My Worlds Acoustic
My Worlds Acoustic is the debut remix album by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released on November 26, 2010 and was initially sold exclusively at Walmart retail stores and Sam's Club. The album features nine acoustic versions of songs from his debut extended play, "My World" (2009), and first album "My World 2.0" (2010), as well as a new song "Pray". The new versions of the songs were produced by Bieber's music director, Dan Kanter, his vocal producer Kuk Harrell, and also producer Rob Wells. Internationally, the set is included as a part of the compilation album, "" (2010), which included songs from the previous two releases. "My Worlds Acoustic" was released to iTunes, on February 8, 2011.
According to Bieber, he wanted to release the album for the naysayers who critiqued his actual singing ability. The singer said that he wanted to have an acoustic album, to reflect the effect of production on his vocals. Although labeled as an acoustic album, the songs still include subtle usages of electronic sounds such as synthesizers. The album received generally favorable reviews from critics, however most critics were not satisfied that the album was not genuinely acoustic. In Canada, the song debuted at number five, and later peaked at number four on the Canadian Albums Chart and certified Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. "My Worlds Acoustic" debuted at number seven on the US "Billboard" 200, selling 115,000 copies in its first week, becoming Bieber's third consecutive top ten album.
Background and marketing.
On October 18, 2010, Bieber announced on his Twitter plans for an acoustic album in time for the holiday season, and that it would feature unplugged versions of his songs, as well as a new song. Days later, on October 24, 2010, he revealed that the album was set for release on November 26, 2010. In an interview with MTV News, Bieber said that the album was for the "haters" who say he cannot sing and saying his voice was auto-tuned, and that "stripping it down and having it kind of really mellow and being able to hear my voice" was his purpose. The singer said he wanted to do the acoustic set because the Electronic Music production sometimes "drowns out your voice" and "takes away from the singer, over the synths and everything." According to Kyle Anderson of MTV News the album might not have been "just another project", but rather the purpose could be "to prove that he has the skills to sustain a long and fulfilling career." In the same interview he confirmed that "Baby" and other "My World 2.0" songs were re-recorded, as well as a new song.
It was later confirmed that the song was an inspirational song entitled, "Pray." According to Bieber, the song is a gift to his fans. The song's arrangement is set to reflect Bieber's music before he was discovered, but also includes instrumentation from a string quartet, congas, and a cajón drum, the latter to represent Bieber's worldly travels, specifically to Africa. While Bieber was being interviewed by Ryan Seacrest on his radio show, Bieber talked about the song's initial writing stating that it was influenced by Michael Jackson, and he thought of Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" when writing the song. Vocally, Bieber's vocals are sung in a lower key compared to previous singles. Bieber plays guitar on the album, along with his guitarist and musical director Dan Kanter. The new versions of the other songs on the album were produced by Kanter, Bieber's vocal producer Kuk Harrell, and also producer Rob Wells.
To promote the album as well as draw interest for Bieber's then-upcoming 3D film, "", Bieber shot an alternate music video for the acoustic version of the song, "Never Say Never." The video premiered during Game 3 of the 2010 World Series, and in the clip, the singer dons apparel from both teams. Bieber performed "Pray" for the first time at the 2010 American Music Awards. The performance opened with Bieber sitting playing the piano while singing. Midway through the performance Bieber arose from the piano and took center stage; he was accompanied by a choir singing background vocals. The performance was ended with Bieber kneeling singing the song's title, the performance was greeted by standing ovation from the audience. After originally being sold only at Walmart and Sam's Club first, the album was released on iTunes on February 11, 2011, accompanying the release of "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never", and preceding the release of "Never Say Never – The Remixes".
Critical reception.
Lucy Jones of "The Daily Telegraph" said that "with catchy choruses, soulful key changes and cute hooks laid bare, these are undeniably brilliant pop songs." Jones further commented that "finger clicks, bongos and mellow guitars are a welcome change from the squealing synths and pounding beats favoured by Bieber and his peers," and that the album had the ability to connect with audiences beyond his demographic. Mikael Wood of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the album a "B−" rating, stating that the album doesn't change Bieber's beloved "kiddie-soul vocals" calling it "perfunctory", but said that acoustic renditions such as "Baby", "One Time" and new song "Pray" deliver their "saccharine payload." Thomas Conneron of "Chicago Sun-Times" said that "calming down several of the pop tunes with slower tempos and patient singing" was not bad and that slowing everything down made listeners hear how the singer's voice had matured.
Calling it "the sugariest acoustic album in history," Allison Stewart of "The Washington Post" said "its arrangements and melodies – the best parts of any Bieber record - are stripped down but otherwise little changed, demonstrating just how great most of these songs were to begin with." Stewart also said that urban numbers such as "Baby," "survive their makeovers without a hitch." Andy Kellman of "Allmusic" gave the album 2 and a half out of 5 stars saying that the album was "an enticement." Dan Savoie of "Rockstar Weekly" gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that it is "the perfect showcase for a talented young artist who's on his way to the Grammy Awards this year." Although she commented that the "acoustic" labeling was a bit misleading, Monica Hererra of "Billboard" said that the album "succeeds", calling songs like the live version of "Favorite Girl" the album's saving grace and "truly acoustic." On the former, Herrera said, "It's the one moment where you can hear all of the young artist's strengths falling in line-raw talent, maturing vocals and, of course, an all-too-valuable connection with his fans."
Commercial performance.
In Canada, "My Worlds Acoustic" it debuted at number five on the Canadian Albums Chart, then rose to number four the following week. The album was subsequently certified Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association the same month it was released, shifting over 80,000 units. The album debuted at number seven on the "Billboard" 200 with 115,000 copies sold in the first week released. "My Worlds Acoustic" became Bieber's second top ten album in a little over a year, following the extended play "My World" and debut studio album, "My World 2.0". After fluctuating on the chart for weeks, due to the album being available for digital download on iTunes, the album returned to the top ten of the "Billboard" on the week of February 26, 2011.
Track listing.
Notes
Personnel.
Adapted from "My Worlds Acoustic" liner notes.
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Charts.
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References.
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Never Say Never (Justin Bieber song)
"Never Say Never" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. The song is used as the theme song for the 2010 film "The Karate Kid", and features a rap verse from its star, Jaden Smith. Originally a risque demo with sexual lyrics performed by Travis Garland, it was written and produced by The Messengers, and Omarr Rambert. However, Bieber was tapped to record the song for the film. He re-wrote the song with the original artists along with Smith and his vocal producer Kuk Harrell, to feature inspirational lyrics to foil the film's theme.
The song was released for digital download in the United States on June 8, 2010. The song was later included as an acoustic track on the remix album "My Worlds Acoustic" (2010) and both the acoustic and single versions were on the compilation album ' (2010). To promote Bieber's , the song was released as the lead and only single from Bieber's second remix album, '.
"Never Say Never" peaked within the top twenty in Canada, Norway, and New Zealand, while reaching the top forty in Australia, as well as charting in other international markets. After it was re-released as the lead single and the only single from "– The Remixes", promoting his film, the single peaked at number eight on the "Billboard" Hot 100, becoming Bieber's second top-ten single in the United States. Its accompanying music video, directed by Honey, features Smith and Bieber in a recording studio playing around and dancing, and is intercut with scenes from the film. He has notably performed the song on "Today" and on his My World Tour. Smith joined Bieber during the tour's stop at Madison Square Garden to perform the song for scenes in "".
Background.
A demo of the song, "Sexy Together" was originally recorded by Travis Garland. Reportedly the song was re-written by its original writers Adam Messinger, Nasri, Omarr Rambert, and his vocal producer Kuk Harrell, while Smith added lines. Carina Adly MacKenzie of Zap2it preferred Bieber and Smith's version, commenting, "No wonder Bieb skipped this version -- it's a total snoozer. You'd think that a song about dying would be more interesting than a song about little kids doing karate... but no." Bieber hinted at the collaboration by posting a promo photo of himself and Smith on his Twitter, and also posting that a video of his would premiere before "Somebody to Love", the second single from his studio album debut, "My World 2.0". The song was confirmed when the track listing for the soundtrack was revealed. It was released on iTunes in the United States on June 8, 2010.
Composition.
"Never Say Never" is a teen pop track which includes hip hop elements. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, "Never Say Never" is set in common time with a metronome of 96 beats per minute, which is described as "steady, not too fast." It is composed in the key of A minor with vocals spanning from the low-note of G3 to the high-note of C6. The song follows in the chord progression of Am–C–G–D Bieber provides lead vocals in the song while Smith provides the backing with rap interludes. The song is a "motivational track," containing inspirational lyrics, such as Bieber singing about a life filled with adversity, through lines like, "I never thought that I could walk through fire / I never thought that I could take the burn/ never had the strength to take it higher". "Idolator" thought the song as a tween-friendly version of Eminem's "Lose Yourself". Smith's lines reference his father, and puns in the phrase, "raised by the power of Will". He also makes reference to his lineage by saying "Born from two stars so the moon's where I land.", as he is the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, who are both Hollywood stars. Smith also makes references to Luke Skywalker and Kobe Bryant in his lines.
Critical reception.
Shima Maya of AOL Radio Blog gave the song a positive review, calling it "a burst of sexual energy", and stating, "Even on a soundtrack featuring the likes of Lady Gaga, John Mayer and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, this single...is sure to stand out as the film's flagship anthem." Toor also complimented Bieber's "now-trademark silky-smooth voice." Monica Herrera of "Billboard" said that Smith's rapping skills could rival those of his former-rapper father. E! Online said "And while some might insist that "Parents Just Don't Understand", we think Big Willy would totally be down with Jaden's rap." Maria-Mercedes Lara of Celebuzz said, "don't make assumptions with the suspiciously nepotistic circumstances surrounding Jaden's appearance on Bieber's song: the kid is actually really good." Lara also commented that Bieber "should be watching his back for Jaden's rising star." "Tiger Beat" said that they loved the song, and said it had a "great beat."
Chart performance.
On the week ending June 17, 2011, the song debuted at number thirty-three on the "Billboard" Hot 100, propelled by its debut at number seventeen on the Hot Digital Songs chart selling 76,000 copies. The song became Bieber's ninth consecutive top 40 release for a regular or digital single as a lead artist. In Canada on the Canadian Hot 100, the song debuted at eleven. The single debuted at forty-five on the Australian Singles Chart, and peaked at thirty-eight in its second week, while on the New Zealand Singles Chart, the song debuted and peaked at twenty. The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) certified "Never Say Never" gold on June 5, 2011, denoting the sale of 7,500 copies. On the Norwegian Singles Chart, the song debuted at eighteen, and spent one week on the chart. Debuting at seventy-five on the Austrian Singles Chart, the following week it peaked at forty-six on the chart. On the Dutch Single Top 100, after spending four weeks on the chart, the song peaked at seventy. On the Tip charts in both Belgian regions, the song peaked at two and five.
Promotion.
The accompanying clip for the single was directed by Honey. The music video takes place in a studio, and contains a heroic concept, featuring Bieber and Smith singing the song and playing around, intercut with scenes from the film. Bieber appears in a motorcycle jacket and high tops. Studio scenes include Bieber flexing karate moves, he and Smith dancing, jerkin', and eating Twizzlers. The scenes also show the two shadowboxing, as footage from the film shows Smith performing an "array of fight moves." Near the end of the clip features Bieber giving a roundhouse kick.
The music video was posted at 22:11 UTC on May 27, 2010, and released to the public four days later.
The actual 'film' within the music video is directly taken from the footage of Karate Kid, which was shot entirely in Beijing and features Jackie Chan as "Mr. Han", a mentor figure who trains Smith throughout the film. The scenes include Smith looking at the CCTV Headquarters building, a shot of the Beijing street scene, an Air China Boeing 747-400 taking off and landing, and a training scene at the Great Wall of China. The basic storyline involves Smith's character vying for the affection of a Chinese girl and being rebuffed by a rival suitor. Smith eventually wins a fight against his rival and wins the affection of the girl. Both Wall Street Journal Online and E! Online noted the low-production value of the clip. Kyle Anderson of MTV News commended Bieber's latest "attention-grabbing video," and jokingly stated, "As a video that features fighting, it's a pretty strong entry, and it joins the list of great fight-centric videos below." An Idolator writer said that they were impressed with Smith's moves, and Bieber's "spinning roundhouse." A writer for "Tiger Beat" said, "The video is SO cute–we love when Justin and Jaden get silly at the end!"
Bieber performed the song on June 4, 2011, on the Today Show as part of a medley with "Baby", "Somebody to Love", and "One Time". The song is a part of his setlist during the My World Tour. Smith joined Bieber for the song on the August 31, 2010 date, along with Usher, Miley Cyrus, Ludacris, and Boyz II Men, to film scenes for his upcoming 3D concert film.
To promote his remix album, "My Worlds Acoustic" as well as draw interest for the upcoming film, Bieber shot a music video for the song. The video premiered during Game 3 of the 2010 World Series. In the video, Bieber stands on a baseball diamond and dons apparel from both teams in the Series, wearing a San Francisco Giants hat and Texas Rangers jacket Scenes in which Bieber sings on the diamond is intercut with players hitting the ball and hanging in the dugout, as well as Bieber playing a guitar. In an interview, Bieber said that the video was inspired by his love for sports.
Charts.
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Radio and release history.
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References.
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Renditions of the Soul
Renditions of the Soul is the fifth studio album by Filipina singer Nina, released in the Philippines on August 27, 2009 by Warner Music Philippines. The album contains a selection of the most requested songs from her "all-male hits special" weekly acoustic radio show of the same title, which aired on Wave 89.1 during Friday and Sunday evenings. The idea and concept of the project came from Nina herself, and she approached the station's manager to carry it out. She is co-executive producer of the album, with Warner head manager Jim Baluyut, and produced all the tracks herself (a first time for the singer). All the tracks are the actual recordings from Nina's "Renditions of the Soul" radio sessions.
Upon release, the album received positive response from music critics who stated that Nina's voice fits perfectly to each song. In 2010, she won Best Female Recording Artist on the Box Office Entertainment Awards, where the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation named her as the best-selling female recording artist of 2009—having sold 100,000 copies of her "Nina Live!", "Nina Sings the Hits of Diane Warren" and "Renditions of the Soul" albums. Additionally, the album was surprisingly a commercial hit. Despite having the least promotion, it managed to reach Platinum by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) in July 2010, denoting 20,000 units sold. In December 2010, it became one of the best-sellers in the country during Christmas season.
Three singles were released from the album. "She's Out of My Life" was the first official single. It did not have a music video to be solicited to music channels, and therefore, lacked promotion. The second single was "Cold Summer Nights", originally recorded by Francis Magalona. Like the first single, it was not given enough promotion, but it managed to pick up airplay on TV and radio. "I'm Yours" was released as the third and last single off the album. Unlike the two releases, it had a music video that came up from Warner's Nina sing-along contest. Since, Nina has left the label during the time, she had no participation on the video's release.
Background.
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"It's fulfilling to sing any song, maybe a cover or an original song, just the fact that I'm singing is fulfilling enough. I have no fear of being a typecast, because the supporters, fans, are the ones who requested it [cover songs]."
—Nina, on being criticized with releasing too many cover songs.
Since Nina entered the Philippine music industry in 2000, she has been known for doing cover versions of popular classic hits. In 2002, her debut album "Heaven" was released along with two chart-topping singles, "Foolish Heart" and "Loving You", which are both revivals. Aside from performing well commercially, both singles were critically acclaimed. In 2003, she covered three more songs on her second studio album "Smile", namely "A Girl Can Dream", "Shoo-Bee-Doo" and "I'll Always Stay in Love This Way". "A Girl Can Dream" was released as an official single, while the other two were released as radio-only singles due to warm reception. In 2005, Nina proved herself as the great "cover-girl," when she released her first live cover album "Nina Live!". The album was a huge commercial success, certifying Diamond by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI). The album's lead single, "Love Moves in Mysterious Ways", also became her most successful single when it topped the charts for twelve consecutive weeks in record time. In 2006, her self-titled album was released and it contains two revivals, namely "I Can't Make You Love Me" and "Love Is Contagious". Both songs received positive response from critics. The album was then re-issued in 2007, containing a second disc of Barry Manilow classic songs. The re-issue showcases Nina's renditions of Manilow hits such as "Somewhere Down the Road" and "If I Should Love Again". In 2008, she released her second cover album entitled "Nina Sings the Hits of Diane Warren", wherein she took on Warren-penned ballads. She released "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" and "There You'll Be" as commercial singles.
Development and recording.
In 2008, Nina hosted an "all-male hits" special weekly acoustic radio show on Wave 89.1 radio station, entitled "Renditions of the Soul". It aired during Friday and Sunday evenings. The show's concept is about the Soul Siren, singing the most-requested songs that were originally performed and recorded by male artists, may it be local or foreign. Nina conceptualized the show herself, saying "They [listeners] send their requests. Some send letters along with the requests and "binabasa ko rin 'yun" [I also read them]." She added that the station's manager is her friend, and that she is glad that he approved on her idea. Each night of the show has its respective theme or concept, where Nina sings songs that are related to each other—may it be originally recorded and performed by the same artist or may it have one lyrical content and plot. Some nights of the show just featured request letters and mails from fans and listeners, where she reads and later, performs them. Nina described how the album became a reflection of herself in the following statement:
"I can say that the songs I sing in my albums very much represent who I am... Because when I sing songs, I try to make it my own even if it was done originally by another artist."
The radio show had a long run, airing on the station for approximately three years; from 2008—2010. Every evening episode has its respective conception, where the songs are either requests from fans, sung originally by the same artist, or have similar lyrical stories. Nina's cover of "Can't Find the Words to Say Goodbye", a song originally recorded in two different versions by David Gates and Billy Dean who both wrote and composed it, aired on February 29, 2008. Her version was described as the "classiest, most polished reinvention" along with the less familiar tune of the Justin Timberlake original, "Never Again". The "Justin Timberlake Night" episode aired on May 29, 2009. She performed "What Goes Around... Comes Around" and "Until the End of Time" alongside "Never Again". Like Timberlake's version, she performed "Never Again" in an acoustic piano arrangement. She admits that it is one of her favorite songs. In an April 25, 2008 episode, she performed songs that were requested by listeners. One song that was included in the album was "Half Crazy", originally by Johnny Gill. She recorded it along with "P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)" by John Legend.". "Real Thing", a Kalapana original, was recorded a few days earlier on April 11, 2008. On May 1, 2009, she recorded "Go the Distance" alongside the Phil Collins original, "You'll Be in My Heart".
Critical reception.
Without any commercial promotion, "Renditions of the Soul" managed to peak inside the top five of album retailer charts in the Philippines, staying there for months. Aside from its commercial success, the radio show and the album itself were well received by music critics and listeners. Rito Asilo of " The Philippine Daily Inquirer" gave the album a positive review, noticing the more unplugged sound delivered by it. He praised four songs—the covers of Justin Timberlake's acoustic ballad "Never Again", Robin Thicke's pop hit "Lost Without U", Bread's classic hit "Can't Find the Words to Say Goodbye" and Rannie Raymundo's OPM hit "Why Can't It Be"—saying "it's the less familiar tunes [...] that get the classiest, most polished reinventions." "Manila Bulletin" gave the album a similarly positive review, stating "The 17-track album is more emotionally subtle, yet the songs just have as equally powerful messages like her previous hits [...] Nina's singing perfectly renders the message of every selection: Love, longing and the purity of emotional surrender."
Commercial performance.
In the Philippines, "Renditions Of The Soul" did not debut on the charts on its first week of release, then until (October 1, 2009) the album debuted at number eleven on the Philippines Top 20 Albums chart. After two weeks the album climbed at number three on the chart due to increase of the sales of the album. According to Titik Pinoy data, the album spent fifteen weeks on the chart. As of July 2010, the album had sold 20,000 copies in the Philippines making if certified Platinum in PARI.
Singles.
"She's Out of My Life" was released on August 14, 2009 as the first single from "Renditions of the Soul". According to Nina, all of the songs in the album were candidates in selection for the lead single. Despite a large number of choices, the song managed to be chosen by Warner as the first single due to warm positive reception by critics and listeners. The song was originally recorded by Michael Jackson, and it is lyrically intended for a male singer. However, when Nina covered the song, she altered the title line "she's out of my life" into "he's out of my life," making an entirely female-perspective version of the song. Despite her alteration on the song's title, the original title was kept in the copy prints. The song had no music video, defining lack of promotion for the album. Since then, it was only considered to be a promotional single. Prior to the release of the album, Nina has performed the song in various TV appearances.
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"Almost all of the songs in the album would qualify as the first single. However, "She's Out of My Life" was the one that got the warmest reception."
—Nina, explaining on how the first single of the album was chosen.
"Cold Summer Nights" was released in February 2010 as the second promotional single from the album. The song was one of the most-requested out of all the album's tracks. It was originally recorded by Filipino hip-hop legend Francis Magalona. The song was released only to radio after gaining airplay on TV shows from various channels, even before its official release. Like the first single, no music video was shot for "Cold Summer Nights", proving lack of support from Warner. "I'm Yours" was released in May 2010 as the first commercial single from the album. The song was originally recorded by Jason Mraz, and it is the only upbeat single from the album. In April 2010, Warner held a sing-along contest for Nina fans and the winner got the chance to be in the single's music video. However, the single had no promotion, since Nina has departed from Warner to Universal Records during its release. Nina only launched the single on "ASAP XV," performing the song during the "ASAP Sessionistas" segment on May 2, 2010. The music video barely featured Nina, and just showed some of her pictures from the "Renditions of the Soul" album photo shoot. It can be viewed on Warner Music Philippines' official YouTube channel.
Promotion.
Aside from promoting the album on her own radio show of the same title, Nina has performed "Renditions of the Soul"'s songs in her local and international major concerts, bar gigs, mall shows and TV appearances. In addition, the second single "Cold Summer Nights" was used as background music on various TV shows aired by GMA Network and TV5 throughout late 2009 up to early 2010.
On August 28, 2009, Nina performed the fan-favorite and Rannie Raymundo hit "Why Can't It Be" on the ASAP Sessionistas first ever major concert, held at the Araneta Coliseum. On October 11, 2009, she sang the album's lead single, "She's Out of My Life", on "ASAP '09," during the "Sessionistas" segment where her album "Nina Live!" was awarded a 10× Platinum (Diamond) certification for outstanding sales of nearly 300,000 units in the Philippines. She was crying all the way through her performance, explaining that it was because of too much happiness for her achievement. On October 14, 2009, she performed "Go the Distance" on the Greenology mall show at Greenbelt, Makati. On October 23, 2009, she also performed "Why Can't It Be" on the ASAP Sessionistas major concert, live at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino. On November 7, 2009, she also performed "She's Out of My Life" on the ASAP Sessionistas first ever U.S. tour. The show was held at the San Jose Civic Auditorium, California. On November 15, 2009, she performed the same song, live at the Queen's College Colden Auditorium, New York, still, as part of the U.S. tour. On January 30, 2010, she performed "Why Can't It Be" during her 19 East bar gig, when the song was requested by the audience on that night. On May 2, 2010, she launched the album's first commercial single, "I'm Yours", on "ASAP XV", despite departing from Warner to her new record label Universal at the time of the song's release.
Awards and accolades.
"Renditions of the Soul" is the most nominated and one of the most awarded albums ever released by Nina. On the 2009 ASAP Pop Viewer's Choice Awards, the album was nominated for Pop Album, and Nina was nominated for Pop Female Artist, but she lost both awards. It won the Best Album category on the first ever Wave 89.1 Urban Music Awards in 2009, where she received four nominations—including Best Female Soul/R&B Artist (which she lost to Amber), Female Style Icon Award (which she lost to Kat of Sinosikat?) and Best Remake for "She's Out of My Life" (which lost to "Spend My Life with You" by Thor and Amber). On the 2010 Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation Box-Office Entertainment Awards, she was awarded the Best Female Recording Artist for outstanding sales of her albums in the whole year of 2009. The album also earned her the most (seven) nominations on the second PMPC Star Awards for Music in 2010. She won Female Pop Artist of the Year, but lost the Female Recording Artist of the Year to Sarah Geronimo, Pop Album of the Year to Erik Santos' "The Jim Brickman Songbook", Acoustic Album and Female Acoustic Artist of the Year awards to Aiza Seguerra's "Live" album and Revival Album of the Year to Piolo Pascual's "Decades". Kris Aquino's album "Blessings of Love", on which she is part of, was also nominated for Compilation Album of the Year. On the 2010 ASAP Pop Viewer's Choice Awards, "Renditions of the Soul" was nominated for Pop Album, but lost the award to Geronimo's "Music and Me". On the second Wave 89.1 Urban Music Awards in 2010, Nina received two nominations including Best Female Soul/R&B Artist and Best Album for "Renditions of the Soul". She won Best Album for the second time, and was given a Special Achievement Award for her notable contributions in the OPM industry including the Diamond award she earned with "Nina Live!".
Despite earning Nina numerous nominations on different organizations, the album failed to have a nomination on any category of Awit Awards, making 2010 the only year that she was not listed on the Awit Awards in her eight-year career in the music industry.
List of awards and nominations
Track listing.
All tracks were produced by Nina.
Personnel.
Credits taken from "Renditions of the Soul"'s liner notes.
References.
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De-plumed
de-plumed (full title de-plumed: laid bare, exposed, featherless) is the 13th studio release, and 12th full-length studio album, by alternative rock band the Choir, released in 2010. It was the band's first "unplugged" recording, featuring reinterpretations of songs from prior albums.
Background.
On July 24, 2010, the Choir performed a private acoustic concert at saxophone and Lyricon player Dan Michaels' home outside Nashville, Tennessee, for a limited group of fans who had pre-ordered the album as part of the band's top-tier "Package A." Based on the highly positive response to this stripped-down version of the band, lead singer and guitarist Derri Daugherty and drummer and lyricist Steve Hindalong decided to tour in support of "Burning Like the Midnight Sun" as an acoustic duo. "Our following is very devoted," Hindalong said, "so we figured most of them would already have "Midnight Sun". Our initial idea was to offer a special new recording exclusively for those audiences, which would be something we could also create relatively quickly. I had recently seen one of our favorite bands, the Church, on a tour where they performed one song from each of their albums in reverse chronological order. It made for a very entertaining show. So that's where we got the idea to reinterpret a song from each of our 12 releases, from 1985 to the present."
Recording history.
The band went into Daugherty’s Sled Dog Studios in Franklin, Tennessee to record the new album, which was the Choir's first attempt at an "unplugged" studio recording. "It is definitely a production challenge to record without bass guitar, ambient electrics or keys," Hindalong said. "We used a bit of glockenspiel for counter-melody." The band also brought in collaborators to assist on the project, including Choir guitarist Marc Byrd's wife, Christy Glass Byrd, to sing harmonies, and Matt Slocum from Sixpence None the Richer to play cello, the latter of which Hindalong claimed was "the best decision we made." Ironically, Hindalong's favorite track on the album was the least adorned: “Love Your Mind,” which featured simply Daugherty and his Gibson J-45 guitar.
Artwork and packaging.
Several years before the recording of "Burning Like the Midnight Sun", visual artist Ron Lyon – who would later do the artwork for that album – gave Hindalong an art piece, which inspired the title of this album. "In this particular painting, there is a bird and a pair of scissors. I thought, 'stripped down… featherless… de-plumed.' It struck me as a great word to represent an acoustic or 'unplugged' album, and also keep the whole 'bird/flying' theme we’ve perpetuated for years. Plus, the artistic continuity