Wikipedia

Tough Love (Jessie Ware album)

Tough Love is the second studio album by English singer Jessie Ware.[1] It was released on 13 October 2014 in the United Kingdom and 24 October 2014 in the United States.[2] The album was supported by the singles "Tough Love", "Say You Love Me", "You & I (Forever)" and "Champagne Kisses".

Tough Love
Studio album by
Jessie Ware
Released13 October 2014 (2014-10-13)
Genre
Length40:21
Label
Producer
Jessie Ware chronology
If You're Never Gonna Move
(2013) 		Tough Love
(2014) 		Glasshouse
(2017)
Jessie Ware studio album chronology
Devotion
(2012) 		Tough Love
(2014) 		Glasshouse
(2017)
Singles from Tough Love
  1. "Tough Love"
    Released: 23 June 2014
  2. "Say You Love Me"
    Released: 28 September 2014
  3. "You & I (Forever)"
    Released: 12 January 2015
  4. "Champagne Kisses"
    Released: 20 April 2015

Background

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At the beginning of 2014, Ware returned to the studio to write her second album. Ed Sheeran confirmed in an interview with Daily Star that they had written a song together for the new album.[3] (The song, "Say You Love Me", was released on 13 August 2014.)[4] "Tough Love" is the first single to be taken from the new album, airing for the first time on BBC Radio 1 as "Hottest Record" during the Zane Lowe's show and slated for a UK release on 3 August 2014. "Tough Love" was compared to "Prince at his minimalist '80s best" by Pitchfork, who interviewed Ware prior to the release.[5] "Tough Love" is produced together with BenZel, the production duo composed of London post-bass producer Two Inch Punch and mega-producer Benny Blanco who Ware previously worked with on the single "If You Love Me"; Benzel are also executive producers of her new album. Kid Harpoon, Dave Okumu, Julio Bashmore, Miguel, James Ford, Nineteen85, Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran also worked on the new album.[5]

Singles

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"Tough Love", produced by BenZel, was released as the lead single from the album on 23 June 2014. The song peaked to number 34 on the UK Singles Chart, making it her first top 40 single in the UK.[6]

"Say You Love Me" was released as the second single from the album on 28 September 2014 and became her second top 40 hit, charting at number 22.[6]

"You & I (Forever)" was released as the third single from the album. The video for the song was released on 2 December 2014 and was directed by Adam Powell.[7] London-born producer Shift K3Y and Kidnap Kid remixed the track.[8]

On 17 January 2015, Ware confirmed on her Twitter account that the fourth single to be released from the album would be "Champagne Kisses".[9] Chris Sweeney directed the video, which was published on Ware's YouTube account on 11 February 2015.[10]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [12]
The A.V. ClubA−[13]
Consequence of SoundC[14]
Fact     [15]
The Guardian     [16]
NME7/10[17]
Pitchfork7.3/10[18]
PopMatters8/10[19]
Rolling Stone     [20]
Slant Magazine     [21]

Upon its release, Tough Love received generally positive reviews from music critics. According to Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to ratings and reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average of 74, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 26 critics.[11] David Brusie of The A.V. Club graded the album an A−, describing it as a "more than worthy" follow-up to Ware's debut album Devotion, while highlighting Ware's strengths as a singer and songwriter.[13] In her review for Pitchfork, Jill Mapes noted that "rarely does a major-label pop singer sound as tasteful as Ware does, especially while avoiding the sleepy trappings of adult contemporary. At its best, Ware's music sounds truly exciting without sounding as if it's trying too hard to come across that way."[18]

At PopMatters, Colin Fitzgerald rated Tough Love eight discs out of ten, noting that Ware has "gone the correct route", while highlighting the album's pop and R&B sounds of "Kind of... Sometimes... Maybe" and the minimistical ballad "Keep on Lying".[19] NME critic David Renshaw found that Tough Love "excels [...] while collaborations with Dev Hynes and Miguel save the latter half from drifting too far into languid MOR ballad territory."[17] Similarly, Paula Mejia, writing for Rolling Stone, noted that Tough Love had "plenty of showcases for Ware's acrobatic vocals [...] and when A-list modern-soul auteurs including Dev Hynes and Miguel lend their talents, they only complement the strengths that Ware continues to refine within herself."[20]

Guardian critic Caroline Sullivan gave a positive review of the album, calling it "sensual and intriguing," while describing the album's content as a "boneless elegance" with "premium product."[16] Exclaim!'s Cam Lindsay called Tough Love a "tour de force album, one that nails heartache with sophistication and class,"[22] while Andy Baber from MusicOMH wrote that "for the most part, it is an assured collection of songs that exudes the confidence of an artist at the peak of her powers."[23] AllMusic editor Andy Kellman rated the album three stars out of five, claiming that Tough Love has the same "high level of sophistication" as Devotion, but with "less stimulating results."[12] In a negative review, Fact's Josh Hall called the album "functional, designed to break her into the mainstream proper."[15]

Chart performance

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Tough Love debuted and peaked at number nine on the UK Albums Chart in the week of 25 October 2014 and would remain 18 weeks on the chart.[24] It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 17 July 2015 and reached Gold status on 4 June 2021 after surpassing sales in excess of 100,000 copies.[25] In April 2023, Music Week reported that the album had sold 108,839 units in the United Kingdom.[26]

Track listing

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Tough Love – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Tough Love"
BenZel3:26
2."You & I (Forever)"
BenZel3:58
3."Cruel"
  • Okumu
  • Ford
3:52
4."Say You Love Me"
BenZel4:17
5."Sweetest Song"
Okumu3:27
6."Kind of… Sometimes… Maybe"
  • Ware
  • Blanco
  • Ash
  • Pimentel
BenZel3:34
7."Want Your Feeling"
  • Ford
  • Hynes
4:21
8."Pieces"
3:25
9."Keep on Lying"
  • Ware
  • Dew
  • Matthew Walker
Julio Bashmore3:28
10."Champagne Kisses"
  • Ware
  • Blanco
  • Ash
BenZel3:22
11."Desire"
Nineteen853:11
Tough Love – Deluxe version (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."All on You"
  • Ware
  • Okumu
  • Dew
Okumu5:13
13."Share It All"
Julio Bashmore4:18
14."The Way We Are"
  • Ware
  • Napier
  • Ford
Ford3:29
15."Midnight Caller"
  • Ware
  • Ford
Ford4:38

Notes

  • "Say You Love Me" features additional vocals by Ed Sheeran.
  • "Kind of… Sometimes… Maybe" features additional vocals by Miguel Pimentel.

Personnel

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Credits for Tough Love adapted from AllMusic.[27]

Charts

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Chart performance for Tough Love
Chart (2014–2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 36
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[29] 29
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[30] 61
French Albums (SNEP)[31] 172
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32] 71
Irish Albums (IRMA)[33] 14
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[34] 32
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[35] 6
Scottish Albums (OCC)[36] 11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] 40
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 9
US Billboard 200[38] 50

Certifications

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Certifications for Tough Love
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Poland (ZPAV)[39] 2× Platinum 40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Gold 100,000‡
United States — 6,000[40]

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Release history and formats for Tough Love
Region Date Label Format(s) Edition
United Kingdom 13 October 2014
  • Standard
  • deluxe
United States 24 October 2014

References

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  1. ^ "Jessie Ware Announces Album Title, Tough Love, Shares Art". Pitchfork. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  2. ^ "Jessie Ware teams up with award-winning directors for 'Say You Love Me' video". NME.com.
  3. ^ "Ed Sheeran working with Jessie Ware on her new album". digitalspy.co.uk/. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Jessie Ware - Say You Love Me (Official audio)". YouTube. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Update: Jessie Ware". Pitchfork. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Jessie Ware - The Official Charts artist archive". Official Charts Company. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Jessie Ware: You & I (Forever) - COS". Consequence of Sound. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Kidnap Kid remixes 'You and I (Forever)'". Kidnap Kid, Soundcloud. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  9. ^ ""Champagne Kisses" to be released as fourth single, video on the way". Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  10. ^ ""Champagne Kisses" official video". YouTube. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  11. ^ a b "Tough Love – Jessie Ware". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  12. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Tough Love – Jessie Ware". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  13. ^ a b Brusie, David (21 October 2014). "With her dreamy sophomore effort, Jessie Ware continues to impress". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  14. ^ Josephs, Brian (20 October 2014). "Jessie Ware – Tough Love". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  15. ^ a b Hall, Josh (14 October 2014). "Jessie Ware – Tough Love". Fact. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  16. ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline (16 October 2014). "Jessie Ware: Tough Love review – sensual and intriguing". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  17. ^ a b Renshaw, David (13 October 2014). "Jessie Ware – 'Tough Love'". NME. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  18. ^ a b Mapes, Jillian (20 October 2014). "Jessie Ware: Tough Love". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  19. ^ a b Fitzgerald, Colin (22 October 2014). "Jessie Ware: Tough Love". PopMatters. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  20. ^ a b Mejia, Paula (21 October 2014). "U.K. R&B singer makes an album that's as real as it is romantic". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  21. ^ Cataldo, Jesse (4 October 2014). "Jessie Ware: Tough Love". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  22. ^ Lindsay, Cam (17 October 2014). "Jessie Ware: Tough Love". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  23. ^ Baber, Andy (7 October 2014). "Jessie Ware – Tough Love". MusicOMH. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  25. ^ a b "British album certifications – Jessie Ware – Tough Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  26. ^ Homewood, Ben (18 April 2023). "The Music Week Interview: Jessie Ware". Music Week. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  27. ^ "Tough Love (Credits)". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  28. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Jessie Ware – Tough Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – Jessie Ware – Tough Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – Jessie Ware – Tough Love" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  31. ^ "Lescharts.com – Jessie Ware – Tough Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  32. ^ "Officialcharts.de – Jessie Ware – Tough Love". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  33. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 42, 2014". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  34. ^ "Charts.nz – Jessie Ware – Tough Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  35. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  36. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  37. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Jessie Ware – Tough Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  38. ^ "Jessie Ware Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  39. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2017 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  40. ^ "Upcoming Releases | Hits Daily Double". Hits Daily Double. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
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