Power of a Woman is the second studio album by the British R&B vocal group Eternal, released in October 1995. It was the band's first album without former member Louise who left the group to pursue a solo career. According to Billboard, as of February 1997, Power of a Woman has sold two million copies worldwide.[8] In June 2019, Power of a Woman was ranked at number 25 on the Official Charts Company's list of the "top 40 biggest girl band studio albums of the last 25 years".[9]

Power of a Woman
Studio album by
Released30 October 1995 (1995-10-30)[1]
RecordedApril–August 1995
Studio
  • The Master Room, London
  • Sarm West Studios, London
Genre
Length53:16
Label
Producer
Eternal chronology
Always & Forever
(1993)
Power of a Woman
(1995)
Before the Rain
(1997)
Singles from Power of a Woman
  1. "Power of a Woman"
    Released: 9 October 1995[2]
  2. "I Am Blessed"
    Released: 27 November 1995
  3. "Good Thing"
    Released: 26 February 1996[3]
  4. "Who Are You?"
    Released: 13 March 1996 (Japan only)[4]
  5. "Secrets"
    Released: 25 November 1996[5]
Alternative cover
Re-Release cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
NME8/10[7]

Overview

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The album was a success and charted at number 6 in the UK Albums Chart in 1995. Eternal worked with new producers, giving them a slightly more R&B feel than their previous album Always & Forever. Power of a Woman received a positive reaction from critics, and the album was later re-released with a bonus disc featuring dance remixes.[10]

Power of a Woman gave Eternal another 4 top 10 singles, "Power of a Woman", "I Am Blessed", and remixed versions of "Good Thing" and "Secrets". "It Will Never End" was planned to be the fifth release, but this was later cancelled due to Eternal releasing "Someday", which was the theme tune to Disney's 1996 film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Redemption Song was also scheduled to be a single but was scrapped when the trio were chosen to record Someday. Redemption Song would've acted as the fourth single.

In 1996 the album was re-released as a two CD set. CD one was the same as the prior release and CD two was titled "The Number On Dance Mixes" and included six remixes of previous singles. The Australian version of the album includes their debut single "Stay" as a bonus track at the end of the album.

Track listing

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# Title Length
1. "Power of a Woman" 4:24
2. "I Am Blessed" 4:24
3. "Good Thing" 3:51
4. "Telling You Now" 4:49
5. "Hurry Up" 3:34
6. "Redemption Song" 4:12
7. "It Will Never End" 4:43
8. "Who Are You" 3:17
9. "Secrets" 3:42
10. "Your Smile" 3:39
11. "Don't Make Me Wait" 4:31
12. "Up to You" 3:58
13. "Faith in Love" 4:12
14. "Oh Happy Day" (Japanese bonus track) 3:41
# Bonus CD "Number One Dance Mixes" Length
1. "Stay" (West End D'Rhythm Mix) 7:26
2. "Just a Step from Heaven" (Frankie Foncett Main Mix) 7:27
3. "So Good" (Tree Men Full On Mix) 6:49
4. "Sweet Funky Thing" (Uno Clio Remix) 7:35
5. "Crazy" (West End Remix) 6:11
6. "Power of a Woman" (Father of Sound Vocal Mix) Remix 8:19

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications and sales for Power of a Woman
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] 2× Platinum 600,000^
Summaries
Worldwide 2,000,000[8]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "New Releases: Albums". Music Week. 28 October 1995. p. 42.
  2. ^ "Reviews – Records Out on October 9 1995: Single of the Week". Music Week. 30 September 1995. p. 10.
  3. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 24 February 1996. p. 31.
  4. ^ "フー・アー・ユー | エターナル" [Who Are You | Eternal] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  5. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 23 November 1996. p. 29.
  6. ^ "Power of a Woman: Club #1 - Eternal". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  7. ^ Quantick, David (4 November 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 48. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Who's Selling Where?". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 22 February 1997. p. 46. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  9. ^ "The Official Top 40 biggest girl band studio albums of the last 25 years". Official Charts Company. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  10. ^ Kéllé Bryan's Official site Archived 10 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine Power of a Woman page. Retrieved: 28 October 2006
  11. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Eternal – Power of a Woman". Hung Medien.
  12. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Eternal – Power of a Woman" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  13. ^ "パワー・オブ・ア・ウーマン" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  15. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  16. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  17. ^ "Chart Archive – 1990s Albums". Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  18. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 - 1996 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  19. ^ "British album certifications – Eternal – Power of a Woman". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2012.