Sing When You're Winning
Encyclopedia
Sing When You're Winning is the third studio album
by English
singer-songwriter Robbie Williams
.
in 1998, and in the middle of promotion and touring in 1999, Robbie found time to start the work on what would be his third studio album. The title name is a reference to a famous football chant of the same name, with Williams being a fan of Port Vale F.C.
. The album cover features multiple images of Williams celebrating winning a trophy at Chelsea's
stadium Stamford Bridge
. The original release of the album's does not feature Williams' name or the album title on the front cover, nor does it feature a track listing on the back. This was changed for future releases. The album artwork was taken by photographer Paul M. Smith, and along with Robbie's complete football strip, was later sold at auction to raise money for his charity, Give It Sum. Williams toured the United Kingdom with Kylie Minogue
in October and November 2000 to promote the album, selling-out in every venue.
, debuting at number-one and being certified 2x Platinum on the first week of release. The album also topped the charts in New Zealand
, Ireland
and Germany
, and secured top ten placings in Argentina
, Austria
, Australia
, Finland
, Mexico
, Sweden
, Switzerland
. The album spent 91 weeks inside the UK Charts, going on to sell 2.4 Million copies in the UK alone being certified 8x Platinum by the BPI. The album became the best selling album of 2000 in the country and the 51st Best Selling album in UK Music History. The album went on to sell over 6 million copies Worldwide. The album found little success in the United States
, however, peaking at 110 in the Billboard 200
.
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 69, based on 11 reviews.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
singer-songwriter Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
.
Background
Following the release of his last album, I've Been Expecting YouI've Been Expecting You
I've Been Expecting You is the second studio album by British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams.-Success:Williams and Chambers started the writing process of the album in Jamaica in the spring of 1998. I've Been Expecting You was released in October 1998. It debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart,...
in 1998, and in the middle of promotion and touring in 1999, Robbie found time to start the work on what would be his third studio album. The title name is a reference to a famous football chant of the same name, with Williams being a fan of Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
. The album cover features multiple images of Williams celebrating winning a trophy at Chelsea's
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
stadium Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge (stadium)
Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge...
. The original release of the album's does not feature Williams' name or the album title on the front cover, nor does it feature a track listing on the back. This was changed for future releases. The album artwork was taken by photographer Paul M. Smith, and along with Robbie's complete football strip, was later sold at auction to raise money for his charity, Give It Sum. Williams toured the United Kingdom with Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
in October and November 2000 to promote the album, selling-out in every venue.
Success
When the album was released in August 2000, it immediately became a hit in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, debuting at number-one and being certified 2x Platinum on the first week of release. The album also topped the charts in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and secured top ten placings in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. The album spent 91 weeks inside the UK Charts, going on to sell 2.4 Million copies in the UK alone being certified 8x Platinum by the BPI. The album became the best selling album of 2000 in the country and the 51st Best Selling album in UK Music History. The album went on to sell over 6 million copies Worldwide. The album found little success in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, however, peaking at 110 in the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
Reception
Initial critical response to Sing When You're Winning was positive. MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 69, based on 11 reviews.
Singles
- "Rock DJRock DJ"Rock DJ" is a song by English pop singer Robbie Williams from his fourth album, Sing When You're Winning released in the summer of 2000. The song heavily musically samples Barry White's 1977 song "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" and also contains a sample of "Can I Kick It?" by A Tribe...
" was released as the album's first single. The song was inspired by Williams' UNICEF mentor, the late Ian DuryIan DuryIan Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...
. The video was censored by Top Of The PopsTop of the PopsTop of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
for it's goreGraphic violenceGraphic violence is the depiction of especially vivid, brutal and realistic acts of violence in visual media such as literature, film, television, and video games...
content, with many other channels following suit. Controversy ensued in the United Kingdom and many other countries, with the video showing Williams tearing chunks of skin and muscle from his body while performing a strip show, in an attempt to get noticed by a group of women. The track became an instant hit around the globe, hitting number-one in the United Kingdom, becoming his third number-one single as a solo artist and exactly a year after his sell-out concert at the Slane CastleSlane CastleSlane Castle is located in the town of Slane, within the Boyne Valley of County Meath, Ireland. The castle has been the family home of the Conyngham Marquessate since the 18th century....
. The song also reached number-one in IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, New Zealand, Mexico & Argentina and hit top-ten placings across Europe, AustralasiaAustralasiaAustralasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
and Latin America. Despite its worldwide success the song failed to break in the United States charts, although it did get some TV Airplay on MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and VH1VH1VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
. The song went on to win several awards including "Best Song of 2000" at the MTV Europe Music AwardsMTV Europe Music AwardsThe MTV Europe Music Awards were established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Originally beginning as an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards is today a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider...
, "Best Single of the Year" at the Brit Awards and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Special EffectsMTV Video Music Award for Best Special EffectsThe following is a list of MTV Video Music Awards winners for Best Special Effects in a Video....
. It went on to sell over 600,000 copies in the UK alone, and was certified Platinum by the BPI.
- "Kids", a collaboration with Australian pop iconPop iconA pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in pop culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The categorization is usually associated with elements such as longevity, ubiquity, and distinction. Moreover, "pop icon" status is distinguishable from...
Kylie MinogueKylie MinogueKylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
, was released as the album's second single. The track was written when Minogue approached Williams to write some songs for her debut ParlophoneParlophoneParlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
album Light Years. Williams decided to include the track on his album and released it as a single, becoming an instant hit upon release in October of that year. The song hit number two in the United Kingdom and snared top 10 placings in Australia, New Zealand, LatviaLatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and several other countries. One of the biggest hits of 2000, "Kids" sold over 200,000 copies in the UK alone and was certified SilverSilverSilver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
.
- "SupremeSupreme (song)"Supreme" is a song by Robbie Williams released in 2000 as the third single from his album Sing When You're Winning, and contains an interpolation of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" because, according to Williams, he was in a trip in Switzerland and when it was approaching the new millennium, the...
" was released as the album's third single, and was promoted in various countries by several interntional-language versions, including versions of the song in French and Spanish.
- "Let Love Be Your EnergyLet Love Be Your Energy"Let Love Be Your Energy" is a song by Robbie Williams released in 2001 as the fourth single from his album Sing When You're Winning. The music video for the single was presented in animation. It featured a cartoon facsimile of Williams always on the run in search of love. There is a second,...
" was released as the album's fourth single, and was the first Robbie Williams music video to not feature Williams himself. Instead, the video was animated and featured Williams attempting to outrun a volcano.
- "EternityEternity/The Road to Mandalay"Eternity / The Road To Mandalay" is the fifth single from Robbie Williams' 2000 Sing When You're Winning album, released in July 2001. "Eternity" does not appear in the album but it was later included on Williams' Greatest Hits album...
", a track that was not featured on the album, was released in the summer of 2001 backed with "The Road to MandalayEternity/The Road to Mandalay"Eternity / The Road To Mandalay" is the fifth single from Robbie Williams' 2000 Sing When You're Winning album, released in July 2001. "Eternity" does not appear in the album but it was later included on Williams' Greatest Hits album...
", a song which appears as the final track from the album. "Eternity" was written by Williams in what he called "the most amazing summer ever". After years of non-stop work he took a month off and recorded this track, which became his fourth number-one single in the United Kingdom, selling over 70,000 copies in it's first week. It also became a top ten hit all over Europe.
- "Better ManBetter Man (Robbie Williams song)"Better Man" is a song by British pop singer Robbie Williams, it became the last single from his album Sing When You're Winning in late 2001...
" was released as the album's sixth and final single, exclusively in Australia and New Zealand. The single was released to relative success there.
Track listing
Certifications, peaks and sales
| Country | Peak Position | Certification (if any) | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... |
9 | 2x Platinum | 80,000+ |
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
7 | 3x Platinum | 210,000+ |
| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
4 | Gold | 15,000+ |
| Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
17 | Gold | 50,000+ |
| Europe Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... |
4x Platinum | 4,000,000 | |
| Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
6 | Gold | 21,905+ |
| France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
19 | ||
| Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
5 | ||
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
1 | Platinum/3x Gold | 500,000+ |
| Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
1 | ||
| Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... |
8 | Gold | 75,000+ |
| Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
3 | Platinum | 80,000+ |
| New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
1 (5 Weeks) | 7x Platinum | 105,000+ |
| Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
5 | Gold | 20,000+ |
| Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
4 | Gold | 30,000+ |
| Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
2 | Gold | 25,000+ |
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
1 | 8x Platinum | 2,400,000+ |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
110 |