Following her string of sold out comeback dates last year, 90s pop princess Louise confirmed on her website on Friday that she has signed a new record deal with Warner Music, and is releasing her first full studio album since 'Elbow Beach' in 2000 later this year: http://louiseredknappofficial.co.uk/louise-signs-worldwide-record-deal-with-warner-music-uk/
They've also been reissuing all her old singles on Spotify and Apple Music in the last few weeks - all the 'Naked' and 'Woman In Me' era singles are available for streaming now.
First Emma Bunton, then Louise having new material. It's quite exciting having grown up listening to and buying her singles to get some new stuff having long presumed that she'd called time on it all! Be interesting to see what style she comes back with.
Just whilst we're here as well: '2 Faced', 'Arms Around The World', 'Beautiful Inside' and 'In Walked Love' were all great songs.
I can see her album going top 10 but after that in not sure.
my favourite of hers was Undivided Love
what did she do for the last 20 years?
Is there even a want for this?
Stuck in the middle (although a cover) is my fave Louise song, bloody love that one! My friend was convinced it was a Victoria Beckham song for some reason lol.
Not sure even who her market would be in 2019?!
Well I was a huge Eternal and Louise fan and I still listen to their music lots on Spotify. If her shows sold out last year there must be some demand for her.
I think she still has a certain celebrity power. At least enough to get a top 20 album given the low sales climate.
Looking forward to hear what she comes back with. She has my support anyway!
Probably do about as well as Alexandra Burke’s third album did or Claire from Steps.
But it’s about 12 years too late.
Louise was one of the first popstars I ever got into! I'm happy she's coming back, really looking forward to the album. It's crazy to think it's been 19 years since her last album! This news has got me listening to her music again, I hadn't really listened much for the past few years.
It's interesting that her singles back catalogue is being made available digitally. There's probably such a niche number of people who'll be listening to Louise B Sides and Remixes, but I'm glad they're going to the effort anyway! I wish more of my faves from pre-digital era had all their stuff available. It's the first time I've heard these B Sides - enjoyed Keep the Lovin In and Better Next Time.
Light of My Life (8th Feb), In Walked Love (11th Feb), Naked (14th Feb) and Undivided Love (18th Feb) have been added to Spotify so far. I hope they have the rights to add Pandora's Kiss!
All of Louise’s old singles are now available digitally/to stream, including Pandora’s Kiss / Don’t Give Up for the first time ever! Unfortunately it is currently showing up on a different Louise’s page, rather than her own - hopefully that’s fixed soon.
Unlike the previous singles which have been released by Parlophone/Warner, Pandora’s Kiss is released under “Lil Lou Records” which suggests that Louise now has the rights for those two songs. It also has brand new artwork!
Oh that's nice. I always like Pandoras Kiss. I have added it to some of my Spotify playlists now :-)
New album is called 'Heavy Love', out 18th October. First single is called 'Stretch' and gets its first play shortly on Radio 2 with Zoe Ball:
Why the hell is she waiting to release this in October?
Either they're confident she has a cross-over smash on her hands or they're being stupid. She'd be better off releasing it in June/July when sales are low...
Crikey. That'll be almost two years since I saw her at the comeback gig in London (Scala), where I was thinking a new album would be with us in a few months at the latest.
Love the album cover she looks amazing!
Q4 release? Are her team brave or stupid...
Wahoo, I can't wait. I really never thought she would release anything again.
Think I will pre-order the CD now!
Looking forward to hear Stretch too. I have been streaming Pandoras Kiss on Spotify a lot since it was added last week.
This could easily get list in a q4 release unless she has strong promo lined up. I'd say she will get a strictly performance.
Instinct tells me that they'll either bring it forward for a Q3 release or it'll get pushed back until Q1 in early 2020. One of the two, but it does seem foolhardy to unleash a new album from an artist who's not been active albums wise for at least 18 years in one of the busiest sales periods of the year.
Perhaps they’re testing strategies and ideas in this now streaming-dominated era. There are still relative unknowns and what they learn from campaigns like this could help market other artists in the future, from areas that haven’t been selling/streaming much.
Maybe, but I could easily see that strategy backfiring - all initial curiosity about her comeback will be gone by single two and the album won't be able to take advantage of that. I don't see the album selling well regardless...
7 months of pre-orders !
I like the artwork and that she's using her logo from Elbow Beach!
When it's released, it'll have been 19 years and 3 months since her last studio album Elbow Beach. I wonder how many pop artists have had longer gaps between studio albums?
I was thinking to myself earlier that it's been so long since she released an album, that Elbow Beach was released at a time when cassettes were a completely standard format, and now Heavy Love will be released on cassette when it's considered as being a retro format lol.
Intrigued to hear the new single. Official Charts describes it as a cross between Little Mix's Strip and Cheryl's Love Made Me Do It.
To be fair, she’s starring in the west end until June so won’t be all that available for promo until after then..
the other thing is that she’ll gather many many more pre-orders (hopefully) and so there’s maybe more chance of a higher peak because of that?
Hmmm. Sounds a bit like a Holly Valance cast off c. 2002. Also that single artwork looks awkward as hell.
Oh I really like this. I tuned in to Radio 2 this morning to hear the first play and I liked the song from very first listen.
Its catchy.
Judging by the snippet, sounds exactly like the Louise bop I need
I’m really liking this on first listen! Slinky & sexy R&B-ish pop, very Louise. *.*
This is actually a bit of a BOP.
I don’t like this at all and can’t see any radio station playing it .
Single artwork is horrid .
YouTube link:
I actually like this track.
I can see why OCC described it as being like Little Mix’s Strip.
It's verrrrry 2004 sounding isn't it? Almost like she's picking up where she left off before.
I can't imagine it's something I'll go back to much, but I suppose it's fun. But then, in a way I'm pleasantly surprised because I imagined a Louise comeback after all this time might end up just being a Mother's Day covers album or something.
Never going to be a hit but it’s unoffensive pop - all the daytime TV will be all over her being in to perform and as has been said she could have easily returned with a musicals cover album!
I'm glad it doesnt sound anything like 2019's pop music. On the other hand, it doesnt sound dated, it sounds quite current too
The comparisons to "Love Made Me Do It" and "Strip" are bizarre
Actually quite enjoyed this on first listen!
Keep streaming it people!
I love it!
Actually I cannot believe in 2019 I am listening to a new Louise single.
Who would have thought that when Eternal launched with Stay all those years ago that Louise would still be releasing in 2019.
Right now I am on a Spotify binge of all the Eternal and Louise singles.
I actually really like this, and there I was laughing about the concept of a Louise comeback being any sort of deal
Please don’t tell me I’m the only one who thinks this sounds like Muse’s ‘Madness’?
Apparently be 4 singles before the album , all with videos according to twitter and someone who met her and asked... shes also touring the UK... Louise always seemed to release lots of singles before an album
Good video. Louise looks great in it!
I think this is the best song of her career!
Damn she still looks so freakin good!
Good video too!
This has really grown on me .
Could never really get into her old stuff except 2 Faced but I’m really liking the sound of Stretch!
This is such a pleasant surprise!! I absolutely love the song and she looks fantastic. I really respect that she hasn't played it safe with boring MOR stuff that would've probably done better for her.
It's catchy enough, sounds like she has continued from where she left off. I'm not a fan of her wet hair in the video though, it just looks greasy lol.
In love with the song and the video
Obsessed with Stretch
Louise’s Heavy Love March 2020 tour presale starts at 10am!
https://louise.tmstor.es/?page=splash2&splash=5c9cbf5d28d48 (To get the code)
https://myticket.seetickets.com/tour/louise?pre=louiseartpre&offercode=louiseartist&direct=true&src=louiseartist
I’ll bide my time and see if I feel like getting a ticket nearer the time / after I’ve heard the album, but I hope she sells well!
I pre-ordered the album yesterday! Looking forward to the next singles in the meantime.
I just ordered the deluxe CD. Don't need the cassette or vinyl versions.
Would be nice if Stretch got some more exposure through playlists or a TV performance some time soon.
It reminds me of Hands To Myself by Selena Gomez
B-listed on Capital Radio 2.
Stretch has become my favourite pop song so far this year.
I saw Kelle Bryan - her old Eternal bandmate who's now in Hollyoaks - on Loose Women today saying she texted her to say she loves the single. That's sweet they're still friends even after all these years!
Kelle is in Hollyoaks , is she good ?
Actually can’t stop listening to Stretch atm - she needs to do something/anything to promote it though
Louise is not getting a hit in 2019 no matter what she does, let's be realistic
Am pretty obsessed with "Stretch" at the moment, I do actually really like it
Such a good pop song
Initial Talk Remix out now of ‘Stretch’ and it’s a BOP
Yes I like the Initial Talk remix!
Hopefully it brings some new attention and fans on board!
I love the Initial Talk Remix, much prefer it to the original version!
iTunes shows a track called Small Talk. This will be released Friday I’m assuming? 3:03 in length
Small Talk is out now! Nice little bop
It sounds a lot more modern/current than 'Stretch'.
Small Talk is another great song. 2/2 so far
Track no.2 is called Lead Me On
Assuming this will be the next single
I really like the songs so far but I’m still struggling to see who Louise’s fan base is in 2019? I hope the album does well but it really feels like it’s going to be an 18-out event?
I would assume her fan base (in terms of music) is predominantly gay men who were old enough to remember her at any point between 1993 to 2003! Having said that there's a few members on Popjustice forum who are definitely too young to remember her the first time around who really loved Stretch.
I don't really have any expectations for her album in the commercial sense. She has a lot of physical formats (including a signed CD) & 7 months of pre-order, which could build up a few thousand perhaps. In October she'll probably need to do 4k to get Top 20.
I'm just looking forward to more music, both Stretch & Small Talk are fantastic
Well, I’m a new fan so there’s 1 sale 😂
I have ordered the album too and I can't wait for it! I just cannot believe that after all this time we will have a Louise album in 2019!
But I do also wonder what they are expecting from this. How can she expect much return if she has not done much to promote Stretch or Small Talk. Has she performed anywhere on TV?
In my mind they are waiting to make some sort of impression with the Clean Bandit song.
I think I saw on Twitter recently that she was in Portugal for a new music video.
Louise has actually worked with Clean Bandit!
Lead Me On is the Clean Bandit collab and is out on Thursday.
OMG it’ll flop even more than Mama
'Stretch' was a bop so I'm here for it!
I'm guessing it's her single produced by them, rather than a Clean Bandit single featuring her?
Clean bandit are not attaching their name to it it seems .
Quite like the new track, very summery!
I really like it - just a shame CB are not being associated with it though, obviously happy to give her a track but not to have her as a feature
Whoever her photographer and stylist are need to be sacked. The artwork has been horrendous.
Not a fan
I quite like it
Burn up my eyes and tell me lies
This is a bop for us older than 30.
I've listened to this twice and it kind of just washes over me.
I really like it! It's very summery/breezy & the "Oh - I wanna know - what makes you feel that you're allowed to treat me so unkindly" melody is very catchy!
i so wish the track was labelled as Clean Bandit feat Louise as it could actually chart to be fair had that been the case.
I'm sad that comeback singles 2 & 3 only peaked at 100-something at iTunes. That worries me for her whole album.
Louise's comeback makes me listen to her music again. I got all albums, enjoyed many singles, but there's one song I loved through the years: "Don't Be Shy". Does anybody remember this track from her second album?
But I think from the beginning it has always been the plan to release 4-5 singles before the album.
I just want to see some promotion from her! Some live tv performances or something!
But what are the promotion opportunists for some like Louise in 2019? Appear on Loose Women, do album signings (but Will Young for example cancelled his), some Radio 2 support...
Whoever greenlighted a whole Louise album most have a lot of faith or is just a big fan. I'm thankful to that person because it's really nice getting new Louise music. Anyway, I hope that person won't lose his / her job if Louise albums flops.
Lead Me On is fabulous
'Stretch' was a one off imo, this and 'Small Talk' are both .... not it. This gives me second hand cringe.
I'm really enjoying Louise's comeback! I'm still pleasantly surprised that she's put effort in and recorded new material, rather than phoning it in with a covers album (which would possibly have been a safer & cheaper route to take). I'd consider her 3 songs released so far to be up there with her best 90s/00s hits... just really good, straightforward pop. I'd even say that she's improved as a vocalist in comparison to her heyday!
I'm not particularly concerned about how the album will perform commercially. I'm really just here to enjoy her comeback for however long it lasts... I'm already fully prepared for this to be a one-off moment anyway!
I hope there'll be an opportunity for her to perform at some point. I hope it's the case that promotion is being saved for nearer the album release. Does Strictly It Takes Two ever have performers? If so, I could see her doing that show. Hopefully This Morning and Loose Women too.
How I'd rank the songs so far:
1. Stretch
2. Small Talk
3. Lead Me On
The only aspect of this comeback I'm not loving is her artwork... I struggle to believe the pictures used so far are really the very best they had. That's really just a minor niggle though.
Lead Me On is now A-listed on Radio 2!
I kind of don't understand why this is still 3 months away.
She has promo coming up next week on Sunday Brunch and Build - to be honest neither will help the single, they should just get the album out and hit every promo slot available.
She posted a photo of herself with the Vinyl today.
Crazy how it’s not out. With the previous post about Westlife they had a huge fanbase and there was more of a want for a comeback for them.
With Louise she’s more niche market maybes? Like Westlife appeal to mums which is a huge market for Q4 Louise won’t appeal to that market.
It would’ve been better to release at a time like this when sales are lower as a top ten position on paper would look great. By the time the albums out it’s sales will probably see it chart at like #20 something.
Is the pre order doing well?
Maybe this is a stupid question but are the streams for Stretch, Small Talk and Lead Me On counted towards the albums first week sales when it is released in October?
Ok her streams are small but every little helps!
She performed 2 songs live on R2 today - all this promo feels like a bit of a waste tbh? I don’t think it’s helping to build awareness that Louise is back nor is it helping her single.
Good to see that they're pushing this after not doing anything for Stretch really. Maybe they're hopeful this'll somehow cross over into the mainstream, but at least it should help with pre-orders.
Live performance on The One Show:
i’m really liking this song but that performance was so lifeless.. why didn’t she sing most of the chorus?!
the backing vocals were so low that it lost any momentum at the biggest point of the song. i guess she was nervous!
Has this responded to the performance? I couldn’t see it on a quick iTunes scroll?
She has a song called Wonder Woman on the album that JoJo wrote and recorded a little while back!
Tracklist for standard:
1. Stretch
2. Lead Me On
3. Breaking Back Together
4. Not The Same
5. Small Talk
6. Hurt
7. Hammer
8. Just A Minute
9. Wonder Woman
10. Hands on the Sink
11. Straight to my Heart
12. Wrong
Deluxe tracks being revealed at a later date.
Deluxe now revealed!
Today’s performance on The Sara Cox Show
She also did Let's Go Round Again
Who knew Louise Redknapp was coming to save pop music in 2019 *.*
Breaking Back Together is the next song to be released and is 3:08 long
Album has been pushed back to January 17th
Oh Lorde.
I feel like I'm one of the few people who's keeping up with this, and even I've pretty much lost interest.
What a mess
Seems similar to what happened with Claire Richards’ album
It would’ve made more sense to push it forward than move it back since she’s not recording anything new for it.
January’s also a pretty busy time to release as well.
Oh what a pain. I pre-ordered this ages ago.
I don’t really get this strategy. I will be bored of Stretch, Small Talk and Lead Me On by the time the album comes out.
It’s probably because it’s likely to sell terribly .
January the market is at its lowest.
Like i dont know anyone who cares about louise. Ever. She has about 50 fans. Tops.
Disappointing. 3 great singles and yet we have to wait half a year to get the album still
Was pushed back because of her schedule for her appearance in 9 to 5. She wants to give the album her all when it’s released.
I’d have understood the decision to pull back if she was still recording but I don’t think she is!
The album seems like it’s been good to go for a while now the pre orders been up since the end of March.
Let's hope its not one of those albums that never gets released.
The 4th song released from the album was released yesterday!
Its called 'Breaking Back Together' and its really nice.
Probably my second favourite song from Heavy Love, after Stretch.
Mess tbh - she’s released 4 songs from the album already and there is still another 5 months until its released. Pre-orders which have been up for 6 months must have been horrendous and as has been said it was never a good idea to release in Q4.
I’ve said it before and this decision kind of backs it up - I’m really not sure who is here for Louise in 2019.
She’s doing a charity gig at O’Merea for Nordoff Robbins in September - the venue is tiny (320 capacity), tickets are £10 and after a month on sale the show is still not sold out, there seems to be lack of interest in her tour too - wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t end up going ahead tbh if she’s struggling to sell 300 tickets to a show for £10.
I think Heavy Love should have come out in the summer, when sales are at their lowest! It will be interesting to see what else Louise does over the next 4 months to try and encourage more pre-orders.
She's releasing on 17th January 2020, so the album will chart on 24th January. Here are the sales from 1 year earlier, 25th January 2019:
#5 - 6,409
#10 - 5,102
#15 - 4,500 (approx)
#20 - 4,100 (approx)
#30 - 2,750
#40 - 2,300 (approx)
#50 - 2,000 (approx)
#75 -
#100 - 1,250 (approx)
Here are the sales from 26th October 2018 (to compare the possible sales levels had she stuck with the 18th October 2019 release date, i.e. would have charted on 25th October 2019):
#5 - 14,959
#10 - 7,193
#15 - 5,293
#20 - 3,278
#30 - 2,754
#40 - 2,269
#50 - 1,945
#75 - 1,425
#100 - 1,167
Finally let's have a look at the sales from 30th August 2019, just to show that summer sales are typically lower than in October or January:
#5 - 5,321
#10 - 4,084
#15 - 3,016
#20 - 2,688
#30 - 2,187
#40 - 1,833
#50 - 1,687
#75 - 1,334
#100 - 1,134
January is not a great time to launch a new album - January sales, albums recovering from the Christmas market, Brit Awards announcement etc.,
Surely she’ll be able to shift 4.5k though to go Top 15? To push the album back 5 months makes me think that they probably didn’t hit 1k in pre-orders.
Have to hand it to her team - they are pushing this album as much as they can. A new pre-order has been added to her website (Deluxe version with signed postcards and alternative sleeve) - not sure it’s going to make much difference but they are trying.
Not the Same seems to be the next song to be released as they’ve put the song length on iTunes. Thought they’d spread the release out a bit considering the delay 🤔
Probably wise delaying to January as it'll get lost in the Q4 madness...Although fans have been waiting ages for this!
Not selling as well as they hoped then - there is now 20% off tour tickets with the code LOU9TO5 at http://www.myticket.co.uk/artists/louise
Seems like "Not The Same" might be the next single as they've bovvered to make a lyric video:
I like this song too. Heavy Love is shaping up to be a good album.
How many is that now? I've actually lost count. Assuming we'll probably get two more before the album eventually arrives too.
I think my interest waned around the time of 'Lead Me On' tbh.
'Not The Same' is the best I've heard of her since 'Stretch' I think.
Easily the weakest single so far
The may as well put the album out. I mean they know their is absolutely no interest.
Will they actually go ahead and release it or will it be download only.
^ Last week they changed Amazon's vinyl listing to be a signed vinyl, so as things stand they're going ahead with physicals. Apparently the physicals are already printed?
I'm not overly concerned about how her pre-orders are performing or how she does on iTunes with each song. I wish some of her fans would relax about that. Focus on whether you actually like the songs, rather than fretting over it being #842 on iTunes or whatever. It's almost like they're letting the lack of public interest and lack of chart success colour how they feel about the songs & even Louise herself, which seems a shame to me.
Yes, a high chart position & healthy sales = more of a chance that her music career will continue, but honestly if Heavy Love ends up being her final album then I'll be content with that. I'm looking no further ahead. This album era represents such an unexpected extension of her music career. I never thought we'd see the day that we'd have new Louise material, but here we are with 5 new songs already and there's more still to come! I'm appreciating the moment and glad that I'm enjoying the new tracks (Stretch in particular was such a serve). To me, that seems more productive as a fan, rather than looking ahead with dread re: charts & sales. It strikes me as odd to be concerned about her commercial performance & the possible repercussions it'll have on her ability to continue her music career, while seemingly not particularly appreciating that she's actually releasing songs right now!
Yes I don't really understand why there would be any big expectation of success for Louise. Its just so long since she released her last album, the market has completely changed. And she was never a really hugely successful act back in the day anyway.
For me I am happy that the good songs keep coming, Louise gets some opportunity to promote (like she how she performed 'Lead Me On' on the One Show), and that the tour is enjoyable.
Regarding the charts, I would really love if the album went Top 20. And I am not going to panic about its second week performance, I know it will plummet after week one.
Its hard for me to assess how good/bad her streaming number are as she is not in a comparable situation to anyone else.
I'm not sure what kind of promotion she would have around release week. But hopefully something will be arranged. Maybe she should go on 'I'm a Celebrity' or something!
And after this album is done, I'm ready for an Eternal reunion!
Louise first two albums sold very well !!
It is likely this is her last studio album.
The album, as we have known was never going to be a huge selling album, it is largely for Louise and her fanbase as she is not going to win over new fans.
It is a slight musical career extension that should result in Louise achieving a 5th Top 20 album to her solo credits.
Future budget releases of various Greatest Hits will come further down.
A full Eternal reunion would be welcomed after this solo venture and Eternal could do a new Greatest hits release and tour.
Hammer is the next song to be released.
For me that's not a problem. Lauv currently has 7 tracks out for an album that isn't released in full until March. It's just the modern way of things!
As things stand there'll be 9 new tracks to hear when Louise's album is out, still plenty to look forward to.
"Hammer" video premiering tomorrow, so I guess it's a proper single:
I actually like the cover artwork for this one
So... Hammer has just been released but according to iTunes, looks like we will be getting the track Hurt before release as well..
OK, Hammer is clearly sampling someone or blatantly copying a song as it reminds me of something.
Honestly, considering this is just basically a brief extension of her career it's really impressive how well-produced this album is. I thought at best she was going to release a naff Mother's Day album covers album like Emma Bunton.
I notice the deluxe edition on iTunes has 16 tracks but only 12 tracks on CD. Is there a deluxe edition on CD available to preorder from anywhere?
I'm liking this, it's very funky!
She’s doing an album launch show in Kingston at a small venue - tickets are £11 or CD/Ticket bundle is £15. She’s is really doing anything she can to make this a success tbh.
Hurt was released today.
Probably my favourite of the album tracks released so far!
HMV signings announced for London & Liverpool - really hope against the odds with the effort she’s put in that this does well on week 1.
Yes fingers crossed.
Ok this is a basic question but if I buy the album from her web store but I live outside the U.K., the sale is NOT counted for the U.K. charts is it?
I’m loving Hurt! The album is shaping up to be really strong.
Unfortunately your sale won’t count, diamondtooth!
What is the difference between the album version and the single version of "Hurt"?
Why are her Spotify streams SO low :-(
She is not included on any playlists! So annoying!
I have the album version through her store. but I see no difference between the 2 versions
This album is all about a 1 week wonder as we all knew, I wonder can she manage to make top 10 though.
I'd be totally shocked if it misses the top 40.
Hard to tell what she’ll need to sell in her release week! These are the current sales levels, but her week might be a bit lower with the New Years sales effect over:
#5: 10.5k
#10: 7k
#15: 4.4k
#20: 3.9k
#25: 3.2k
#30: 3k
#40: 2.6k
#50: 2.4k
#60: 2.1k
#75: 1.8k
#100: 1.35k
#200: 900
Honestly, with all the effort she and her label have put into this anything but top ten would be a tad disappointing. It would still have a disasterous fall, but they've really thrown everything and the iamspamspamamisink at an attempt to at least have a decent debut, so you can't fault them for that.
I live in France. I have delivered all versions of her new album from her web store to an english friend.
I hope my purchases are counted for the UK charts.
- CD album (deluxe)
- 2 cassettes (silver & white)
- LP (white edition)
I bought a LP (normal edition) & a ticket for her release show.
I don't know if it will count for a sale for the uk charts.
I'll buy the album at the HMV Westfield to have the chance to meet her during the signing session the next day.
5 or 6 sales from me.
This is going as album of the week on Monday on Radio 2 meaning tracks from the album will be played before release each day on Ken Bruce and OJ Borg's shows.
Louise will also be performing live on Zoe Ball’s show on Friday 17th.
At least that pretty much confirms it will actually be released.
Radio 2 is being really good to her lately. Hurt is on their A List at the moment. I’m really pleased with that.
Pity Spotify don’t add her on some even smaller playlists.
Love the tracks Hurt and Not the Same should have been the ones promoted the most not Lead Me On for me
I think this will go top ten but then drop out the top 100 the following week?
It’s had that much amount of pre orders apparently and she does have some form of a fanbase.
I’m gonna predict #9 but she’ll probably be higher on sales only maybe #5-6 sales only but streaming pushing her down to #9,
Love her Single right now.
Hurt is a great radio song. Small Talk is my favorite so far, followed by Stretch.
Radio 2 album of the week!
You can preview the rest of the tracks on her store.
I’ve preordered the album from her store but £18 is a lot for the deluxe which is not available elsewhere!
Radio 2 have managed to play Breaking Back Together and that’s it so far this week, everything else played has been a single
EDIT: Ignore me that has also been a single
I received my concert ticket for tomorrow.
It's weird to do a concert in a church.
I hate that I love 'Stretch' so much. It's ridiculously basic and quite "thin" in it's sound, but there's something very hypnotic and addicting to it!
I feel like it could've been a UK Eurovision entry (had they cut it down ofc) and I feel like it'd have probably been a middling hit for us, there.
iTunes album chart for Louise right now:
UK: 4
Spain: 6
Ireland: 9
Indonesia: 19
Australia: 29
Netherlands: 48
Italy: 57
Belgium: 81
Germany: 147
Russia: 256
France: 285
It's a nice enough collection of songs, but totally unremarkable.
Welcome back regardless!
Plenty of promo etc., lined up this week - let’s just enjoy the album and hopefully a decent chart position because I doubt we will be seeing a follow up anytime soon!
I feel the exact opposite to unremarkable! I’m really impressed. It’s a strong set of well-written/produced pop songs, exactly what I was hoping for... she’s far exceeded my initial expectations. Louise could have so easily gone down the Emma Bunton or Alexandra Burke route (covers / MOR) [Edit: just seen that diamondtooth mentioned them as well, ha], but she’s gone above and beyond their laziness. It’s clear (to me, at least) that a lot of effort and passion went into the making of Heavy Love.
Of the songs I hadn’t heard pre-album release, Straight to My Heart is my top pick! Really feel-good & although it clearly has modern production, it has a vibe to it that means it could comfortably sit alongside Let’s Go Round Again from 1997. Hurt is shaping up to be my favourite overall though, it’s glorious!
I’m impressed by her vocal performance on the album too, she’s improved since her hey day! There’s an emotional quality to her vocals on some of these tracks that wasn’t as present on her prior albums.
Well received my deluxe CD from online store today. Very impressed with service!
Need to listen to the album tracks a few more times to make an impression on me. I do however love Wrong (always a sucker for a piano ballad)
Not streamed the album in full yet - 15 songs in 2020 on an album feels faaaaar too many.
The album definitely didn’t feel like a time consuming listen to me! I would have been a bit disappointed with less tracks/shorter time lengths, given that it’s been so long since her last music. I think she hit a sweet spot with 15 tracks for a deluxe. I don’t think 50 minutes really comes close to reaching “outstays its welcome” territory.
It really depends on the album I suppose... like Taylor’s Lover is 18 tracks & an hour long and I find that more than manageable. But on the other hand Ellie Goulding’s 25 track / 1 hour 30 minute long opus Delirium was pretty overwhelming.
To be fair, her fans have waited 20 years so I think 15 tracks is welcomed
This is actually a cute little album when we played it at work earlier!
I shall definitely be checking it out in my own time at some point, so I'll give my faves then, but from what I heard, a lot of it was solid, little pop songs. Her lyrics leave a bit more to the imagination than people would probably want/expect, but I can ignore cringe lyrics for the most part.
This is a nice enough album, but I can't see myself returning to it again anytime soon after my initial listen-through today. Lead Me On and Hurt are my highlights.
It's a nice listen and I really love her as a person but that's it, it's nice. It's good as background music and there are a few standouts, but I can't see myself returning it to also.
'Stretch' remains one of the best things she has ever done, if Little Mix had recorded it, I'm sure it would've been a hit!
My Top 5:
1. Stretch
2. Hurt
3. Straight to My Heart
4. Lead Me On
5. Not the Same
Surprised at the lukewarm response, I was surprised at just how strong the album was when I listened earlier!! Stretch remains as brilliant as it was when it first came out, and other favourites right now are Hurt, Lead Me On and Straight to My Heart, but I think there's going to be some growers too.
Would love a top 10 album but I don't really care either way because I'm just pleased we got this album in the first place!
I'm really pleased you enjoyed it Joseph, and we share the same favourites
According to Popjustice members, Heavy Love was midweek #4 on https://forum.popjustice.com/threads/louise-heavy-love-2019-album.38538/page-171#post-7268164 and midweek #5 https://forum.popjustice.com/threads/louise-heavy-love-2019-album.38538/page-173#post-7269494 ("300 [sales] behind Halsey").
A positive start! I hope she'll do enough to hold onto the Top 10 by Friday. Louise has a record signing in hmv Liverpool tomorrow, not sure what other promo there'll be though.
I'm really enjoying the album, glad to finally have a new Louise one after 20 years as Ive always been a big fan of her and Eternal they was the soundtrack to my teen years.
'Wrong' is a highlight for me , still love Stretch and other faves are Villain, Give You Up, Hurt and Breaking Back Together but its a good poppy album
Signings should definitively help her as I imagine that it'll be close in the top 15.
Though the fall next week will be nightmarish.
Great show last Friday in Kingston. The church was 80% to 90% full.
I was in front of the stage in the 3rd row.
I was at the signing session the next day at the hmv of city white, she signed all the CDs and tapes for me.
The signing will give the sales boost it needs to hold its position in the next chart update.
Top 5 in the early part of the week is positive if it can retain Top 10 i think its the best result that Louise, her team and fans can hope for.
Midweek #7 today (4,574 sales), but it seems she could end up at #12 on Friday. She's projected to sell 5.5k. It's a bit frustrating considering that last week's #10 sold 4,688 copies, and 5.5k would have been enough to be comfortably #8.
That’s all that anyone could have expected.
Number 7 today does indicate the chances of Top 10 are slim.
The signing may be enough to sway the album to stay Top 10.
Time to go old school and pull out a horse Louise...
I had her down as debuting at #9.
I’m going to give the album a listen though. I’ve always personally liked her and her solo material prior to this was actually quite good and she does have a good voice.
Stretch was a lot better than what I was expecting it to be when I heard that last year but I didn’t really follow the rest of the campaign. Intrigued to hear it in full though.
Her last proper album Elbow Beach debuted at #12 though so this should at least match that.
Number 9 is where i had originally thought it would peak but i have my doubts now.
The signing aside, has Louise any more promotion lined up for this week.
They have got to be a bit disappointed with 4.5k opening sales?
Amazon signed vinyl
Amazon signed CD
Webstore - 2x Cassettes, 2x CDs, 2 x Vinyl and various bundles
Album launch show - ticket/CD bundle
HMV signing
Don’t get me wrong it’s a good start but it’s been on pre-order for 8+ months and they have thrown a lot at it so a 5.5k opening week with it dropping out the following week has got to sting?
Let's be real, what were you expecting?
Still midweek #7 today, but the projected final position/sales has improved to #11 and 5.9k. #11 would hurt a bit
Her official store is now selling the standard CD for £5 with free postage! Alongside the chance of winning a signed print. If this sways anyone into wanting to buy it, here’s the link: https://louise.tmstor.es/cart/product.php?id=42722
Edit: Signed CD is now £4.99 on Amazon! https://amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07Q12WYPS
She should upload pictures of her ex husband on Dudes With iPhones, then go on a promo tour including on Loose Women where she's horrified how her phone was hacked and her privacy invaded (#BuyHeavyLoveOutNow)
Another album signing is announced for Thursday evening in Lakeside Shopping Center, Essex!
Go Louise, keep promoting!
I hope the extra signing will keep her Top 10 placement.
I'm sure with her back in the limelight musically her greatest hits will have picked up a few sales.
It's really great that her full back catalogue is on streaming, certainly going above and beyond what most artists have online. I wish more artists had all their CD single track lists available to stream!
Ya its good its available, more need to follow suit
Signed CD is up to #7 on Amazon
The unsigned version has also climbed to #124, which is the highest it has been in quite a long time. Pretty sure it was only in the 700s area earlier today.
^^ I hope the record company rush copies to Amazon as it says on mine it won’t ship until Saturday so will miss the cut off for the charts this week
If it misses the Top 10 it wont be down to the lack of effort.
They are pushing the album as much as they can and are working for that Top 10 placement.
Number 8 in the midweek information for today.
I really hope Louise can hold on to the Top 10, but I have a feeling that #11 is the best she'll manage, or maybe #12. Definitely no lower than #12 though.
When Eminem unexpectedly released his album on Friday, I wrote in a group chat on Facebook "I'm preparing myself for Louise to be #11 i.e. would have scraped Top 10 without Eminem surprise release (watch her actually end up at #19 or something x)", so I'm rather that #11 might actually come true after all. If only she had released a week earlier!
As of Wednesday's midweeks she had sold 5,225 (an increase of 254 copies from Tuesday's mids). This is already enough copies for her to have made it to #8 last week, and there's still two more sales days to go.
Sales of #8 - #12 last week:
08. 5,101 - Sheku Kanneh-Mason, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Simon Rattle
09. 4,714 - Post Malone
10. 4,688 - Rod Stewart
11. 4,624 - Tom Walker
12. 4,255 - Coldplay
... typical! Louise had already sold 4,338 copies in her first 2 days on sale, more than Coldplay sold in 7 whole days to place at #12 last week, yet that's where Louise may end up herself on Friday.
It's kind of hard to predict Louise's final sales figure. I'm hoping that Thursday's mids shows healthier sales thanks to the album's price cut. Then she has the HMV signing, and also an appearance on Good Morning Britain. There's also the possibility that some sales from her store haven't been registered in the mids yet, because her deluxe CD and the white cassette were not in stock for a few days (an order I made on Monday was only dispatched on Wednesday evening, but I've heard from a couple of other fans that they ordered earlier than that and have only had their items dispatched yesterday too). Maybe she can push it to ~6,000 as a final figure?
6k would still be too far behind what this week's #10 is on track to sell - Harry Styles is on course to claim that position, with possibly as many as 6,800 sales (I estimate that 5,300 of that figure will be from streaming units). 6k is possibly enough to keep Louise ahead of DigDat (who is looking to approach 6k sales too, with almost all of that being thanks to streaming...)
Here's Louise's Heavy Love sales split, up to Wednesday's midweeks:
3,487 CDs
664 12" Vinyl
579 Downloads
392 Cassettes
103 Streaming Units
I feel like she's been a bit let down by the cassettes. Both the standard & deluxe cassettes cost £8 each (or £10.50 with postage), which has probably put some people off finding them a worthwhile purchase? It also highlights that not many people have been swayed into buying the expensive bundles, given that cassettes are included in all the bundles. I think no more than £5 each would have been a more appealing price point, or £8 for both. Selena Gomez's Rare album had a bundle of 3 cassettes on sale for £10.50 and a signed art card, and that clearly enticed people given that she sold 5,122 cassettes.
Nevertheless, Louise currently has the 2nd best selling cassette album of the week! She also has the 3rd best selling CD, 3rd best selling vinyl and the 8th best selling download. It seems like she'll reach #4 in the Albums Sales Chart and #3 in the Physical Albums Chart.
Sadly but predictably she is only the 184th most streamed album out of the 200 albums that feature in the mids. Relatively strong pure sales just isn't enough to keep up with albums that are generating thousands of units from streaming, not when she's probably only going to get ~160 sales via streaming for the whole week (at a push). It doesn't seem fair or comparable to me that DigDat's album's streams will end up being roughly the sales equivalent of Louise selling all those pure copies... but oh well, that's the situation.
By the way, her original release date of 18th October 2019 (i.e. charting on 25th October 2019)... the #10 album in that week sold 5,341. I know we can't say for sure that Louise would have sold as strongly in that week as she has this week, given that she would have had 12 weeks less of pre-orders. Although having said that, I have a suspicion that her pre-orders would have been quite weak in November/December. Perhaps if she had stuck to October & did the same level of promotion as she's done this week, she would have ultimately sold roughly the same anyway. We'll never know!
Sorry for the essay, but hopefully some of you find the information interesting!
Thanks for the info
Albums with release dates where there’s a lot of other albums out the same week often get unlucky!
Like a weeks difference can often mean something could be #8 one week but #12 the next.
To be fair I think she’s still done well. Streaming is obviously what’s playing a part in her official peak being lower because those who’ll overtake will have better streaming but the fact she actually released an album what had original material on it and is on course to at least chart top 15 I think is impressive!
I do hope she can get that top ten placing though.
Yes, on other weeks with her existing sales it is more than enough to secure a Top 10 placement.
This week is just that bit tougher.
The signing tonight should really help her sell some extra copies although is 500 sales realistic for a signing?
She has outsold Emma Bunton hasn’t she which is a surprise ?
Still #8 in the mids today, she could hold on to the top 10?
Totally agree on the bit above regarding cassette prices - they are a novelty item, cheap to produce and can boost sales significantly. They should definitely be around the £4.99 price point or bundled together, artists are starting to push them as full priced formats which is never going to work long term in the same way that vinyl has taken off. They are pure novelty/hardcore fan collector items and will remain that way.
Cassettes are purchased by only hardcore fans of an artists and i would think most are never actually played.
Didn’t Kylie sell hers for one pound ?
I dont remember kylie doing that, hope louise can hold into a top 10 debut
Just noticed that the unsigned version has climbed to #8 on Amazon!
Officially in at #11!
Even though I expected it, I am still a little gutted because #11 is an extremely frustrating position to land at. Regardless, I think she's done really well, and I'm so happy with the quality of the album - and that's the main thing for me.
Other positions:
#2 - Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50
#3 - Official Physical Albums Chart Top 100
#3 - Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40
#4 - Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100
#6 - Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100
#9 - Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100
4 on sales is fantastic!
Oh, that is SO annoying she just missed out!
The album has grown on me over the course of the week when I've listened, there's a few duds, but it's an enjoyable album! So frustrating that she only just missed out .
So sad for her!
Close but no cigar for Louise.
Poor Louise, #11 is so frustrating it has to be the most frustrating chart position out there! Bloody Eminem releasing a surprise album this week
I think number 11 and 41 are the worst peaks to get.
I'm glad she's celebrating her success! I would find it hard to not be bitter by a #11 peak
has she just confirmed another album? aha
Shame she didn't make top 10 in the end.
Apparently she is locked in a legal battle with Peppa Pig for their similar sound to 'Naked'.
I wish they would have mentioned Louise in this week sales report with more than just one sentence.
I hope she will integrate dancers for her tour
The more I listen to this album, the more I think a lot of the tracks could be Eurovision smashes tbh.
Louise no72 in midweeks today.
If she could stay in the Top 100 this week it would be good.
I never expected the album to be on the chart for more than 1 week.
I know it is a low bar, but a 2nd week with any Top 100 position would be a bonus.
A signing this week would have helped her achieve that.
I cant see any further promo coming for the album.
I could see them attempting to send out another radio single if Radio 2 is willing to support it during the tour, but that's about it.
It's very much emma burton and claire Richards all over again and looks like a forever 10k selling album.
The meet and greet of the London concert is sold out.
I bought the meet and greet for the Cambridge concert and a normal ticket for London.
Album has dropped out of T100 after one week.
It is not a surprise this was the result.
That is not to say its not disappointing.
Incidentally, if it had been released this week it would've made it to #10.
^ So typical
Funnily enough Louise’s second week position is #121, the same 2nd week position that Emma’s My Happy Place achieved!
I see Louise is headlining the Hull Pride in July this year.
Glad she is continuing to perform after her solo tour and 9to5 stint in the west end. I actually like the fact that more new people are continuing to hear her music.
Maybe she will continue to add to her small group of fans!
Is the tour selling well?
none of her meet & greet are sold out except London.
all louise concert dates are 35% off on the groupon site. hurry to book because it sells quickly
It won't come as a surprise but the album is out of the Top 200; 11-121-out
Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100: 4-30-75...
Official Physical Albums Chart Top 100: 3-28-69...
Unfortunately I don't know Louise's sales this week, but we can roughly guess based on this information:
David Bowie - Legacy is #76 in the sales chart and he sold 441 pure copies, therefore Louise sold a bit more than that last week.
Elton John - Diamonds is #70 in the physical chart with 410 physicals, and Dermot Kennedy - Without Fear at #67 sold 435.
Louise's streaming sales in week 1 was 157, and week 2 was 81. Can't really guess what week 3 would be, maybe it would have held up to a similar level as week 2 or fallen further.
I think ultimately at best Louise might have done around 500 units last week? Would lift her total sales to around ~7,600.
Oh well, she did well to get a position as high as #11, and this album was always going to be a one week wonder. She had a lot stacked against her... almost 20 years of inactivity, releasing independently and having quite minimal support from the industry.
Just got an email from Ticketmaster - all tickets 50% off for Louise’s upcoming shows until March 2nd *.*
Omg she released an album?
edit: I thought this said Louisa lmao
Stretch and Wrong are amazing bookends to the album.
Wrong is probably my favourite (unfortunately relatable for me) but it’s just so simple and raw. Which is what I like in my music 💙
All tickets for the tour are now £14.50 on Groupon - https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/gl-louise-redknapp-heavy-love-tour
Unfortunately but sensibly, Louise has cancelled/postponed the rest of her tour:
Louise has announced that new music is coming soon!
https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/louise-redknapp-excited-to-release-new-janet-jackson-inspired-music-it-wont-disappoint__36562/
Exciting! Some of her earliest work gives off Janet vibes so it's great that she's exploring that sound again.
New music so soon again is a welcome surprise
'Heavy Love' was an unexpectedly great set of songs so I'm definitely ready for more!
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