Maps of Music

Killer Love (2011)

Where the lyrics of Killer Love take you, and where it was really made.

Almost a decade after release, a campaign group had to petition Universal Music before the album could be streamed and downloaded in the United States.

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Album story

Overview

• Killer Love: debut solo studio album by American singer Nicole Scherzinger
• Guest appearances from Sting, Enrique Iglesias and 50 Cent
• Released 18 March 2011 by Interscope Records, with its affiliated labels
• Fourteen-song track listing
• Mix of up-tempo pop, Eurodance songs and mid-tempo ballads
• Songs carry influences of rock, soul and funk
• Planned for live performance: songs were chosen for their suitability to live staging

Background

• Solo work began in 2005 under the title Her Name Is Nicole
• Originally due in 2007; unsuccessful singles and poor timing pushed it back repeatedly
• After The Pussycat Dolls' second album Doll Domination (2008), the project was shelved, citing bad timing and creative issues
• Many of its songs were reassigned to the Dolls or other artists
• In 2010, Moroccan producer RedOne was brought on board for a second launch attempt
• RedOne said it was the third time new material had been recorded for the album
• Scherzinger said the decision not to release Her Name Is Nicole was hers, not the label's
• Digital Spy confirmed Scherzinger later left Interscope for RCA Records and Sony Music

Recording

• RedOne and his associates produced almost half the album
• Other contributions came from Jim Jonsin, Stargate, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart and Boi-1da
• The Sting duet Power's Out was a leftover from the Her Name Is Nicole sessions
• The Enrique Iglesias duet is the Rude Well's Open Heart Remix of his 2010 single Heartbeat
• Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York

Cover

• Cover art and track listing were revealed on 2 March 2011 by Rap-Up
• Standard cover: Scherzinger in a relaxed pose with a half-smile and grey fur draped over her left shoulder
• Re-release cover issued on 20 October 2011, showing her smiling in a loose, windblown fur-like garment

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born June 29, 1978 in Honolulu, Hawaii; raised in Louisville, Kentucky
• Began acting at age 14 at the Actors Theatre of Louisville
• Studied musical theatre at Wright State University before leaving to join Days of the New's tour
• Briefly sang in Eden's Crush, a girl group formed through The WB's Popstars

Members

• Lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, formed in 2003 through an open audition led by Robin Antin, Interscope Records, and producers Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair
• Pussycat Dolls released two albums and sold over 55 million records worldwide

Career

• Pursued solo music after the group's initial disbandment, releasing Killer Love (2011) and Big Fat Lie (2014)
• Judge on The Sing-Off, The X Factor USA, The X Factor UK, Australia's Got Talent, and The Masked Singer US
• Won Dancing with the Stars in 2010
• Won the Laurence Olivier Award and Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Sunset Boulevard

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics gave mixed to positive responses to the album
• Praise for strong vocals and conviction in conveying emotion
• Criticism for letting RedOne produce most of the album, with some songs sounding too similar
• Some felt Scherzinger lacked coherence across the record, often taking the sound producers built for her instead of showing originality
• Critics compared many songs to those of Beyoncé and Rihanna
• The Observer's Michael Cragg described it as two-thirds catchy pop and one-third balladry
• Digital Spy's Robert Copsey called it a sturdy debut
• The New Zealand Herald's Kristin Macfarlane found some good party tracks and some mediocre ballads
• The Independent's Hugh Montgomery argued the album is overly long and inconsistent in tone
• The Evening Standard's David Smyth called the album largely derivative
• Drowned in Sound's Robert Leedham was dismissive and picked out only a few standout tracks

Reappraisal

• At the end of 2011, Pop Justice ranked the album the tenth best of that year
• In 2021, a campaign group petitioned Universal Music to make the album available for streaming and downloads in the United States, and it was released there on 7 January 2021

Records

• Irish chart debut on 25 March 2011 at number fourteen
• UK Albums Chart debut at number eight with 19,743 copies in the first week
• Number four on the UK Digital Albums Chart
• Highest chart position on the Scottish Albums Chart: number six
• Sold 140,000 copies in the UK after eight months
• Spent 36 consecutive weeks on the UK Albums Chart in 2011
• Number 23 in France, 26 in Australia and 34 in New Zealand
• BPI gold certification for shipments of 100,000 copies
• The 73rd biggest selling album of 2011 in the UK

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Sting duet Power's Out was a leftover from the Her Name Is Nicole recording sessions.
• Killer Love sees Scherzinger duet with two male vocalists, Sting and Enrique Iglesias.
• The US single Right There was re-recorded with two new verses from 50 Cent and reached number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Rap-Up revealed the cover art and track listing in early March 2011, before release.
• Say Yes was first produced by The Cave in early sessions and was later re-tooled for the album by RedOne and Joker.
• The album was still not available for streaming or download in the US until a 2021 campaign succeeded.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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