Young Foolish Happy

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Young Foolish Happy
File:Pixie Lott - Young Foolish Happy album cover.png
Studio album by Pixie Lott
Released 11 November 2011 (2011-11-11)
Recorded January–October 2011
Genre
Length 49:17
Label Mercury
Producer
Pixie Lott chronology
Turn It Up
(2009)Turn It Up2009		 Young Foolish Happy
(2011)		 Pixie Lott
(2014)Pixie Lott2014
Deluxe edition cover
Deluxe edition cover
Singles from Young Foolish Happy
  1. "All About Tonight"
    Released: 1 September 2011
  2. "What Do You Take Me For?"
    Released: 4 November 2011
  3. "Kiss the Stars"
    Released: 29 January 2012

Young Foolish Happy is the second studio album by English recording artist Pixie Lott, released on 11 November 2011 by Mercury Records. Lott enlisted previous collaborators Mads Hauge, Phil Thornalley, Toby Gad, Steve Kipner and Andrew Frampton to handle production for the album, in addition to new collaborators such as Tim Powell, The Matrix and Rusko. The album also includes collaborations with artists such as Stevie Wonder and John Legend.

Upon its release, Young Foolish Happy was met with mixed reviews from music critics; while some reviewers found the album solid, others viewed it as formulaic and short of originality, and felt it lacks the "charm" of Lott's debut album, Turn It Up (2009). The album debuted at number eighteen on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 18,503 copies, failing to match the commercial success of its predecessor. It spawned the UK number-one single "All About Tonight" and the top ten singles "What Do You Take Me For?" and "Kiss the Stars".

Background and release

Lott began work on the album in Los Angeles in January 2011.[1] In April 2011 she told Digital Spy that "[t]here are a couple of really cool collaborations on the album and I've already worked with some big people, but I can't say who they are just in case those tracks don't make the final cut", describing the sound as "still pop stuff, but maybe a little more soulful. That's the kind of thing that I'm into. That influence is stronger on this album."[2] On 17 September 2011, Lott revealed the album title, which is inspired by The Tams' 1968 song "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy".[3] She stated, "It's a song I grew up listening to, from a young age. I grew up listening to a lot of soul music and I think this album sounds more this kind of way. It's a message that I've always really liked and I think it's important that need to people remember, it's just motivating and inspirational."[4]

The album was initially scheduled for release in the United Kingdom on 7 November 2011,[5] but it was eventually pushed back a week to 14 November.[6] To celebrate the launch of the Pixie Collection, London-based women's clothing retailer Lipsy offered the first 10,000 customers a voucher to redeem on Lott's official website and obtain the album for £3 off.[7]

Singles

"All About Tonight" was released on 2 September 2011 as the album's lead single. Lott premiered the song on BBC Radio 1's The Chris Moyles Show on 11 July 2011.[8] It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Lott's third UK number one.[9] "All About Tonight" also reached number nine on the Irish Singles Chart, Lott's second highest-peaking single on the chart after "Boys and Girls" (2009).[10]

Second single "What Do You Take Me For?", featuring rapper Pusha T, was released on 4 November 2011. The track reached number ten on the UK Singles Chart and number thirty on the Irish Singles Chart.[10][11]

"Kiss the Stars" was released on 29 January 2012 as third and final single from the album, peaking at number eight in the UK and number thirty-three in Ireland.[11][12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 2.5/5 stars[13]
BBC Music unfavourable[14]
Daily Express 2/5[15]
Daily Star favourable[16]
Evening Standard 3/5 stars[17]
MSN Music 3/5[18]
NME 4/10[19]
Today 2.5/5 stars[20]
Virgin Media 3/5 stars[21]

Young Foolish Happy received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. Kim Dawson and John Earls of the Daily Star opined that "there's nothing foolish about [the] album" and that "[s]hirking teeny-bop options for proper soul passion helps her silky voice shine, especially on bump 'n' grind new single 'What Do You Take Me For?' featuring Pusha T."[16] BBC Music's Fraser McAlpine felt that the album has "little of the magic that characterised her debut's highs" and criticised Lott for "working with songwriters who are capable of a finely tuned pastiche or two", but nevertheless cited "Nobody Does It Better" and "You Win" as "notable exceptions".[14] The Evening Standard's Rick Pearson noted that Lott "opts for a more soulful direction this time around, something that works better with her wind tunnel of a vocal. She's still guilty of imitation rather than innovation, however, particularly on the synth-heavy 'All about Tonight', which is a craven rip-off of a Katy Perry record. But an identity is the only thing that's lacking here."[17] AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine named the "Motown-mythologizing" "Stevie on the Radio" one of the "brighter, better songs [on the album], largely because it has bigger beats and hooks", but commented that "the rest of the record has the form of a blockbuster record but lacks the requisite rhythms or hooks and its scale dampens Lott's spunky personality, which was her primary charm on her debut."[13]

Ben Chalk of MSN Music wrote that while the ballads are "the real weak point", the uptempo material is "a vast improvement". Chalk continued, "Where debut Turn It Up showcased an original writing talent which belied the giggly blonde Essex girl persona, Young Foolish Happy sometimes lapses into a pastiche of Pixie's musical heroes."[18] Duncan Gillespie of the NME found "All About Tonight" and "What Do You Take Me For?" to be "quite good", but dismissed Lott's "Jools Holland-ready retropop collaboration with Stevie Wonder" as "horrible, but still not horrible enough. Rather than righteous ire, you're left with only a sense of moral and cultural confusion, rather as if you'd caught yourself lusting after an ironing board."[19] Simon Gage of the Daily Express stated that although Young Foolish Happy is a "pretty solid album of bouncy pop numbers", artists like Adele, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry leave "artists like Pixie out in the cold", adding that the album "has all the catchiness you would expect from last year's golden girl, but this year is a very different place."[15] Virgin Media's Ian Gittins agreed, commenting that the album is "adequate, but never special: lacking Perry's raunch, Gaga's glitz, Adele's larynx or Jessie J's sass, it looks like Pixie Lott is set to remain a decidedly B-list pop star."[21] Kevin Mathews of Singaporean newspaper Today expressed that the album "contains enough vocal and rhythmic hooks to keep the pop public sated as tracks like 'Come Get It Now', 'All About Tonight' and 'Nobody Does It Better' deliver in all these departments with some aplomb. The rest of Young Foolish Happy does not stray too far from this formula, which should keep Pixie Lott in demand for the immediate future."[20]

Commercial performance

Young Foolish Happy debuted at number eighteen on the UK Albums Chart, selling 18,503 copies in its first week.[22] The following week, it dropped twenty-four places to number forty-two.[23] The album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 10 February 2012.[24] As of August 2014, it had sold 102,888 copies in the United Kingdom.[25] Young Foolish Happy also entered the Irish Albums Chart at number thirty-three.[26]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Come Get It Now"  
Mr Hudson 2:19
2. "All About Tonight"  
Kidd 3:06
3. "What Do You Take Me For?" (featuring Pusha T)
Rusko 2:55
4. "Nobody Does It Better"  
Powell 3:33
5. "Kiss the Stars"  
  • Hauge
  • Thornalley
 3:14
6. "Stevie on the Radio"  
Gurvitz 4:10
7. "Everybody Hurts Sometimes"  
Captain Hook 4:04
8. "Dancing on My Own" (featuring Marty James)
Gad 3:50
9. "Love You to Death"  
Gad 3:29
10. "Birthday"  
  • The Invisible Men
  • Eagle Eye
  • The Arcade[a]
 3:16
11. "Bright Lights (Good Life) Part II" (with Tinchy Stryder)
Jaz Rogers 4:04
12. "Perfect"  
  • Lott
  • Hauge
  • Thornalley
  • Hauge
  • Thornalley
 3:05
13. "You Win"  
  • John Legend
  • Patrick Warren
 4:22
14. "We Just Go On"  
  • Kipner
  • Frampton
  • Jordan-Patrikios
 3:50
Total length:
 49:17
Notes
  • ^a signifies an additional producer
  • ^b signifies a remixer and additional producer
  • The Asian deluxe version of the album has the same track listing of the Japanese version, but does not include the song "Perfect" and all tracks after that song are listed as 13 to 22.[30]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the deluxe edition of Young Foolish Happy.[31]

<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>

  • Pixie Lott – vocals (all tracks), backing vocals (track 18)
  • Jason Agel – vocal engineering (track 13)
  • Noah Agruss – arrangement (track 7)
  • The Arcade – additional production, additional programming (track 10)
  • Daniel Aslet – additional vocal engineering (track 8)
  • George Astasio – bass, guitar, programming (track 10)
  • Felicia Barton – additional backing vocals (track 2)
  • Andrei Basirov – production assistant (track 4)
  • Tim Baxter – additional string programming (track 8)
  • Tom Bird – creative director
  • Benji Boko – additional production, remix (track 20)
  • David Boyd – assistant engineering (track 16)
  • Sandy Buglass – guitar (track 4)
  • Ian Burdge – cello (tracks 12, 18)
  • Captain Hook – arrangement, engineering, mixing, production (tracks 7, 15), all instruments, backing vocals, programming (track 15)
  • Daphne Chen – violin (track 13)
  • Lauren Chipman – viola (track 13)
  • Michael Daley – assistant engineering (track 16)
  • Seton Daunt – guitar (track 19)
  • Tim Debney – mastering (tracks 1–3, 5–20)
  • Ray Djan – guitar, keyboards, programming (track 10)
  • Richard Dodd – cello (track 13)
  • Jimmy Douglass – mixing (track 2)
  • Nathan East – bass (track 6)
  • Ben Epstein – bass (track 18)
  • Eagle Eye – production (track 10)
  • Fiasco – additional programming (track 4)
  • Greg "The Wizard" Fleming – mixing (track 10)
  • Ashton Foster – programming (track 10)
  • Andrew Frampton – bass, guitar, keyboards, production, programming (track 14)
  • Dan Frampton – mixing (track 14)
  • Ryan Freeland – instrument engineering, mixing (track 13)
  • Robin French – backing vocals, bass, keyboards, piano (track 1)
  • Alex G. – additional engineering, additional vocal production (tracks 3, 20)
  • Toby Gad – all instruments, production, programming (tracks 8, 9), mixing (track 9)
  • Jesus Garnica – assistant mixing (track 6)
  • Larry Goetz – additional mixing (tracks 7, 15)
  • Eric Gorfain – violin (track 13)
  • Colin Graham – flugelhorn, trumpet (track 4)
  • Adrian Gurvitz – guitar, keyboards, production (track 6)
  • Dabling Harward – assistant engineering (track 16)
  • Mads Hauge – all instruments, vocals (track 5), programming (tracks 5, 12), engineering, mixing, production (tracks 5, 12, 18), bass, keyboards, mandolin (track 12), backing vocals, guitar (tracks 12, 18)
  • Andrew Hey – engineering, guitar (track 16)
  • Ash Howes – keyboards, production, programming (track 19)
  • The Invisible Men – mixing, production (track 10)
  • Tim "Wacko Jacko" Jackson – piano (track 18)
  • J'Anna Jacoby – violin (track 7)
  • Marty James – rap (track 8)
  • Patrick "Jester" Jordan-Patrikios – keyboards, production, programming (track 14)
  • Jaycen Joshua – mixing (track 6)
  • Joe Kentish – A&R
  • Brian Kidd – production (track 2)
  • Steve Kipner – percussion, production (track 14)
  • Rick Koster – violin (tracks 12, 18)
  • John Krovoza – cello (track 7)
  • Abe Laboriel, Jr. – bass (track 6)
  • Tom Lea – viola (track 7)
  • John Legend – piano, production (track 13)
  • Colin Leonard – mastering (track 4)
  • Harvey Mason, Jr. – mixing (track 16)
  • The Matrix – engineering, mixing, production (track 17)
  • Wesley Michene – engineering (track 2)
  • Mr Hudson – backing vocals, bass, drums, engineering, guitar, Hammond organ, keyboards, percussion, piano, production (track 1)
  • Holly Muir – backing vocals (track 1)
  • Everton Nelson – violin (tracks 12, 18)
  • Sheryl Nields – photography
  • Rosie Oddie – backing vocals (track 1)
  • Tebey Ottoh – vocal production (track 2)
  • Joel Pargman – violin (track 7)
  • Jason Pebworth – keyboards (track 10)
  • David Piltch – bass (track 13)
  • Elroy "Spoonface" Powell – backing vocals (track 12)
  • Tim Powell – keyboards, production, programming (track 4)
  • Anne Preven – mixing (tracks 3, 20)
  • Pusha T – rap (tracks 3, 20)
  • David Ralicke – horns (tracks 3, 20)
  • Aaron Renner – engineering, mixing (track 17)
  • Tony "Rico" Richardson – flute, saxophone (track 4)
  • Jaz Rogers – vocal engineering (track 9), all instruments, engineering, production, programming (track 11)
  • Emma Rohan – backing vocals (track 19)
  • Rusko – production (tracks 3, 20)
  • Salvador Design – artwork, design
  • Andy Savours – mixing (track 1)
  • Jon Shave – bass, keyboards, programming (track 10)
  • Lee Slater – engineering (tracks 7, 15)
  • Phil Smith – tenor saxophone (track 18)
  • Jamie Snell – mixing (track 11)
  • Ash Soan – drums (track 18)
  • Richard "Biff" Stannard – keyboards, production, programming (track 19)
  • Aaron Sterling – drums (tracks 6, 13)
  • Katie Stevens – backing vocals (track 15)
  • Phil Tan – mixing (track 4)
  • John Thirkell – trumpet (track 18)
  • John "JT" Thomas – piano (track 7)
  • Phil Thornalley – production (tracks 5, 12, 18), backing vocals, bass, glockenspiel, piano (track 12), electric piano, Wurlizter (track 18)
  • Tinchy Stryder – rap (track 11)
  • The Underdogs – production (track 16)
  • Chris Utley – engineering (track 2)
  • Patrick Warren – keyboards, production, string arrangements (track 13)
  • Anselmo Washington – assistant mixing (track 14)
  • Bruce White – viola (tracks 12, 18)
  • Ant Whiting – additional bass guitar, additional programming, mixing, vocal production (track 8)
  • Stevie Wonder – harmonica (track 6)
  • Timothy Young – guitar (track 13)

Charts

Release history

Region Date Edition Label
Netherlands[38][39] 11 November 2011
  • Standard
  • deluxe
 Universal Music
Ireland[40] Standard Mercury Records
United Kingdom[6][41] 14 November 2011
  • Standard
  • deluxe
South Korea[42] Standard Universal Music
Sweden[43][44]
  • Standard
  • deluxe
Germany[45] 22 November 2011 Standard
Poland[46] 25 November 2011
Australia[47] 2 December 2011
Italy[48] 24 January 2012
Germany[49] 31 January 2012 Deluxe
Japan[29] 21 March 2012 Japanese standard
South Korea[30] 30 April 2012 Asian deluxe

References

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