Eoghan Quigg is the only studio album by Northern Irish pop singer Eoghan Quigg, released on 6 April 2009, and their only release by their label RCA Records Quigg who finished third in the fifth series of the UK television talent show The X Factor, was the first of the finalists from that series to release a studio album. The record predominantly features cover versions of songs that Quigg performed on The X Factor, and one original song, "28,000 Friends".
| Eoghan Quigg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 3 April 2009 |
| Recorded | Early 2009 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 42:26 |
| Label | RCA, Sony |
| Producer | Nigel Wright |
| Singles from Eoghan Quigg | |
| |
On its release, the album was described by multiple critics as the worst ever recorded.[1] Its commercial failure led to Quigg being dropped by RCA Records.[2]
Background
editAfter finishing third in The X Factor in 2008, Quigg was signed by record label RCA Records. Quigg began work on the album in London in early 2009, and was given a week to record it.[3] The album was recorded at Sphere Studios in Battersea and released on 6 April 2009 in the UK.[4] Quigg described the album's musical direction as drawing inspiration from Busted,[5] and two songs from the album were written by ex-Busted band members, "Year 3000" being written by James Bourne and Charlie Simpson, and "28,000 Friends" by Bourne.
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Daily Record | [7] |
| Digital Spy | [8] |
| Express | [9] |
| Music-News | [10] |
| Orange | [11] |
| Q | [12] |
| Star | [13] |
Eoghan Quigg was widely panned by music critics.[14][15] Simon Darnell of MK News wrote: "If I told you this album was dreadful, not only would I be doing a huge disservice to the word dreadful, in fact I'd almost be praising the quality of the music... this set of songs is so mind-numbingly, spirit-crushingly dismal."[16] Jon O'Brien of AllMusic described the album as "bad karaoke", with deficient production values failing to hide Quigg's "limited ability" and "bum notes".[6] Nick Levine of Digital Spy called it "amateurish as well as utterly redundant".[8] One track singled out for criticism by multiple reviewers was the cover of Take That's "Never Forget",[6][8][11] the vocal performance on which was described by Levine as "positively wince-inducing".[8] Gigwise placed the record at number one in their "The 20 Worst Albums of 2009" in December of that year.[17]
The album has been called the worst ever made.[1] A Popjustice reviewer predicted that it would garner a lasting legacy as such, having been "recorded so cheaply and with such little regard for the art of pop that the final product simply does not count as music."[18] Peter Robinson of The Guardian called it "the worst album in the history of recorded sound" and an "album so bad that it would count as a new low for popular culture were it possible to class as either culture... or popular".[19]
Commercial performance
editThe album was initially a commercial success in Ireland where it debuted at no 1 on the Irish Albums Chart, knocking Lady Gaga's The Fame off the top spot. The album dropped from no 2 in its second week to no 20 in its third week and spent a total of eight weeks on the chart,[20] but failed to sell enough for a Gold certification, rendering the album a failure. In the UK the album peaked at no 14,[21] and exited the Top 100 after three weeks. The album had first-week sales of 16,362.[14]
Pointing to the record's lacklustre chart performance in the UK, Gail Walker of the Belfast Telegraph predicted that the public "may have seen the last of Eoghan Quigg".[1] His album considered a failure, Quigg was dropped by RCA Records.[2]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "28,000 Friends" | James Bourne | 2:59 |
| 2. | "We're All in This Together" | Matthew Gerrard / Robbie Nevil; from the High School Musical soundtrack | 3:52 |
| 3. | "All About You" | Tom Fletcher | 3:05 |
| 4. | "Learn to Fly" | Christian Ingebrigtsen / Chris Porter | 4:08 |
| 5. | "Does Your Mother Know" | Benny Andersson / Björn Ulvaeus | 3:04 |
| 6. | "Home" | Michael Bublé / Alan Chang | 3:40 |
| 7. | "When You Look Me in the Eyes" | Raymond Boyd / Kevin Jonas / Joe Jonas / Nicholas Jonas | 3:53 |
| 8. | "Year 3000" | James Bourne / Charlie Simpson / Steve Robson / Matt Willis | 3:24 |
| 9. | "She's the One" | Karl Wallinger | 4:16 |
| 10. | "Ben" | Don Black / Walter Scharf | 2:32 |
| 11. | "Never Forget" | Gary Barlow | 4:11 |
| 12. | "Imagine" (iTunes Bonus Track)" | John Lennon | 3:22 |
Charts
edit| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
Sales | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 14[21] | 25,000+ | |
| Irish Albums Chart | 1[22] | 6,000 |
References
edit- ^ a b c Walker, Gail (21 April 2009). "Don't you worry Eoghan, it hasn't all gone pop just yet". Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media.
His [Quigg] eponymous debut album, released a couple of weeks ago, has been met with universal hoots of derision. Indeed, with the album charting at a disappointing 14 in the UK (No 1 in Ireland though), it is confidently predicted that we may have seen the last of Eoghan Quigg...it is widely described as the worst album ever.
- ^ a b Coleman, Maureen (13 May 2010). "Eoghan Quigg's early fame 'led bosses to make a quick kill'". Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- ^ McElroy, Naomi (12 September 2010). "Eoghan: Just don't make the same mistakes as me; EXCLUSIVE". The Mirror. Archived at The Free Library. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ "One To Watch: Eoghan Quigg". femalefirst.co.uk. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
- ^ McGarry, Gerard (6 April 2009). "Unreality TV interviews Eoghan Quigg". Unreality TV. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c Eoghan Quigg. AllMusic. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ^ Fulton, Rick (14 April 2009). "ALBUMS; singles and albums". Daily Record. The Free Library. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d Eoghan Quigg: 'Eoghan Quigg'. Digital Spy. Retrieved 10-04-2009.
- ^ Spellman, Robert (3 April 2009). "Eoghan Quigg's debut reviewed". Express. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ "Eoghan Quigg". Music-News.com. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ a b Kraines, Talia (16 June 2009). "Eoghan Quigg - Eoghan Quigg". Wayback Machine. Orange. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ Cullen, Jason (May 2009). "New Albums: Eoghan Quigg – Eoghan Quigg". Q. Bauer Media Group.
[A]nother vacuous, completely unnecessary record from a pop 'star' whose name we'll be struggling to remember by the end of the year.
- ^ "Eoghan Quigg - Eoghan Quigg". Star. 7 April 2009. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b "Charts Analysis: Doves defeated by a whisker". Music Week: 24. 18 April 2009.
The subject of some savage critical maulings, Eoghan Quigg's self-titled debut album arrives at number 14 on sales of 16,362 copies.
- ^ McCreary, Matthew (21 April 2009). "Will Eoghan Quigg survive his public flogging?". The Independent. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ Darnell, Simon (15 April 2009). "Eoghan Quigg: Eoghan Quigg". MK News. p. 30.
- ^ "The 20 Worst Albums of 2009". Gigwise. 16 December 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ "The Eoghan Quigg album: it's turned out not to be very good" Popjustice. 6 April 2009
- ^ Robinson, Peter (18 April 2009). "Factored out". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
- ^ Eoghan Quigg Chart Statistics on aCharts.us Retrieved on 06-06-09.
- ^ a b "Official Charts: Eoghan Quigg". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ "Top 100 Individual Artist Albums". Irish Recorded Music Association. 9 April 2009. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2009.