from noise pop to alternative rock, as well as the dark, emotional lyrical subjects across the record.

The first review of Riot Grrrl was issued by music blog SOUND who were given an exclusive listen of the full album ahead of the release date. The album was rewarded 4/5 by the website and claimed the album showed "huge growth", as well as adding that the album was "anything but expected" from MIDNIGHT's "samey forumla" from her previous two album releases. The Guardian also gave the album 4/5, noting that it was a "cutting edge album full of unexpected elements". Rolling Stone rewarded the album 3/5 and said that it was "incredibly dark and sometimes too depressing, but well written". Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A- and said it was a "fantastic collection of songs that show MIDNIGHT in a completely different light". Los Angeles Times gave a mixed review, stating it was "overall strong, but lacking in hits and replay value". 7.2 was given from Pitchfork Media, stating the album was a "big step from her last album, and seems convincing enough in both its sound and lyrics".

Chart performance
The album was be released February 11, 2013 in the UK on Fusion Records and debuted at #1 on the UK Official Albums Chart, going Silver in its first week with sales of 172,076. The album dropped to #3 in its second week, going Gold with sales of 85,298. The album sold a further 68,330 copies in its third week on the chart, going Platinum with overall sales of 325,704. On its tenth week on chart, the album was certified 2x Platinum for sales in excess of 600,000 copies. In its seventeenth week, Riot Grrrl was certified Diamond with sales in excess of one million copies, becoming her third consecutive album to receive the certification.