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Firebird (album)

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Firebird
Album cover for "Firebird" by Natalie Imbruglia - a colorful illustration showing the side profile of the singer on a black background.
Studio album by
Natalie Imbruglia
Released24 September 2021
Recorded2018–2021
GenrePop[1]
Length52:07
LabelBMG
Producer
Natalie Imbruglia chronology
Male
(2015) 		Firebird
(2021)
Singles from Firebird
  1. "Build It Better"
    Released: 18 June 2021
  2. "Maybe It's Great"
    Released: 16 July 2021
  3. "On My Way"
    Released: 18 August 2021
  4. "Nothing Missing"
    Released: 13 January 2022
  5. "Invisible Things"
    Released: July 2022[2]

Firebird is the sixth studio album by Australian-British singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia, released on 24 September 2021. It is her first album to feature original material since 2009's Come to Life and Imbruglia's first release with the record label BMG Rights Management.[3]

The album was produced in various locations during lockdowns imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and features songs co-written by Albert Hammond Jr., Romeo Stodart, KT Tunstall, Eg White, Fiona Bevan, and Rachel Furner, among others.[4]

Upon announcement Imbruglia said "Making this album has been such a profound and satisfying experience. Having gone through a long period of what essentially was writer's block, it was sometimes hard to envisage getting to this place."[5]

The album's lead single "Build It Better" was released with an accompanying music video on 18 June 2021.[6]

Singles

[edit]

The first single, "Build It Better", was released on 18 June 2021. The official video for "Build It Better" was directed by Amy Becker-Burnett, with choreography by Gregory Haney and Alex Sarmiento.[7][8][9][10] "Build It Better" did not enter the Official UK Top 100 Chart, but peaked at number 67 on the Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 and at number 66 on the Official Singles Download Chart Top 100.[11][12]

"Maybe It's Great" was released on 16 July 2021.[13] In an album review Retro Pop called the song a "synth-laden '80s pop gem".[14]

"On My Way" was released as the third single on 18 August 2021.[15]

"Nothing Missing" was released as the fourth single on 28 January 2022. Its video was released on 20 February 2022.[16] The song was co-written by KT Tunstall.

Chart performance

[edit]

In Australia, Firebird debuted at number 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[17]

In the United Kingdom, the album debuted and peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. The week after Imbruglia won the third series of The Masked Singer in February 2022, Firebird re-entered the UK Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100 at number 32 on 18 February 2022.[18] Firebird went on to chart on the UK Album Downloads Chart Top 100 for six weeks.[19]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[20]
Evening Standard[21]
The Guardian[22]
Retro Pop[14]
Riff Magazine5/10[23]
The Sydney Morning Herald[24]

Evening Standard called the album "A perfect mix of nostalgia and rebirth, even in 2021 Imbruglia deserves her place in the spotlight."[21]

Shaad D'Souza from The Guardian said the album "is delightfully unburdened: a carefree survey of pop and rock trends that re-establishes the fact that, at her best, Imbruglia is a canny lyricist and an incisive, whip-smart writer of hooks."[22]

Retro Pop called the first half of the album "endearing" but said "it wears thin over the course of 14 songs, with the latter portion of the record meandering without ever gaining pace." They concluded saying "There's no doubt about it, Natalie Imbruglia is a brilliant pop star, and it's unfortunate she settled on such an exhaustive release – because buried within Firebird is a stellar 10-track album."[14]

Rachel Alm from Riff Magazine said "Many of the songs on Firebird sound very close to contemporary country and could have even benefited from leaning into that a bit more." Alm added "The second half of the album is mostly piano ballads... [and] for an album that started out so upbeat, it seems to run out of steam by the end. All in all, though, it's a nice taste of '90s nostalgia by Natalie Imbruglia."[23]

Track listing

[edit]
Firebird track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Build It Better"
  • MyRiot
  • Imbruglia[a]
3:23
2."Nothing Missing"
  • MyRiot
  • Imbruglia
3:14
3."What It Feels Like"
  • Imbruglia
  • Chiara Hunter
  • Fitton
  • MyRiot
  • Imbruglia
3:53
4."On My Way"
  • MyRiot
  • Imbruglia
3:36
5."Maybe It's Great"
  • Hammond Jr
  • Gus Oberg
  • MyRiot[a]
  • Imbruglia[a]
3:54
6."Just Like Old Times"
  • MyRiot
  • Imbruglia
3:39
7."When You Love Too Much"
  • Imbruglia
  • Caroline Watkins
  • MyRiot
  • Imbruglia
3:07
8."Not Sorry"
  • Imbruglia
  • White
  • MyRiot
  • Imbruglia
3:11
9."Human Touch"
  • MyRiot
  • Imbruglia
4:16
10."Change of Heart"
  • MyRiot
  • Imbruglia
3:47
11."Invisible Things"
  • Imbruglia
  • Andrew DeRoberts
  • Josie Dunne
  • MyRiot
  • Imbruglia
3:14
12."Dive to the Deep"
  • Imbruglia
  • Amit Ofir
  • Caroline Brooks
  • MyRiot
  • Imbruglia
3:54
13."River"
  • Imbruglia
  • Bevan
  • MyRiot
  • Imbruglia
4:04
14."Firebird"
  • Imbruglia
  • Stodart
  • Dave Izumi Lynch
  • Imbruglia
  • Stodart
4:55
Total length:52:07

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer.

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Firebird
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[25] 30
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 54
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 3
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 69
UK Albums (OCC)[29] 10
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[30] 4
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[31] 2

Release history

[edit]
Release history and formats for Firebird
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various 24 September 2021
BMG [32][33]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Valerio D'Onofrio (1 October 2021). "Natalie Imbruglia - Firebird". Ondarock (in Italian). Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Natalie Imbruglia shares candid 'Invisible Things' music video". Retropop. July 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Natalie Imbruglia announces new album Firebird, releases single Build It Better". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Natalie Imbruglia Announces New Album "Firebird"". 3BA. 17 June 2021. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  5. ^ "First Listen: Natalie Imbruglia's New Single "Build It Better"". scenestr.com.au. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  6. ^ Natalie Imbruglia - Build It Better (Official Video), 18 June 2021, retrieved 20 June 2021 – via YouTube
  7. ^ "Natalie Imbruglia - Build It Better (Official Video)". Twitter. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Natalie Imbruglia - Build It Better (Official Video)". YouTube. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Firebird by Natalie Imbruglia". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Amazing ride to get to this point!!". 16 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 - 25 June 2021 - 01 July 2021". Official Charts Company. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 - 25 June 2021 - 01 July 2021". Official Charts Company. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Natalie Imbruglia goes back to the '80s on "Maybe It's Great"". retropopmagazine.com. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  14. ^ a b c "REVIEWS Natalie Imbruglia Firebird". Retro Pop. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Natalie Imbruglia releases new single "On My Way"". womeninpop.com. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Natalie Imbruglia goes backstage at comeback gig for 'Nothing Missing' music video". Retropop Magazine. 20 February 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  17. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". 4 October 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100 - 18 February 2022 - 24 February 2022". Official Charts. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Natalie Imbruglia - Firebird". Official Charts. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  20. ^ Heather Phares. Firebird at AllMusic. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  21. ^ a b "Natalie Imbruglia at Lafayette review: she deserves to be back in the spotlight". Evening Standard. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  22. ^ a b D'Souza, Shaad (24 September 2021). "Natalie Imbruglia: Firebird review – a canny and carefree comeback". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  23. ^ a b Alm, Rachel (21 September 2021). "ALBUM REVIEW: Natalie Imbruglia brings the '90s sound back on Firebird". Riff Magazine. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  24. ^ "Torn again: Natalie Imbruglia's new album proves she's still in the game". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  25. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – Natalie Imbruglia – Firebird" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  28. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Natalie Imbruglia – Firebird". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  29. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  30. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  31. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  32. ^ "Firebird by Natalie Imbruglia". Apple Music (AU). Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  33. ^ Physical releases for Firebird:
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