Our Songs (album)
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Our Songs
| cover = Anastacia - Our Songs.png
| alt =
| type = studio
| artist = Anastacia
| released = {{start date|2023|9|22}}
| recorded =
| genre =
| length = 48:22
| label = Stars by Edel
| producer = Christian Geller
| prev_title = Evolution
| prev_year = 2017
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Our Songs
| type = studio
| single1 = Best Days
| single1date = April 28, 2023
| single2 = Supergirl
| single2date = July 14, 2023
| single3 = Now or Never
| single3date = August 25, 2023
| single4 = Just You
| single4date = September 21, 2023
| single5 = Highs & Lows
| single5date = June 7, 2024
}}
}}
Our Songs is the eighth studio album by American singer Anastacia. It was released on September 22, 2023, through German-based recording label Stars by Edel. Entirely produced by Christian Geller, the album marked Anastacia's first album release since Evolution (2017). Conceptually, Our Songs is a cover album that features a compilation of mostly translated interpretations of German rock songs, involving material that was originated by Scorpions, Tokio Hotel, Die Toten Hosen, Unheilig, and others.{{Cite web |last=Louise |first=Sarah |date=2023-04-27 |title=Anastacia Releases New Single 'Best Days' |url=https://anastaciafanclub.co.uk/anastacia-new-single-best-days/ |access-date=May 30, 2023 |website=Anastacia Fanclub |language=en-US}}
Upon its release, the album earned largely mixed reviews from music critics who praised the singer's vocal performance but felt that her versions were for inferior to the original songs. Our Songs debuted at number two on the German Albums Chart, becoming Anastacia's highest-charting album in nearly two decades. It further reached the top ten in Austria and Switzerland and reached number 16 on the UK Album Downloads Chart. A reissue of Our Songs, the Gold deluxe edition, was released on June 21, 2024.{{Cite web |title=Instagram post by Anastacia |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/C5yaKkIMiA1/?hl=en |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=www.instagram.com}}{{Cite web |date=2024-03-11 |title=Noughties pop star Anastacia would 'consider' entering Eurovision Song Contest |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/noughties-pop-star-anastacia-consider-100000764.html |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-GB}}
Background
On November 8, 2022, during her "I'm Outta Lockdown Tour", Anastacia revealed to UK's Channel ITV News that she was working on a project for a 2023 release saying: "It's a different project than I've ever done. I'm not doing music I wrote, I'm doing music other people wrote but from a different language". In April 2023, media outlets announced that Our Songs will feature interpretations of German songs, which have been translated to English.
On Anastacia's website the album is described as: "From 100% pop to stadium-sized rock radio anthems, the album brings together classics from different genres and decades, presenting these highlights of German music history to an international audience for the first time." The album includes versions of "Born to Live Forever" by Unheilig, "Forever Young" by Alphaville and "Still Loving You" by Scorpions.{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://anastacia-oursongs.com/en/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=Anastacia - Our Songs |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2023-05-01 |title=Anastacia heads to Lisbon to sing about her 'Best Days' |url=https://www.outinperth.com/anastacia-heads-to-lisbon-to-sing-about-her-best-days/ |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=OUTInPerth}}
Singles
- The album's first single, "Best Days" was released on April 28, 2023. It is a cover of German punk rock band Die Toten Hosen's "Tage wie diese".
- On July 14, the second single, "Supergirl" was released.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-09 |title=Anastacia announces new single Supergirl from forthcoming LP Our Songs |url=https://retropopmagazine.com/anastacia-announces-new-single-supergirl-from-forthcoming-lp-our-songs/ |access-date=2023-07-09 |website=Retropop Magazine |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=July 9, 2023 |title=Instagram post by Anastacia |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CueosS4M3_0/ |access-date=2023-07-09 |via=Instagram}} The song was originally recorded and released as the debut single by German pop rock band Reamonn in 2000.
- A third single, "Now or Never", was released on August 25.{{Cite web |title=Yep 'Supergirl' is the name of my next single due to be released on July 14th!... |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv7HJossJMt/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |via=Instagram |language=en}} A music video was released on the same day.{{Cite web |title=Anastacia - Now or Never (Official Video) | date=August 25, 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvuqZfVRiQk/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |via=YouTube |language=en}} The song is a cover of Johannes Oerding's song "An guten Tagen" released in 2019.
- The song "Just You", was released on September 21 alongside its music video, directed by Marcel Brell.{{Cite web |title=Anastacia x Peter Maffay - Just You (official video) | date=September 21, 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgF2r_iER3k |access-date=2023-09-21 |via=YouTube |language=en}} The song features the original artist, Peter Maffay and is a cover of his own "So Bist du", released in 1979.
- A single, "Highs & Lows" was released on June 7, 2024, which comes from the deluxe version of the album, due for release on June 21, 2024.{{cite web|url=https://retropopmagazine.com/anastacia-announces-new-single-highs-lows-from-deluxe-our-songs-lp/|title=Anastacia announces new single Highs & Lows from deluxe Our Songs LP|website=Retro Pop Magazine|last=Gotto|first=Connor|date=5 June 2024|access-date=7 June 2024}}
Reception
{{Music ratings
| rev1 =Laut.de
| rev1score = {{Rating|1|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.laut.de/Anastacia/Alben/Our-Songs-121819|title=Katsching, die Kasse klingelt|last=Kabelitz|first=Sven|website=Laut.de|accessdate=October 2, 2023|language=German}}
| rev2 =RetroPop
| rev2score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|url=https://retropopmagazine.com/anastacia-our-songs-album-review/|title=Anastacia – Our Songs|website=Retropopmagazine.com|date=September 18, 2023|accessdate=October 2, 2023}}
}}
Renowned for Sound editor Ryan Bulbeck called Our Songs a "mid-paced, but sweet album, chocked full of ballads and sing-along moments. While there are no stand-out uptempo tunes to dance to, listeners will be pleasantly surprised by Anastacia’s versatility. Her voice, also, is as powerful as ever, and that alone makes this an album to listen to."{{cite web|url=https://renownedforsound.com/album-review-anastacia-our-songs/|title=Album Review: Anastacia – Our Songs|last=Bulbeck |first=Ryan |website=Renowned for Sound|date=September 18, 2023|accessdate=October 2, 2023}} UK-based popular culture website Culturefix noted that: "It is certainly a unique concept for an album and it is likely that many of the tracks will feel original and fresh to listeners outside Germany."{{Cite web |title=Anastacia Releases New Single 'Best Days', Pays Tribute To German Pop Hits On New Album 'Our Songs' – Culture Fix |url=https://www.culturefix.co.uk/?p=26391 |access-date=2023-06-12 |language=en-GB}} Antenne Brandenburg critic Tina Knop remarked that "new interpretations fit Anastacia so well that when you listen to them you're suddenly no longer sure whether it's an Anastacia original or a cover."{{cite web|url=https://www.antennebrandenburg.de/musik/cd-tipp/archiv/pop_international/anastacia--our-songs.html|title=Album-Tipp, 21.09.2023, Anastacia – Our Songs|website=Antenne Brandenburg|date=September 21, 2023|accessdate=October 2, 2023|language=German}}
RetroPop magazine felt that as "an album, Our Songs is a fine collection of material [...] with a vocalist as adept as Anastacia taking command over the project, they couldn't be in safer hands. What's less convincing is the overall concept, which despite being perhaps her most international work at times feels more of a passion project than the return of one of the most successful pop acts of the 2000s after more than half a decade." Der Spiegel felt that "despite [Anastacia's] recognizable voice, some of the songs lack the feeling of the original, such as Sarah Connor's ballad "Wie schön du bist" ("Beautiful") or the Lindenberg classic "Cello". The instruments recorded sound more like loveless instrumental versions. This may not bother die-hard Anastacia fans from Germany."{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/anastacia-covert-auf-neuem-deutschland-album-our-songs-udo-lindenberg-und-tokio-hotel-a-104a6fea-5142-48e3-b1a2-e5d9b4174d409|title=Anastacia covert auf neuem Deutschland-Album Udo Lindenberg und Tokio Hotel|website=Der Spiegel|date=September 19, 2023|accessdate=October 2, 2023|language=German}}
Sven Kabelitz from Laut.de dismissed the album as "calculated." He found that "every single one of these twelve songs is better in the original than here."
Chart performance
Our Songs debuted at number 2 on the German Albums Chart in the week of September 29, 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/anastacia-our-songs/|title=Fantasy schlagen Anastacia in spannendem Charts-Duell |website=Offiziellecharts.de (GfK)|access-date=October 2, 2023|date=September 29, 2023|language=German}} This marked Anastacia's highest-charting album since Anastacia (2004) and first top ten album since 2014's Resurrection. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 16 on the UK Albums Downloads Chart.{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-downloads-chart/20230929/7003/|title=Official Album Downloads Chart on 29/9/2023 29 September 2023 - 5 October 2023|website=Official Charts|date=29 September 2023|access-date=30 September 2023}} It also placed on three other charts in that country.{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/anastacia-our-songs/|title=Our Songs – Anastacia|website=Official Charts|access-date=30 September 2023}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Our Songs track listing
| extra_column = Original artist (date)
| title_width = 25%
| writing_width = 50%
| extra_width = 25%
| title1 = Best Days
| writer1 = {{hlist|Andreas Frege|Andreas Von Holst|Timothy Smith}}
| extra1 = Die Toten Hosen (2012)
| length1 = 4:32
| title2 = Now or Never
| writer2 = {{hlist|Johannes Oerding|Mark Anthony|Robert Smith|Benjamin Dernhoff}}
| extra2 = Johannes Oerding (2019)
| length2 = 3:18
| title3 = Beautiful
| writer3 = {{hlist|Sarah Connor|Daniel Faust|Peter Plate|Ulf Leo Sommer}}
| extra3 = Sarah Connor (2015)
| length3 = 3:20
| title4 = Still Loving You
| writer4 = {{hlist|Rudolf Schenker|Klaus Meine}}
| extra4 = Scorpions (1984)
| length4 = 5:33
| title5 = Monsoon
| writer5 = {{hlist|Dave Roth|Patrick Benzner|David Jost|Bill Kaulitz|Rebecca Roth}}
| extra5 = Tokio Hotel (2007)
| length5 = 3:58
| title6 = Born to Live
| writer6 = {{hlist|Bernd Heinrich Graf|Henning Verlage}}
| extra6 = Unheilig (2010)
| length6 = 3:28
| title7 = Cello
| writer7 = Udo Lindenberg
| extra7 = Udo Lindenberg (1973)
| length7 = 3:30
| title8 = Just You
| note8 = duet with Peter Maffay
| writer8 = {{hlist|Peter Maffay|Bernd Meinunger}}
| extra8 = Peter Maffay (1979)
| length8 = 4:40
| title9 = Symphony
| writer9 = {{hlist|Thomas Stolle|Johannes Stolle|Stefanie Kloss|Andreas Jan Nowak}}
| extra9 = Silbermond (2004)
| length9 = 4:50
| title10 = Supergirl
| writer10 = {{hlist|Mike Gommeringer|Philipp Rauenbusch|Rea Garvey|Sebastian Padotzke|Uwe Bossert}}
| extra10 = Reamonn (2000)
| length10 = 4:03
| title11 = Forever Young
| writer11 = {{hlist|Marian Gold|Bernhard Lloyd|Frank Mertens}}
| extra11 = Alphaville (1984)
| length11 = 3:17
| title12 = An Angel
| writer12 = {{hlist|Kathy Kelly|Hartmut Pfannmüller}}
| extra12 = The Kelly Family (1994)
| length12 = 3:53
| total_length = 48:26
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Golden deluxe edition – bonus tracks
| extra_column = Original artist (date)
| title_width = 25%
| writing_width = 50%
| extra_width = 25%
| title13 = Highs and Lows
| writer13 = {{hlist|Anastacia|Andreas Herbig|Emma Rosen|Michael Schulte|Patrick Salmy|Ricardo Munoz}}
| extra13 = Michael Schulte (2019)
| length13 = 3:54
| title14 = Control
| writer14 = {{hlist|Zoe Wees|Munoz|Salmy|Rosen}}
| extra14 = Zoe Wees (2022)
| length14 = 3:55
| title15 = Rooftop
| writer15 = {{hlist|Christoph Cronauer|Michelle Leonard|Nico Wellenbrink|Nicolas Rebscher|Vito Kovach}}
| extra15 = Nico Santos (2017)
| length15 = 3:18
| total_length = 59:13
}}
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Weekly chart performance for Our Songs ! scope="col"| Chart (2023) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{album chart|Austria|5|artist=Anastacia|album=Our Songs|rowheader=true|access-date=March 23, 2024}} |
| {{album chart|Flanders|116|artist=Anastacia|album=Our Songs|rowheader=true|access-date=October 1, 2023}} |
| {{album chart|Wallonia|168|artist=Anastacia|album=Our Songs|rowheader=true|access-date=October 1, 2023}} |
| {{album chart|Germany4|2|id=523526|artist=Anastacia|album=Our Songs|rowheader=true|access-date=September 29, 2023|refname="Germany"}} |
| {{album chart|Switzerland|8|artist=Anastacia|album=Our Songs|rowheader=true|access-date=October 1, 2023}} |
| scope="row"| Swiss Albums (Les charts Romandy){{cite web|url=https://lescharts.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Anastacia&titel=Our+Songs&cat=a|title=lescharts.ch – Anastacia – Our Songs|publisher=Hung Medien|language=fr|access-date=October 23, 2023}}
| 5 |
|---|
| {{album chart|UKDigital|16|date=20230929|rowheader=true|access-date=September 30, 2023}} |
| scope="row"| UK Albums Sales (OCC)
| 75 |
| {{album chart|UKIndependent|31|date=20230929|rowheader=true|access-date=September 30, 2023}} |
| scope="row"| UK Record Store (OCC)
| 19 |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Year-end chart performance for Our Songs ! scope="col"| Chart (2023) ! scope="col"| Position |
| scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100){{cite web|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/album-jahr/for-date-2023|title=Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 2023|publisher=GfK Entertainment|language=de|access-date=March 23, 2024}}
| 60 |
|---|
{{col-end}}
Release history
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Our Songs release history ! scope="col"| Region ! scope="col"| Date ! scope="col"| Format ! scope="col"| Label ! scope="col"| Edition ! scope="col"| Ref. |
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | Various
| September 22, 2023 | {{hlist|CD|digital download|LP|streaming}} | rowspan="2"|Stars by Edel | Standard |
|---|
| June 21, 2024
| {{hlist|CD|digital download|streaming}} | Gold deluxe | {{Cite web|title=Our Songs (Gold Deluxe Edition)|language=de|url=https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/album/2rP86idwwQTKQYNrZgMoA5|access-date=June 24, 2024|website=Spotify}} |