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The Meaning of Love (album)

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The Meaning of Love is the debut studio album by Scottish singer Michelle McManus, issued by BMG. Released on 16 February 2004, it debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart and featured two singles: the number one UK Singles Chart entry "All This Time", and the title track, which peaked at number sixteen.

The Meaning of Love
Studio album by
Michelle McManus
Released16 February 2004
Recorded2003–2004
GenrePop
Length53:53
Label
Producer
Michelle McManus chronology
The Meaning of Love
(2004) 		Michelle McManus' Winter Wonderland
(2019)
Singles from The Meaning of Love
  1. "All This Time"
    Released: 25 November 2003
  2. "The Meaning Of Love"
    Released: 26 January 2004

Background and release

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Following her win on the second season of Pop Idol, McManus was signed to the Sony BMG record label, and going under the single name Michelle, her debut single "All This Time" was released between late 2003 and early 2004. The song went straight to number one on the UK Singles Chart, and stayed there for three weeks; it spent eleven weeks inside the UK Top 100.[1] McManus is the first Scottish female to debut at the top of the UK Singles Chart.[2] In Ireland, the song debuted at Number 5 before rising to 2.[3]

The album was released on 16 February 2004, and critics derided the record for its production values and songwriting quality; multiple reviewers also found McManus's singing voice to be unimpressive. The album was deemed a commercial failure by Sony BMG, who dropped McManus from the label. The album has since received various "worst album" accolades.[4][5]

The Meaning of Love was certified as gold by the British Phonographic Industry in April 2004, indicating sales of over 100,000 copies.[6]

Reception and legacy

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [7]
entertainment.ie     [8]
Evening Standard     [9]
The Guardian     [10]
The Herald     [11]
The Press     [12]
The Scotsman     [13]
Sunday Herald     [14]
Sunday World     [15]
The Times     [16]

Lynsey Hanley in The Telegraph wrote: "This whole record smacks of boil-in-the-bag songwriting and lazy, hasty production tarted up with cheesy strings." She stated that McManus's singing "lack[s] any discernible 'wow' factor" and is on par with "a karaoke regular or, at best, a provincial cabaret turn."[17] Guardian journalist Caroline Sullivan also saw McManus's vocals as lacking the "wow" factor, which, she said, "could have enlivened some of these sub-Celine Dion torchers."[10] An entertainment.ie critic said that McManus, whose vocal performances "never rise far above the level of a very average club singer", made fellow reality television music competition winners Will Young and Alex Parks "look like worldbeaters by comparison."[8]

McManus' native Scottish broadsheet press were not sympathetic. Leon McDermott of the Sunday Herald called the music "singularly unremarkable." He likened McManus to a "particularly adept ferry singer", while observing a lack of "emotion and anger, love and regret." In conclusion he said: "[S]he's competent, but sounds like a proficient karaoke singer rather than a bona fide pop star."[14] Herald journalist Beth Pearson felt that the "tinny production and synths imported direct from the 1980s", made for a "thoroughly boring, unambitious debut."[11] While The Scotsman's Fiona Shepherd delivered a track-by-track assessment of the record in which she criticised the quality of the material and described McManus as "another chicken-in-a-basket diva" with an "unremarkable" voice. Shepherd expressed a particular loathing for the cover version of Nina Simone's "Feelin' Good", which according to her, had "the guts ripped out of it."[13] The track was derided by multiple reviewers.[7][11][12][13][18]

Some reviewers, while unfavourable, were more receptive to McManus's vocals. Sharon Mawer in AllMusic saw the bulk of the material as "very bland, tuneless, and unmemorable", but commended McManus's "undoubted talent." She did, however, argue that McManus gained publicity more for "her outsized weight" than her singing.[7] Daily Mirror critic Gavin Martin stressed that she "can actually sing", but observed "some of the most horrifying material ever", with songwriting that is "drowned in cliche, seemingly knocked off with barely a thought."[19] BBC News writer Tom Bishop was impressed by McManus's "soulful" singing on Pop Idol, but felt her vocals sound "muffled and restrained by pedestrian production" on this "dull" album.[18]

Deviating from critical consensus, BBC Music journalist Ruth Mitchell wrote that the album is "packed full of dreamy songs", and "surprisingly sounds like a very competent and unhurried effort indeed."[20]

The Meaning of Love won "Worst British Album" at the 2005 Naomi Awards.[4] In a 2007 online poll, it was voted the seventh-worst album ever made by a Scottish artist.[5]

Commercial performance

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The Meaning of Love debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart on 22 February 2004.[21] It shifted around 23,000 copies in its first week.[22] It fell to number fourteen in its second week and lasted a further three weeks in the UK Top 40.[23]

The record performed well in Scotland, peaking at number one on the Scottish Albums Chart.[24] However, across the UK, it was selling only one sixth of Pop Idol 2002 winner Will Young's debut From Now On.[25]

The album charted at number sixty four on the Irish Albums Chart.[26] In the United Kingdom, The Meaning of Love received a gold certification, indicating sales of over 100,000 copies.[6]

Track listing

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The Meaning of Love track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."All This Time"
Mac4:22
2."The Meaning of Love"
Robson4:24
3."Say It Isn't So"
  • Bottolf Lødemel
  • Lars Aass
  • Ronny Janssen
  • Lars Aass
4:30
4."Emotional"
  • Carlsson
  • Harry Sommerdahl
3:15
5."When the World Is Not Enough"
3:43
6."Too Fast Too Slow"
  • Joanne Jeffries
  • Steve Welton-Jaimes
  • Juliette Jaimes
James McMillan3:32
7."Cast the First Stone"
  • Ciaron Bell
  • Danielle Perkins
  • Sean Phillips
Stephen Lipson3:36
8."One Life"
  • Dennis
  • Simon Ellis
Lipson3:36
9."Feelin' Good"
McMillan3:14
10."How Can Sorry Ever Mend a Broken Heart"
McMillan3:08
11."Invincible"Diane WarrenRobson4:43
12."I'll Never Know"
McMillan4:19
13."More Than Anything"
  • Dennis
  • Thomas Nichols
  • Tim Woodcock
Lipson3:25
14."Once in a Lifetime"
Peden4:06
Total length:53:53

Charts

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Weekly chart performance

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Chart performance for The Meaning of Love
Chart (2004) Peak
position
Irish Albums Chart[27] 64
Scottish Albums Chart[28] 1
UK Albums Chart[23] 3

Certifications

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Certifications for The Meaning of Love
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "All this time | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Pop Idol's Michelle tops charts". BBC News. 11 January 2004. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  3. ^ Michelle Mcmanus – All This Time Archived 22 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Music Charts
  4. ^ a b "Naomi Award 'winners'". London Evening Standard. 8 February 2005. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Texas Album is 'Worst Scottish Record'". Daily Record. 23 October 2007. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Michelle Mcmanus – The Meaning Of Love". BPI. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Mawer, Sharon (16 February 2004). "The Meaning of Love". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  8. ^ a b "Michelle - The Meaning of Love". entertainment.ie. 23 February 2004. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013.
  9. ^ Smyth, David (10 February 2004). "Michelle McManus". Evening Standard. p. 10.
  10. ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline (13 February 2004). "Michelle, The Meaning of Love". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  11. ^ a b c Pearson, Beth (14 February 2004). "CDs". The Herald. Archived from the original on 23 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Michelle, The Meaning Of Love (BMG)". The Press. 19 February 2004. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  13. ^ a b c HighBeam Research records The Scotsman newspaper's original published score as 1/5 stars. The full review prose can be read at Scotsman.com.
  14. ^ a b McDermott, Leon (15 February 2004). "Big deal". Sunday Herald. p. 14.
  15. ^ Rowley, Eddie (29 February 2004). "Hot Stuff". Sunday World.
  16. ^ Sinclair, David (20 February 2004). "Beware painted Pop Idols". The Times. p. 14.
  17. ^ Hanley, Lynsey (16 February 2004). "CD reviews: Viktoria Tolstoy and more". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  18. ^ a b Bishop, Tom (17 February 2004). "Review: Michelle's The Meaning of Love". BBC News. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  19. ^ Martin, Gavin (13 February 2004). "CD Reviews". Daily Mirror. TheFreeLibrary.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  20. ^ "The Meaning of Love". BBC Music. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  21. ^ "Album Chart For 28/02/2004". Official Charts Company. 28 February 2004. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  22. ^ Sweet, Lucy (22 February 2004). "The mystery of Michelle". Sunday Times.
  23. ^ a b "Michelle McManus - The Meaning Of Love". Official Charts Company. 28 February 2004. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  24. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  25. ^ Fulton, Rick (5 March 2004). "The Razz: 'CHELLE NEVER MAKE IT; American Idol judge Randy doesn't rate Scot's chances Exclusive". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  26. ^ Michelle McManus – The Meaning Of Love Archived 8 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Music Charts
  27. ^ "Michelle Mcmanus - The Meaning Of Love - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Archived from the original on 8 September 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  28. ^ Walker, Ruth. "Where are they now? Former Reality TV stars tell of life out of the spotlight - The Scotsman". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  29. ^ "British album certifications – Michelle McManus – The Meaning of Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
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