In October 2007 Talbot signed with the Rainbow Recording Company for a six-figure deal. Rainbow Recording Company, an offshoot of record label Rhythm Riders made specifically for Talbot,]was due to release Talbot's first album on 26 November 2007. It was later reported that the album was named Over the Rainbow, and the first single, "Over the Rainbow"/"White Christmas", would be released on 3 December 2007. Experts predicted that she had a good chance of getting the Christmas number one, but the single was cancelled in favour of an album-first release. Before the album was released, there was much speculation about Talbot and the album, with music experts describing her as potentially being "the next Charlotte Church".
The team behind the album consisted of John Arnison, who also managed Gabrielle and Billy Ocean, and Marc Marot, former managing director of Island Records. It was produced and mixed by Simon Hill and Rob May. Arnison revealed that he and his team "are not going to give [Talbot] singing lessons – we don't need to", and said that when he met Talbot, he was "blown away". A schedule was worked out allowing Talbot to continue with her normal school activities while recording the album in her aunt Vicky's spare bedroom, which her mother described as "a better solution [than Sony BMG offered] which has not robbed her of her childhood". Although Arnison claimed he did not "want to put her through the promotional grind which most artists go through because she is too young", plans were made for an appearance on daytime television programme This Morning, as well as an appearance on Children in Need on 16 November 2007. The album was released on 26 November 2007 and Talbot's mother said that "All the family is really excited, but Connie is quite blase about it." The album was certified gold in early December, with Talbot being presented a gold disc by Phillip Schofield on This Morning. Initially, 50,000 copies of the album were pressed, but an additional 120,000 had to be made after the album sold out in days.
In late 2007, public appearances by Talbot included headlining the Great Bridge Christmas and Winter Festival, which local police threatened to cancel unless crowds clamouring to reach the tent in which Talbot was performing could be brought under control. At the event, on 7 December 2007, Talbot said "I love it here, it’s brilliant, really fun", but had to be ushered off-stage by the police. Talbot performed publicly in Walsall's HMV store, and in Birmingham's Centenary Square. TV appearances included GMTV and Channel 5 news, both on 26 November 2007. According to her mother, Talbot has received offers for film roles. Sharon said "[Talbot]'s been sent a script, I haven't had a good look at it yet but it's really exciting ... Connie's a singer, not an actress, so we'll see what happens. It's completely up to her whether or not she wants to do it. I can't believe it, though."
Sharon Mawer of Allmusic praised Over the Rainbow by saying "She can sing, for a seven year old, and most of the notes (if not all of them) are in the right order and sung to the right pitch; the timing is fine too". However, she criticised the album, saying "there's no feeling, no emotion, no realisation of what each song is about; they're just pretty little songs", giving the album 2/5. Nick Levine, of Digital Spy, said in a review of the album that Talbot had a "sweet, pure voice", but that there is "no nuance or depth to her performance". However, he said that "There's something inherently wrong about awarding a star rating to a seven-year-old", and that "the decidedly adult concept of musical merit should have nothing to do with [her music]", awarding the album 2/5.
The album was rereleased on 16 June 2008, but was available for pre-order in May, with three new tracks to replace its Christmas-themed songs. The first single from the album, "Three Little Birds", was released in June 2008, and a video for the song was shot in Jamaica. In April and May 2008, Talbot toured Asia to promote Over the Rainbow. Asian press attributed her success to her videos on YouTube, with the Sun.Star mentioning that her most viewed video had been watched over 14 million times, and The Straits Times saying that videos of Talbot's performances have been watched over 30 million times. The tour made stops in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, and Talbot and her family returned to England in late May. Following the tour, it was reported that the album had reached number one on the charts in Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong, as well as reaching number three in Singapore. After the tour, Talbot travelled to Poland, where she performed on television.
It was also revealed that Over the Rainbow was due for release in America in September, resulting in attention from American press sources including Fox Business Network and MarketWatch. The U.S. version was eventually released on 14 October, with Talbot appearing on American television shows including The Ellen DeGeneres Show to publicise the release.
In August 2008, it was announced that Talbot had signed a contract with Data Design Interactive for production of a video game on the Wii console. The game was to feature 15 songs from Over the Rainbow, allowing players to sing along with a computer-generated image of Talbot or against other players in a karaoke mode. Talbot rerecorded the album for the game. The game was scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2009, and is called Connie Talbot: Over the Rainbow. The game hasn't been released yet as of December 2012, citing copyright issues on the songs used for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment