This Is Who I Am is the debut studio album of the Russian singer-songwriter, Lena Katina, released on 18 November 2014. The album marks the beginning of Katina's solo career as she and her former bandmate, Julia Volkova announced the separation of their music group, t.A.T.u. on 2011.[1] Katina has writing credits on all of the album's songs including those co-written with her husband, Sash Kuzma. Musically, the album is a pop genre with rock influences and lyrically it mostly speaks about discovering herself.[2]
| This Is Who I Am | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Standard edition release cover | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 18 November 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2009–2014 Los Angeles, California, United States and Moscow, Russia | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 48:56 (English release) 41:08 (Spanish re-release) | |||
| Language | English Spanish (re-release) | |||
| Label | Katina Music Inc. | |||
| Producer | Katina and Sven Martin (exec.) | |||
| Lena Katina chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative covers | ||||
 Spanish edition release cover | ||||
| Singles from This Is Who I Am | ||||
| ||||
Four singles were released from the album, and her first and lead single of the album "Never Forget" reached No. 1 on the MTV Russia Top 10 and also won the said station – 2011 Video of The Year. The remix track of "Never Forget" by Dave Audé also reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and reached No. 1 in Greece.[3][4] "Lift Me Up" released as the second single and the track has a positive feedback from Spanish audiences.[5] The third and fourth singles, "Who I Am" and "An Invitation", have been successful in several Europe countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain and her homeland, Russia.[6][7]
This Is Who I Am received both positive and negative reviews from critics. The album was released worldwide as a digital download and the physical copy of the CD was released on Katina's official website.
Background and development
editWhen Katina announced the separation of t.A.T.u., she immediately left Russia and went to the United States to find a label and start her solo career. However, several label groups rejected her and Katina said in an interview, "I am trying to find a label, but they don't want me, for some reason..."[8] Despite this, the singer still pursued her own career through funding it with her own money and was supported by former t.A.T.u.'s executive producer, Boris Renski.
Katina spent a few years in Los Angeles, California recording and writing her first solo album with her band members, Sven Martin, Domen Vajevec, Steve Wilson and Jörg Kohring. It took almost five years to finish the entire album and Katina said in an interview, "It is a good result of a hard work and a long path of becoming a solo singer and a songwriter, of finding myself... I am so happy that my fans are still waiting and I finally have a chance to share my emotions with them through my songs"[9]
This Is Who I Am was released with 13 tracks. Katina was highly involved with the packaging, designing the album with several photos of her with friends, parents and Julia Volkova with her personal handwriting as the caption.
On 15 December 2014, the album was released in Italy with 14 tracks. The Italian edition of the album featured the song "Golden Leaves" with the collaboration of Italian singer, Noemi Smorra.[10]
On 1 July 2016, the album was re-released under the Spanish title, "Esta Soy Yo". The reissued album contains the Spanish translated tracks with three remixes such as "Levántame (Dave Audé Radio Remix)", "No Voy A Olvidarte (Maragakis Remix)" and "Perdida En El Baile (Fly_Dream Remix)"[11] Spanish translated lyrics were done by her friend, Karina Nuvo. On the same date of re-release, Katina announced that she and her team are working for the Russian version of the album.
Critical reception
editThis Is Who I Am received mixed reviews from critics and fans. "For it's [sic] highs, the album does have a few lows...", the Pop Sun said, adding, "with it's [sic] bad, I would still rate this album pretty favorably because of the highs. It’s definitely an album people should listen to, even if you’re not familiar with Lena Katina."[12]
Track listing
editOfficial track listing[13]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "All Around the World" |
| Gray | 3:29 |
| 2. | "Who I Am" |
|
| 3:18 |
| 3. | "Walking in the Sun" |
| Mike Boden | 4:11 |
| 4. | "The Beast (Inside of You)" |
|
| 4:05 |
| 5. | "Something I Said" |
|
| 3:45 |
| 6. | "Lift Me Up" |
| Brautbar | 3:22 |
| 7. | "Fed Up" |
|
| 3:16 |
| 8. | "An Invitation" |
| Martin | 3:53 |
| 9. | "Just a Day" |
|
| 4:41 |
| 10. | "Wish on a Star" |
| Martin | 4:16 |
| 11. | "Waiting" |
|
| 3:32 |
| 12. | "Never Forget" |
|
| 3:34 |
| 13. | "Lost in This Dance" |
|
| 5:34 |
| Total length: | 48:56 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Golden Leaves" (Noemi Smorra feat. Lena Katina) |
| Alessandro Paolinell | 3:16 |
| Total length: | 52:16 | |||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Levántame" (Lift Me Up) | 3:23 |
| 2. | "Caminando en el Sol" (Walking in the Sun) | 4:16 |
| 3. | "Llamándote" (Running Blind) | 3:56 |
| 4. | "La Bestia" (The Beast (Inside of You)) | 4:06 |
| 5. | "Quédate" (Stay) | 3:29 |
| 6. | "No Voy a Olvidarte" (Never Forget) | 3:26 |
| 7. | "Perdida en el Baile" (Lost in This Dance) | 5:36 |
| 8. | "Levántame (Dave Audé Radio Remix)" | 3:44 |
| 9. | "No Voy a Olvidarte (Maragakis Remix)" | 4:28 |
| 10. | "Perdida en el Baile (Fly_dream Remix)" | 6:04 |
| Total length: | 41:08 | |
Personnel
edit- Lena Katina – lead vocals, background vocals, executive producer, writer
- Sven Martin – executive producer, guitars, writer, keyboard, programming
- Jasmine Ash – writer, backing vocals
- Erik Lewander – writer, producer, keyboards, programming
- Iggy Strange Dahl – writer
- Jacques Brautbar – writer. keyboards, guitars, bass, programming
- VASSY – writer
- Erik Lidbom – writer, producer
- Justin Gray – writer, sound mixer, producer, backing vocals, keyboards, programming, guitars, drums, bass
- Boris Renski – producer, writer, recording
- Domen Vajevec – guitars, writer, producer, bass, keyboards, programming
- Jorg Kohring – drums, writer, guitars, backing vocals
- Sash Kuzma – drums, writer, recording, producer, keyboards, programming
- Steve Wilson – bass, drums, writer
- Andre Recke – management
- Dean Beckett – product manager
- Greg Benninger – graphic designer
- Maria Abraham – writer
- Steven Lee – writer, producer, keyboards, programming
- Sammy Naja – writer, producer, keyboards, programming
- Drew Ryan Scott – writer, producer
- Troy MacCubbin – writer, guitars
- Lene Dissing – writer
- Hayden Bell – writer
- Sarah Lundbank – writer
- Veronica Ferraro – sound mixer
- Mike Boden – sound mixer
- Joe Zook – sound mixer
- Ken Lewis – sound mixer
- Nathanael Boone – sound mixer
- Matt Marrin – sound mixer
- Alan Johannes – guitars
- Jeanette Olson – backing vocals
- Nadia Duggin – backing vocals
- Nicole Kehl – backing vocals
- Pelle Hillstrom – guitars
- Fox Fagan – bass
- Bruno Gruel – sound engineer
Release history
edit| Country | Date | Version | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | 18 November 2014 | Standard |
|
Katina Music Inc. |
| Italy | 15 December 2014 | Standard | CD | Maqueta Records |
| Worldwide | 1 July 2016 | Standard Spanish edition |
|
Katina Music Inc. |
References
edit- ^ "t.A.T.u. Main". www.tatu.ru. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
- ^ "t.A.T.u. Media". t.A.T.u. Media. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
- ^ "Lena-Katina.com". lena-katina.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-20. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
- ^ "Lena Katina : Never Forget is #1 in... – Lena Katina – Iran | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
- ^ "t.A.T.u's Lena Katina "Lift Me Up" Video: Idolator Premiere | Idolator". 2013-10-01. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
- ^ "Former t.A.T.u. Member Lena Katina Returns with 'Who I Am': Single Premiere". Retrieved 2016-07-08.
- ^ "Lena Katina Seduces In "An Invitation" Video: Idolator Premiere | Idolator". 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
- ^ "VampireFreaks.com – tATu Cult Entry – Lena Katina". legacy.vampirefreaks.com. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
- ^ Roth, Kaj (2014-11-08). "Palace of Rock: Interview with Lena Katina". Palace of Rock. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
- ^ "LENA KATINA "THIS IS WHO I AM" 2014 ALBUM ITALIAN EDITION". Maqueta Records. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
- ^ "Lena Katina* – Esta Soy Yo". Discogs. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
- ^ thepopsun (2014-11-19). "Review: Lena Katina, "This Is Who I Am"". The POPSUN. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
- ^ "Lena Katina Official Website | This Is Who I Am Album Pre-order [Physical CD]". www.lenakatina.com. Retrieved 2016-07-06.