Chasing Lights is the debut album by British-Irish girl group The Saturdays. It was released in the United Kingdom through Fascination Records on 27 October 2008.[1] The album was re-issued on 16 March 2009 to include their cover of Depeche Mode's 1981 song "Just Can't Get Enough".[2]

Chasing Lights
Studio album by
Released27 October 2008
RecordedMay–June 2008
Genre
Length42:06
LabelFascination
Producer
  • Cutfather
  • Chris Braide
  • David Eriksen
  • Thomas Eriksen
  • Josef Larossi
  • Andreas Romdhane
  • Ina Wroldsen
The Saturdays chronology
Chasing Lights
(2008)
Wordshaker
(2009)
Singles from Chasing Lights
  1. "If This Is Love"
    Released: 28 July 2008
  2. "Up"
    Released: 13 October 2008
  3. "Issues"
    Released: 5 January 2009
  4. "Just Can't Get Enough"
    Released: 2 March 2009
  5. "Work"
    Released: 29 June 2009

Production

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The Saturdays started production of their debut album in May 2008. They were offered the chance to record songs that were rejected by Girls Aloud, with whom they shared a record label.[3] Their music is often compared to that of Girls Aloud and Sugababes. Band member Mollie King told the Daily Star, "We all thought it was a bit of a cheek. Why would we want their rejects? ... It's bad enough with all the comparisons being made".[3] The last track of Chasing Lights, "Why Me, Why Now", was originally a demo that was written and recorded by Alex Cartana but was later picked up by The Saturdays. The members of The Saturdays have no writing credits on the record but they do have writing credits on their subsequent albums.[citation needed]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [4]
BBC Music(positive)[5]
Digital Spy     [6]
entertainment.ie     [7]
The Guardian     [8]
musicOMH     [9]
OK!     [10]
The Times     [11]
Virgin Media     [12]

Critical response

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Chasing Lights received a positive reception from music critics. Digital Spy called it a "consistently enjoyable debut album and said, "Their sassy, modern, chart-ready pop is more straightforward than most Girls Aloud singles and younger than the music Sugababes are now recording. The world, or at least the top ten, should be their oyster."[13]

Some critics referred to Chasing Lights as "a definite contender for pop album of the year".[citation needed] The album was number four on Popjustice's 2008 year-end chart of the best albums.[citation needed]

Commercial performance

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In the UK, Chasing Lights debuted at number eleven while in Ireland it debuted at number forty-nine. By April 2009, the album reached number thirty-four in Ireland. The album climbed from number fourteen to number nine in the UK on 25 January 2009. The album was certified Platinum in the UK on 6 November 2009.[14]

Singles

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  • "If This Is Love", which was released digitally on 27 July 2008, is the album's lead single. It was released commercially in the UK on 28 July for digital and physical distribution, peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and became their first top-ten hit.
  • "Up", which was released digitally on 12 October 2008, is the album's second single. It was released commercially in the UK on 13 October for digital and physical distribution. The song peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their second consecutive top-ten hit, and debuted at number eleven on the Irish Singles Chart. "Up" is the group's debut single in Brazil.[15] "Up" is also used as dubbed over theme song for the 19th annual edition of WWE pay-per-view SummerSlam in 2006, replacing both original theme songs "Cobrastyle" by Teddybears featuring Mad Cobra and "The Enemy" by Godsmack - which was used from SummerSlam: The Complete Anthology Vol. 4 Disc 19 DVD on WWE Home Video released on 5 August 2008 and not to feature dubbing from the original version on WWE Network.[citation needed]
  • "Issues", released officially on 5 January 2009, is the album's third single. It was released commercially in the UK on 5 January after spending a few weeks in the top forty. The song hit number six on the UK Singles Chart and became their third consecutive top ten hit. The following week it climbed to number four.[citation needed]
  • "Just Can't Get Enough", a non-album single, was released on 2 March 2009. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number two on 8 March 2009, second to Flo Rida's "Right Round". On the Irish Singles Chart, the song debuted at number seventeen. The following week, it climbed to number nine and peaked at number six. It became their first top-ten and highest-charting single to date in Ireland.[citation needed]
  • "Work" was announced in January 2009 as the fifth single to be released from the album. It was a fan-favourite since the release of the album, and it was released in the UK on 29 June 2009 and peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number twenty-two.[citation needed] This remained their lowest charting single until "What Are You Waiting For" charted at number thirty-eight in 2014.[citation needed]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."If This Is Love"
3:23
2."Up"Quiz & Larossi4:05
3."Keep Her"
  • David Eriksen
  • Wroldsen
  • Thomas Eriksen
  • D. Eriksen
  • T. Eriksen
3:01
4."Issues"
  • Evan Rogers
  • Carl Sturken
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
3:32
5."Lies"
  • D. Eriksen
  • Wroldsen
  • T. Eriksen
  • D. Eriksen
  • T. Eriksen
3:51
6."Work"
  • Harry Sommerdahl
  • Wroldsen
  • Kalle Engstrom
  • Sommerdahl
  • Engstrom
3:11
7."Chasing Lights"
Braide4:01
8."Set Me Off"
  • D. Eriksen
  • Wroldsen
  • T. Eriksen
  • D. Eriksen
  • T. Eriksen
3:04
9."Fall"
  • D. Eriksen
  • T. Eriksen
3:22
10."Vulnerable"
  • Gillard
  • Ward
4:04
11."Why Me, Why Now"Statham3:46
12."Up" (Wideboys Remix Edit) (UK bonus track)
  • Romdhane
  • Wroldsen
  • Larossi
  • Quiz & Larossi
  • The Wideboys
3:01
Total length:42:06
2009 reissue
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Just Can't Get Enough" (Radio mix)ClarkeD. Eriksen3:05
13."Up" (Wideboys Remix edit)
  • Romdhane
  • Wroldsen
  • Larossi
  • Quiz & Larossi
  • The Wideboys
3:01

Charts and certifications

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References

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  1. ^ "The Saturdays – Don't Stop The Pop interview". Don't Stop The Pop blog. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  2. ^ "Chasing Lights: The Saturdays: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  3. ^ a b Michael Thornton (12 January 2008). "The Saturdays 'reject Girls Aloud songs'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  4. ^ O'Brien, Jon. "AllMusic review". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  5. ^ "The Saturdays - Chasing Lights review". BBC Music. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  6. ^ Levine, Nick (27 October 2008). "The Saturdays: 'Chasing Lights'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Review". Entertainment.ie. 24 October 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  8. ^ Caroline Sullivan (17 October 2008). "The Guardian review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  9. ^ "musicOMH review". Musicomh.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  10. ^ "OK! review". Ok.co.uk. 28 October 2008. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  11. ^ Alexi Mostrous. "The Times review". The Times. Retrieved 18 June 2012.[dead link]
  12. ^ Dee, Johnny (27 October 2008). "Virgin Media review". Virginmedia.com. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  13. ^ "The Saturdays – Chasing Lights Album Review". Digital Spy. 27 October 2008.
  14. ^ "Certified Awards". Bpi.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  15. ^ "unknown". Poplinebr.com. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)[dead link]
  16. ^ "European Top 100 Albums (Chart Listing for the Week of Nov 15 2008". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography The Saturdays". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  20. ^ "2008 Year-End UK Charts" (PDF). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  21. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2009". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  22. ^ Jones, Alan (18 August 2014). "Official Charts Analysis: Nico & Vinz hold No.1 single spot with Am I Wrong selling 62,750". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  23. ^ "British album certifications – The Saturdays – Chasing Lights". British Phonographic Industry.