Bigger Than God

Bigger Than God is the sixth studio album by British recording artist Alesha. It was released on April 20, 2009, by Ensemble Entertainment, just shy of a year after the release of Alesha's previous studio album The Second Coming (2008). Alesha worked with Shell Ruin on the album while co-writing and co-producing all the songs. As Alesha's most introspective release at the time, Bigger Than God has been described as a confessional record.

Instead of employing a general pop sound, Bigger Than God further explores the alternative sounds Alesha had experimented with on The Second Coming. It is a rock album in its purest definition, also containing electronica music and influences of acoustic music on many tracks. Thematically, Alesha drew influence from dystopian literature such as George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, as well as her own ideas of dystopia. Additionally, Alesha explores themes of agnosticism, existentialism and the pitfalls of fame. The album was dubbed "a post-recession pop album" in light of the global financial crisis of 2008–09. China, Emily Henning and Romo provide guest vocals on "The Pretty Ones" (Romo also contributed her own verse).

Bigger Than God received widespread acclaim, with reviewers commending the singer's new musical direction. Critics agreed that it was Alesha's "most adventurous" record yet, as well as noting its mature, restrained nature. The singer's songwriting craft was also praised and said to have improved. Bigger Than God was honored with the Best Album award at the 17th Urapopstar Awards, Alesha's second win in the category. The album charted at number one upon its release, eventually becoming Alesha's third consecutive studio album to be certified diamond and her fourth consecutive number one album in general.

The album ultimately spawned four top-two, platinum singles, including the number ones "Apocalypse City" (released as the lead single) and "Bear Dance". In November 2009, Bigger Than God was re-issued with three new tracks, one of them being the best-selling Shell Ruin duet "Delusions of Grandeur". Alesha also embarked on her first stadium tour, 2009’s Apocalypse City Live. Critics and scholars have noted the way in which Alesha was able to re-invent herself and remain fresh and contemporary amidst a younger generation of stars.

Background and development
After scoring success with her fourth and fifth studio albums Alesha Is the Queen (2007) and The Second Coming (2008), Alesha began writing for her sixth studio album while on her international tour, Jesus Christ Supertour, in 2008. In September, Alesha wrote rough demos of "Apocalypse City" and "Bear Dance", the first songs to be completed from the album. She revised the songs with close friend and frequent collaborator Shell Ruin, who had written or co-written six tracks for The Second Coming. Ruin penned an early version of "Brooklyn to Brixton" that was overhauled by Alesha. Alesha and Ruin also wrote “Give Up the Ghost” together.

Two major influences on Alesha’s work were British music legend David Bowie and Canadian singer-songwriter Emily Haines, lead singer of the band Metric. Alesha had familiarized herself with Bowie’s discography over the years and found herself drawn to his 1974 concept album Diamond Dogs, which was inspired by George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and his own glam rock vision of a post-apocalyptic world. Alesha also drew her own inspiration from Nineteen Eighty-Four and other examples of dystopian fiction. Orwell’s novel in particular had great influence on album opener "Apocalypse City", which samples Bowie’s "We Are the Dead", and album closer "Beat Heart Beat". Elsewhere, Alesha found herself influenced by ideas of agnosticism and existentialism. Contrary to popular belief, Alesha was not positioning herself as “God” with the album title, but instead questioning religion.

In early 2009, Alesha approached singer-songwriter Romo about working together on her new album. Alesha had written a song entitled "The Pretty Ones", which was a veiled critique of her former "Power Power" collaborators Buffi, Ruin and Taylor Brookes. Alesha selected China, Emily Henning and Romo to perform their own verses that cemented themselves as a new generation of superstars. Alesha asked Romo to contribute her own verse to the track without playing her the rest of the song, wanting the track to sound like two separate compositions stitched together. Alesha modeled China's and Henning's verses after Romo's verse. Ruin threatened to halt production of the album when she filed a lawsuit against Alesha and Ensemble Entertainment, which was quickly settled outside of courts. Alesha and Ruin continued to be close friends and collaborators.

Music and lyrics
Bigger Than God is influenced by a variety of alternative music styles, such as art rock, dub, electronica, folk, glam rock, New Wave and power pop. Greg Kot from Chicago Tribune called the record an "electro-folk album". "Apocalypse City" depicts a dystopian future with a Big Brother figure, influenced by Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The song's introduction and conclusion sample David Bowie's "We Are the Dead", which also lifts from Orwell. Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the track "sharply skewers our love of celebrities and how eager we are to seem them fall." Musically, the song is "pounding electro-punk" whch is "fashioned from the same template as 'Tsunami of the Soul'." The second track and single "Brooklyn to Brixton" is a propulsive, electronic track with tribal drums, inspired by Indian composer A. R. Rahman's score for the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). Lyrically, it focuses on popular culture and its need to defame public figures. The original album version features a guest verse from rapper Latavia; this was replaced for the song's radio edit, which appears on the album's re-issue. The third track, "Minutes to Midnight", samples Thom Yorke's "And It Rained All Night" and echoes the album opener's depiction of a future dystopia. It alludes to the Book of Revelation from the New Testament. "Downtown Nowhere" is a piano ballad with a subtle orchestra section and "yearning nostalgia".

"Bear Dance" is a self-described “spooky” electronic song. Alesha was inspired by Kate Bush in her vocal delivery. The song references the controversial 2007 single “Power Power” in its opening lyric, "I have toyed with the power and the power cut". The album’s title comes from a lyric in the song's chorus ("There is something bigger than God and I believe it"). Track six, "Sly of the Fox", is a dub-inspired power pop song reminiscent of Alesha's previous studio album The Second Coming (2008). "Witching Hour" draws influences from New Wave, sampling post-punk band Siouxsie and the Banshee's 1980 album track "Lunar Camel". The lyrics, again, deal with ideas of the end of the world, incorporating themes of escapism and space discovery. "Submission", meanwhile, is a glossy synth-driven song with repetitive lyrics.

Alesha wrote "Give Up the Ghost" when she was pondering the existence of God. With themes of agnosticism evident in the lyrics, the song is a folk-inspired indie rock song clocking in at just over five minutes. The outro, which was contributed by Ruin, was dubbed "a real highlight of the album" by Alesha. "Superhuman" was referred to as "a timely, appropriate and grievous reminder of Wall Street greed and our hunger for more" by BBC Music reviewer Jamie Gill. The piano-led track features sparse instrumentation with heavy reverb applied to Alesha's vocals. "The Pretty Ones" is a piano-led ballad about three aging pop singers who desperately cling to their fame; following an instrumental section, the song turns into a fast-paced electropop song with guest verses from Romo, China and Emily Henning, before winding back down to a minimalist, indie moment. "The Velveteen Rabbit", named after the children's book, is a somber, electronica track about impermanence – of both fame and life. The final song on the album, "Beat Heart Beat", is a downtempo "indietronica" song inspired by the relationship between Julia and Winston in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Critical reception
Bigger Than God garnered widespread acclaim from critics, holding a score of 85/100 on Metacritic based on 26 professional reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic praised the album's layered music, giving it four out of five stars, and described Alesha’s collaboration with Shell Ruin as the reason why the album "comes alive with spark and style.” Dimitri Ehrlich from Vibe described the album as "a masterpiece of brilliantly arranged piano, haunting strings, and electronica dressings.” Paul Verna of Billboard called the album "a deliciously adventurous, ultimately victorious effort from one of pop music's most compelling performers." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described the album as "one of the great pop masterpieces of the 2000s.”

Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone wrote that "Alesha has returned after last year's defiant 'The Second Coming' with an even more artistic, dreamier album." Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Melissa Maerz gave the album an A- and wrote, "the hooks [...] don't compromise Alesha's pop ability at all, and on tracks like 'The Velveteen Rabbit,' the lyrics are so raw, you can feel Alesha's pain." Jamie Gill of BBC Music wrote that Alesha "is releasing her most creative, consistent and enjoyable album yet." He added, "Alesha didn't need this album to cement her status as one of the finest pop acts of the generation, but 'Bigger Than God' is a remarkable combination of thrilling pop hooks and searing intelligence."

Ten days after the album's release, CNN reported that it had sold over two million copies worldwide. Bigger Than God debuted at number-one in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom. It spent two weeks at the top of the chart. The album was certified diamond, becoming Alesha’s third album to reach that threshold. Bigger Than God sold a total of 1,454,201 copies, spending 44 weeks on the chart overall. It won Best Album at the 17th Urapopstar Awards, while “Apocalypse City” was awarded Best Single. Alesha also won Best Alternative/Rock and Best Songwriter. “Apocalypse City” also picked up nominations for Best Single/Album Art and Best Video, while Alesha received nominations for: Best Female, Best Live, Best Miscellaneous Art (for the “Brooklyn to Brixton” promo tour) and Best Promotion. In 2016, British music and film magazine Sound & Vision ranked Alesha's studio albums ahead of the box set The Albums: 2003-2014. Based on overall scores from review aggregate site Metacritic, Bigger Than God was listed at number one.

Singles
“Apocalypse City” was released as the album’s lead single on April 20, 2009. The song was praised by many contemporary critics. Some compared it with other Alesha songs, such as “Tsunami of the Soul” (2008). “Apocalypse City” achieved international success by topping the charts in 25 countries worldwide. It became Alesha’s seventh number one single in the UK. In the song’s accompanying music video, Alesha fled from a totalitarian government in a dystopian future. The song won Best Single at the 17th Urapopstar Awards.

“Brooklyn to Brixton” was released in June 2009 as the second single from the album. The original album version of the song featured rapper Latavia, but the radio edit was a revised solo version as Alesha felt she had released too many collaborations. The car chase music video was a continuation of the “Apocalypse City” video and guest starred Shell Ruin. To promote the single, Alesha performed a pair of concerts at Brooklyn’s Studio B and Brixton’s O2 Academy. The song reached number two on the charts, but it was Alesha’s lowest-selling single since 2007’s “Power Power”, barry receiving a platinum certification. Alesha engaged in a custody dispute with ex-husband Ben Parker and suffered a miscarriage.

The third single on the album was “Bear Dance,” backed by a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song” recorded for King of Pop: A Tribute to HIStory (and featured on the covers album Wanderlust). The single controversially debuted on the singles chart at number six, leading to Alesha’s bizarre behavior in an infamous live television interview; however, “Bear Dance”/“Earth Song” rose to number one the following week. The fourth single on the album was “The Pretty Ones” which became Alesha’s twelfth consecutive platinum top-two hit.

“Delusions of Grandeur,” a duet with Shell Ruin, accompanied the album’s re-issue in November 2009. Self-hyped as one of their best singles yet, the song received universal acclaim from music critics. The song's video was filmed at Chile's Cape Horn and portrays Alesha and Ruin as immortal warriors. "Delusions of Grandeur" topped the singles chart upon its release, becoming Alesha’s first single to sell over 400,000 copies. Alesha and Shell Ruin hosted the 17th Urapopstar Awards. After the awards ceremony, Ruin was involved in a serious car accident outside of London's Earls Court. It was thought that Ruin had died, but later revealed she had faked her own death. "Delusions of Grandeur" won Best Collaboration at the 18th Urapopstar Awards.

Tour
Alesha embarked in her first stadium tour Apocalypse City Live to promote Bigger Than God. The tour started on June 10 in Dublin, Ireland and concluded on October 20 in Calgary, Canada. The concert tour was described as a "supermassive and cinematic" rock opera set in a futurustic dystopian city. Costumes were designed by British fashion designer Gareth Pugh. After the first leg, it became the highest grossing tour by a solo artist, earning US $282 million, breaking the previous record Alesha herself held with her Jesus Christ Supertour. Overall, Alesha performed to over 3.5 million fans, grossing a total of US $408 million, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time. The show was filmed in Moscow, Russia for its television broadcasts and home video release.

Track listing
All songs written and produced by Alesha Kurdadze unless noted otherwise.


 * 1) ”Apocalypse City” (Kurdadze, Shell Ruin)
 * 2) ”Brooklyn to Brixton” (featuring Latavia) (Kurdadze, Ruin)
 * 3) ”Minutes to Midnight”
 * 4) ”Downtown Nowhere”
 * 5) ”Bear Dance” (Kurdadze, Ruin)
 * 6) ”Sly of the Fox”
 * 7) ”Witching Hour”
 * 8) ”Submission”
 * 9) ”Give Up the Ghost” (Kurdadze, Ruin)
 * 10) "Superhuman"
 * 11) ”The Pretty Ones” (featuring China, Emily Henning & Romo) (Kurdadze, Jenna Romo)
 * 12) ”The Velveteen Rabbit”
 * 13) ”Beat Heart Beat”

Deluxe edition
Alesha released a deluxe edition of Bigger Than God in November 2009, accompanying the release of Shell Ruin duet "Delusions of Grandeur". The song marks a stylistic transition for Alesha and Ruin, exploring a baroque pop sound with lyrics that draw influence from mythology and portray the duet partners as gods. In addition to the single, the repackaged version of the album featured two other new tracks. "Nature's Child" is an acoustic, indie-folk song. "Whore of Babylon" samples Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood's "Some Velvet Morning" and features guest vocals from Putanovska for the song's chorus.


 * 1) ”Apocalypse City”
 * 2) ”Delusions of Grandeur” (with Shell Ruin) (Kurdadze, Ruin)
 * 3) ”Brooklyn to Brixton” (radio edit)
 * 4) ”Bear Dance”
 * 5) ”The Pretty Ones” (featuring China, Emily Henning & Romo)
 * 6) ”Downtown Nowhere”
 * 7) ”Minutes to Midnight”
 * 8) ”Sly of the Fox”
 * 9) ”Witching Hour”
 * 10) ”Whore of Babylon” (featuring Putanovska)
 * 11) ”Submission”
 * 12) ”Give Up the Ghost”
 * 13) "Superhuman"
 * 14) ”Nature's Child”
 * 15) ”The Velveteen Rabbit”
 * 16) ”Beat Heart Beat”