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Album: Rebecca Ferguson - 'Heaven'
Member Since: 11/2/2010
Posts: 20,295
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Quote:
Originally posted by Chunk
We've heard tons of performances, the snippets, demos and her X Factor performances to hold us over. I'm stanning for ha since A Change Is Gonna Come to be correctly.  |
I remember her audition. She was so shy but she was AMAZING. I knew I had to get her album. 
Quote:
Originally posted by Chunk
Hehe, just joking. You, Crazytowel, Superbitch, Shy Boy and PopBoi I want y'all to post more often in here. I'm running this thread by myself at the moment tbh.  |
I will, when it's released. 
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Member Since: 10/8/2009
Posts: 35,527
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Tomorrow the album is out in Ireland, WAIT
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Member Since: 11/2/2010
Posts: 20,295
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Quote:
Originally posted by PopBoi
Tomorrow the album is out in Ireland, WAIT
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I'm considering moving to Ireland just to get the albums 3 days before the UK.
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Member Since: 1/1/2011
Posts: 10,372
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Trashlounge Review: 5 Stars
Quote:
Given the fact that the X Factor runner-up has gone on to sell more records than the winner every year for the last FIVE years (sorry to rub it in, Ray Quinn), it’s hard to imagine Rebecca Ferguson being particularly inconsolable when she gracefully accepted a second-place finish behind Matt Cardle twelve months ago.
She’s the one from last year’s Top 5 who’s taken the most time in bringing out her debut opus. Mary Byrne rush-released a covers album in March, Cher Lloyd over-excitedly made us all victims of ‘Swagger Jagger’ in June and One Direction stole Matt Cardle’s thunder by releasing just a few weeks before him in September. But then, R-Fergz has had a lot more artistic license with her record than any of her co-stars. For all Cardle’s harping on about “credibility this, singer-songwriter that”, his début album was criminally over-produced and consequently ended up too much of a Heart FM beige-fest.
For Ferguson, it’s been gruelling sit-downs with songwriting overlord Eg White, the man who bought out the best in Adele (‘Chasing Pavements’), Duffy (‘Warwick Avenue’) and Will Young (‘Leave Right Now’), and the result is spectacular. Heaven, despite its lack of potential “big hit singles”, is soulful, heartfelt and utterly breathtaking. Opened by ‘Nothing’s Real But Love’, a kitchen-sink-free gem of optimism, it completes its ten-track run without a single addition that falls short of amazing.
If forced to pick out highlights, ‘Shoulder To Shoulder’ is worthy of acclaim for its restrained anguish, ‘Fairytale (Let Me Live My Life This Way)’ for sheer sass, and ‘Fighting Suspicions’ for sounding like a both Bond theme and the accompaniment to a classic Film Noir all at the same time. As for ‘Teach Me How To Be Loved’, good luck avoiding a lump in the throat.
Performances like ‘Make You Feel My Love’ on X Factor last year proved Rebecca had the voice for big things, but here we’re shown an incredible knack for songwriting well. As with the Adele album, there will be those who prefer their music with more bells on; but, honestly, Heaven is without flaw. She won’t achieve the sales figures managed by her more youth-friendly predecessors Olly Murs and JLS, but in terms of artistic ability Ferguson could be the best talent show discovery since… ever?
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http://trashlounge.co.uk/2011/12/01/...rguson-heaven/
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Member Since: 10/8/2009
Posts: 35,527
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Quote:
Originally posted by Michael
I'm considering moving to Ireland just to get the albums 3 days before the UK.
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Pixie's itunes album leaked at midnight thursday, maybe Rececca's will too.
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Member Since: 1/1/2011
Posts: 10,372
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Quote:
Originally posted by PopBoi
Tomorrow the album is out in Ireland, WAIT
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So is it true then? I always thought about that it would be released sooner in Ireland like every album, but couldn't find confirmation. I wanted to look at irish iTunes today. If my first impressions on this album proves me right, it has the chance to become the perfect debut album in my eyes. 
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Member Since: 11/2/2010
Posts: 20,295
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Quote:
Originally posted by PopBoi
Pixie's itunes album leaked at midnight thursday, maybe Rececca's will too.
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I want my physical copy.
Although a leak wouldn't go amiss.
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Member Since: 11/2/2010
Posts: 20,295
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Quote:
Originally posted by Chunk
So is it true then? I always thought about that it would be released sooner in Ireland like every album, but couldn't find confirmation. I wanted to look at irish iTunes today. If my first impressions on this album proves me right, it has the chance to become the perfect debut album in my eyes. |
For me it won't be the perfect debut album. I LOVE Rebecca's voice but I'm not in love with Nothing's Real But Love. It does sound like her album tracks are alot better though.
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Member Since: 1/1/2011
Posts: 10,372
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Quote:
Originally posted by Michael
For me it won't be the perfect debut album. I LOVE Rebecca's voice but I'm not in love with Nothing's Real But Love. It does sound like her album tracks are alot better though.
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It's a grower. It took me a while to accept the song's dull nature, but I keep coming back to that song when I want to cheer myself up. It's the wrong lead single though. Fairytale ends lives>>>
And be happy to live in the UK. I'm coming from Austria and so I have to Import all of her releases until they decide to market her on international grounds. 
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Member Since: 1/1/2011
Posts: 10,372
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You can listen to 1 minute previews of the album on Facebook and watch the Ustream live event again in case somebody's missed it.
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Member Since: 11/18/2008
Posts: 60,607
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This is getting rave reviews.. I want it like NOW
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Member Since: 10/8/2009
Posts: 35,527
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Still not here ... but is it true you can buy fairytale on itunes?!
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Member Since: 9/13/2011
Posts: 14,715
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Quote:
Originally posted by Michael
I'm considering moving to Ireland just to get the albums 3 days before the UK.
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If you sign up for an iTunes account on the Irish store and you manage to get an Irish iTunes Gift card, then you can buy the albums early. 
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Member Since: 1/1/2011
Posts: 10,372
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Quote:
Originally posted by PopBoi
Still not here ... but is it true you can buy fairytale on itunes?!
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Yes, you can buy Fairytale on iTunes since early November. I can find Lioness: Hidden Treasures but not Heaven.
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Member Since: 5/2/2009
Posts: 8,661
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I want this album like, NOW! I'm gonna pick a copy up Monday but I won't be able to bare the weekend without it
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Member Since: 11/2/2010
Posts: 20,295
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Quote:
Originally posted by Chunk
Yes, you can buy Fairytale on iTunes since early November. I can find Lioness: Hidden Treasures but not Heaven. |
So it hasn't been released in Ireland early then?
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Member Since: 1/1/2011
Posts: 10,372
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Quote:
Originally posted by Michael
So it hasn't been released in Ireland early then? |
Yes, the whole album is already available for purchase on irish iTunes store. I hope we'll be able to listen to it in the next couple of hours.
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Member Since: 11/2/2010
Posts: 20,295
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Quote:
Originally posted by Chunk
Yes, the whole album is already available for purchase on irish iTunes store. I hope we'll be able to listen to it in the next couple of hours. |
Oh, great. Someone needs to upload it.
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Member Since: 1/1/2011
Posts: 10,372
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Quote:
Originally posted by Michael
Oh, great. Someone needs to upload it. |
That's what I meant with I can find Amy's album, but not Heaven. I hope it gets uploaded today. I have to work tomorrow and I want to listen to it already. I won't get the CD before Tuesday.
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Member Since: 1/1/2011
Posts: 10,372
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Digitalspy Review: 5 Stars
Quote:
It's no secret that X Factor runners-up often get a sweeter deal than the winners themselves. Series 5 "losers" JLS are now three successful albums into their career, while 2009's silver medalist Olly Murs topped the charts last week with his latest set. In fact, there are so many of them clogging up the charts this year that we initially feared the worst for Rebecca Ferguson.
Fortunately, it would seem the best has been saved for last. She may have been branded "the shy one" on last year's show, but there's plenty of evidence here to suggest she won't take any crap (she insisted on co-writing each of the album's ten tracks) - or at the very least, write a heartbreaking song about it somewhere down the line. The result is the simplistic, soul-pop sound heard on lead single 'Nothing's Real But Love'.
Her vocal - somewhere between Corinne Bailey-Rae and Macy Gray - remains the star attraction throughout. R&B-tinged 'Glitter & Gold' is punchy but remains unembellished in it's production, 'Shoulder to Shoulder' is an emotional tale of dysfunctional love told over a raw piano hook, and the jazzy 'Mr Bright Eyes' provides a moment of light relief in which she sounds genuinely happy.
Elsewhere, she continues to distance herself from her reality show roots - though it's without the anti-pop or 'Credible Cardle' spiel. 'Diamond to Stone' oozes class that few would expect from a former contestant, while closer 'Too Good to Lose' will please fans that gravitated towards her club classics persona. Overall, Heaven is a stunning debut that is far from being a boundary-breaker, but revels in sticking to what it knows best.
Tracks to download: 'Shoulder to Shoulder', 'Too Good to Lose', 'Teach Me How to be Loved', 'Glitter & Gold'
If you like this, you'll like: Corinne Bailey-Rae, Adele
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http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/al...um-review.html
Guardian Review: 4 Stars
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With Christmas around the corner, you can hardly move for X Factor-related stocking-fillers – recent weeks have yielded albums from One Direction, Matt Cardle, Cher Lloyd et al. But the best, relatively speaking, has been saved for last. Scouse soul-popper Ferguson, 2010's runner-up, has been spared the generic ballad/urban treatment and allowed to go her own retro-soul way, a move that makes the most of her rich, emotive voice. The usual sidemen, including Cardle co-composer Eg White, are on board, but have come up with 10 atypically direct, unembellished R&B/soul tracks. The gospelish wails on the single Nothing's Real but Love are as over-dramatised as things get; otherwise, Ferguson keeps things simple and open-hearted. She's believably peppery on the goodbye-to-love song Fairytale, with its Muscle Shoals overtones, while her delight at meeting "the one" feels real on Mr Bright Eyes. The obvious comparison is Adele: Ferguson is no innovator, but her voice makes the world a slightly nicer place.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011...-heaven-review
Red Review:
Quote:
X Factor runner-up Rebecca Ferguson releases her sensational debut album Heaven.
The only time the record does not wholly impress is when Rebecca tries her hand at pop, but this only serves to highlight how convincing and gorgeous her soulful sound is and not to mention those heartbreaking lyrics.
Rebecca did not win the competition but that may only serve her in the long run. She has shaken off any connotations of reality TV star and replaced them with pure star quality and produced an exceptional first album.
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http://www.redonline.co.uk/reviews/m...-heaven-review
Totallyvivid Review:
Quote:
With last year’s X Factor ‘winner’ Matt ‘credible’ Cardle drowning in a seemingly never-ending sea of his own unfortunate press statements, it falls to the release of Rebecca Ferguson’s album to make a genuine case for why the ITV show is a force for musical good.
Her vocals are flawless, the production of the tracks equally faultless; infused with a timeless gloss of class.
The lasting impression of Heaven is as an album that ‘serious music’ fans can stroke their beards to and go ‘oh she’s rather good isn’t she’.
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http://www.totallyvivid.com/2011/11/...on-heaven.html
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