Unlocked (Alexandra Stan album)

Unlocked
Cover artwork used to commercialize Unlocked outside of Japan.
Studio album by Alexandra Stan
Released	27 August 2014
Recorded	2013-2014
Genre	Dance techno pop R&B EDM
Length	57:22
Language	English French Spanish
Label	Victor Fonogram
Producer	Prince Chrishan Alexandru Cotoi Mika Moupondo Ionuț Adrian Radu Erik Lidbom Lukas Hällgren Anton Kuhl Șerban Cazan Gabriel Huiban Victor Bourosu Andreas Schuller Sebastian Jacome
Alexandra Stan albums chronology
Cliché (Hush Hush) (2013) Unlocked (2014) Alesta (2016)
Singles from Unlocked[upper-alpha 1]
"Thanks for Leaving" Released: 28 April 2014 "Cherry Pop" Released: 28 May 2014 "Dance" Released: 18 July 2014 "Give Me Your Everything" Released: 20 August 2014 "Vanilla Chocolat" Released: 24 December 2014

Unlocked is the second studio album recorded by Romanian singer and songwriter Alexandra Stan. It was released digitally on 27 August 2014 by Victor Entertainment as a follow-up to Saxobeats (2011). Stan collaborated with several record producers on the album, including Andreas Schuller, Sebastian Jacome, Chrishan Prince, Erik Lidbom and Gabriel Huiban. She also took part in the inaugural international songwriting FonoCamp in 2013, where she further worked on material that was featured on the record. Unlocked was released following an alleged physical altercation with her former manager Marcel Prodan, which had led Stan to take a short hiatus in 2013. She also signed a record deal with label Fonogram Records to release Unlocked in various countries.

The music on Unlocked features EDM and dance-pop styles Stan had explored in her previous records. Songs such as "Kiss Me Goodbye" and "Give Me Your Everything" make use of Bhangra and Caucasian music, respectively. Lyrically, the album deals with themes of liberation, rediscovery, and new beginnings, while also touching on Stan's volatile relationship with her love interest. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who saw parallel works by American singer Britney Spears, Barbadian recording artist Rihanna and Australian performer Sia.

Unlocked debuted and peaked at number 21 on the Oricon Albums Chart in Japan, where it sold 3,859 copies in its first week. By September 2014, the album had sold more than 17,000 units there. Six tracks from the album were released as singles,^{[upper-alpha 1]} of which three ("Cherry Pop", "Dance" and "We Wanna") charted on the Japan Hot 100. "Dance" reached the top ten of Turkey's singles chart, while "We Wanna" managed to reach the top thirty in music charts in Argentina and Poland; and the top sixty in Italy, Romania, and Slovakia. To promote Unlocked, Stan embarked on two tours in 2014: the Cherry Pop Summer Tour^[2] and the Unlocked Tour, in Russia, Mexico, Japan and Turkey.^[3]

Background and development

Shortly after releasing her debut album, Saxobeats (2011), Stan started to work on material for a follow-up record with Marcel Prodan and Andrei Nemirschi, her long-time composers and managers.^[5] "Lemonade", "Cliché (Hush Hush)" and "All My People" were subsequently released worldwide as singles through 2012 and 2013,^[6] and were intended for her then-untitled second studio album.^[5] The album was intended for a September 2013 release, but following an alleged physical altercation with her former manager Prodan over compensation, the recording was delayed.^[5] Stan accused him of physically attacking and blackmailing her.^[7]

After her recovery, Stan was sued by Prodan for using his songs in her live performances without his permission.^[8] Stan won the copyright battle in June 2014.^[9] Cliché (Hush Hush), Stan's last album under Prodan's label, Maan Records, was made available for purchase in October 2013. It was a re-issue of Saxobeats with the addition of the three songs intended for Stan's second studio album.^[10] Cliché (Hush Hush) was only released in Japan; it did enter the top sixty on the Oricon Albums Chart,^[11] and reportedly sold over 6,100 units there.^[12]

In late 2013, Stan continued working on her second studio album with another team, including record producers and songwriters Alex Cotoi and Erik Lidbom.^[5] She also switched from Prodan's label and signed a record deal with Fonogram Records.^[13] "Thanks for Leaving", the first single from Unlocked, was released on 28 April 2014.^[14] In the following four months, Stan released three more singles, "Cherry Pop", "Dance" and "Give Me Your Everything", under Roton and Fonogram Records.^[15][16][17] The artist took part in the FonoCamp 2013, the first international songwriting camp held in Azuga, Romania, where she further worked on material for Unlocked with Romanian singers and producers.^[18] The record was subsequently released on 27 August 2014 exclusively to Japanese digital outlets^[19] due to the popularity of her previous works there.^[20] While the worldwide digital availability of Unlocked followed,^[21] a CD and a bonus DVD were additionally released in various other territories.^[22][23][24] Prior to this, a preview of the album lasting eight minutes and thirty-four seconds was uploaded onto YouTube.^[20]

Recording and artwork

Stan was involved in the writing process of all songs featured on Unlocked, with the exception of "Thanks for Leaving", "Set Me Free" and "Trumpet Blows".^[5] In interviews, she expressed that the lyrical content of "Thanks for Leaving" is personal and refers to her recovery following her alleged violent incident with Prodan.^[25][26] The recording drew influences of various genres; Italian publications Gazzetta and Stato Quotidiano described it to include dance, techno, pop and R&B styles,^[27][28] while Robin Catling of Everything Express noticed EDM, Bhangra, Caucasian-flavoured music and German club music in its composition.^[29] According to Raluca Moisă of Adevărul and Catling, the album lyrically revolves around Stan's volatile relationship with her love interest and approaches themes such as liberation, rediscovery, and new beginnings.^[4][29] "Vanilla Chocolat" and "We Wanna" feature lyrics written in French and Spanish, respectively. The accompanying cover sleeve for Unlocked was photographed by Dimitri Caceaune and showed Stan sporting a multicoloured jacket and standing in front of a neon light. An alternative artwork for the Japanese edition of the album portrayed her in sepia, with only one of her eyes visible, as the left one was covered by her hair.^[5] During an interview, Stan expressed that "[Japanese people] are very obsessed with big eyes, so the photo sessions that [she had] prepared for the Japanese version of Unlocked feature [her] eyes being enlarged by make-up."^[4]

Promotion

Stan performing in Osaka, Japan during her Unlocked Tour (2014–15).

"Thanks For Leaving" was released on 28 April 2014 as the first single from Unlocked^[14] simultaneously with its accompanying music video.^[30] The track peaked at number 42 on the Romanian Radio Airplay Chart,^[31] and at number one on the Ukraine Pop 100.^[32] On 28 May 2014, "Cherry Pop" was announced as the second single from the record.^[15] To promote the single, an official music video shot by Khaled Mokhtar in Buftea, Romania was uploaded onto YouTube. The video shows Stan playing tennis against herself in a futuristic setting.^[33] The track was barely successful in Japan,^[34] where it charted at number 64 on the Japan Hot 100.^[35] The album's highest-charting single on the latter chart, "Dance", was made available for purchase as the third release on 18 July 2014.^[16][36] The music video for the song was also shot by Mokhtar.^[37] The recording peaked at number 25 in Japan^[35] and at number seventy in Austria.^[38]

The album's fourth single, "Give Me Your Everything", was released on 20 August 2014.^[17] The accompanying music video directed by Mokhtar portrays Stan chasing a man in a dark landscape.^[39] Upon its release, the video aroused controversy for a scene in which Stan is wearing a white robe with masonic symbols inscribed on its back.^[40][41] Particularly, website Urban.ro named the clip "her most bizarre video ever".^[41] "Vanilla Chocolat" was released on 24 December 2014 as the fifth single from Unlocked.^[42] and it includes vocal collaboration from Connect-R, a Romanian rapper.^[5] The accompanying selfie video sees Stan singing and performing in various live shows, as well as shots of her and Connect-R at Roton Music.^[43] "We Wanna", a bonus single available only on the German edition of the album, features Romanian artist Inna and American reggaeton performer Daddy Yankee.^[44] The track—later included on Alesta (2016)^[45]—reached the top thirty in Argentina, Poland and Turkey, and the top sixty in Italy, Romania and Slovakia.^[46]

Reception

Unlocked was compared to the works of Rihanna (left) and Britney Spears (right).

Unlocked debuted at number 21 on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart, selling 3,859 copies in its first week. It fell to number 39 after two weeks, bringing sales to 4,550 copies. Over the following three weeks, sales continued to decline as the album fell to number 83 on the chart. However, it climbed five positions to number 78 for the week ending 7 October 2014, selling 1,030 copies. The record exited the Japanese Albums Chart after 17 non-consecutive weeks, bringing total sales to 17,045 copies.^[47]

Dijei Zasin of music website Pop Shock described Unlocked as a "good old-fashioned Europop" record. He praised its "infectious production, catchy absurd hooks and glossy vocals", and called the album's package and visuals "stunning". "Vanilla Chocolat" and "Holding Aces" were described as the best tracks of Unlocked; Pop Shock wrote that the latter one was good enough to be a single by the winner of X Factor, a reality television music competition.^[48] Robin Catling of website Everything Express wrote a mixed review for Unlocked, stating that it was clearly influenced by the works of American singer Britney Spears, Barbadian recording artist Rihanna and Australian singer Sia. He also compared "Dance" and "Little Lies" to French disc jockey David Guetta and Spears' Britney Jean (2013) album, respectively. Everything Express suggested that "Thanks for Leaving" could score highly at a Eurovision Song Contest, an annual musical competition. The review concluded, "Unlocked has some highlights amongst the derivative, magpie-collected sparkle of pilfered pop, you might just find it difficult to remember by the end."^[29]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Unlocked.^[5] Different versions of the record were made available for purchase for the Japanese,^[19][49][50] Spanish^[51] and German markets,^[1] featuring a modified tracklist that additionally incorporated bonus tracks and remixes.

Sample credits^[5][20]

• "Little Lies" contains elements from the Fleetwood Mac recording of the same name, written by Christine McVie and Eddy Quintela, and produced by Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Unlocked.^[5]

Recording

• Produced for Fonogram Music Production in Bucharest, Romania.
• Produced for Hitfire Production in Uppsala, Sweden.
• Recorded at Fonogram Studios in Bucharest, Romania.
• Recorded at Perfect Sound Studios in Hollywood, California.

Release history

Notes

References