Comin' Atcha! is the debut album by English girl group Cleopatra, released on 30 June 1998 by WEA. The album reached number 20 on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified Silver in the UK by the BPI.[8][9][10] From the album came the singles "Cleopatra's Theme", "Life Ain't Easy", "A Touch of Love" and a cover of The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" titled 'Don't Suffer in Silence'.[9][2]
| Comin' Atcha! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 30 June 1998 (UK) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 47:08 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Cleopatra chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Billboard | (favourable)[4] |
| Daily Mirror | 8/10[5] |
| The Daily Telegraph | (favourable)[1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[6] |
| People | (favourable)[7] |
On 28 December 2004, Comin' Atcha! was digitally reissued.[2]
Writing edit
The album was largely written by lead singer Cleo Higgins, who had written some of the songs while as young as 9 years old. It was recorded when Cleo was only 14 years old. When the original demos were recorded they were R&B and soul records which were later remixed into pop songs. Cleo often wrote about personal experiences or issues she felt she needed to address. On the track "A Touch of Love", Cleo goes into her whistle register, hitting F#6.
Impact edit
Their debut single "Cleopatra's Theme" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 3, giving Cleopatra their first Top 5 hit single.
The next two singles, "Life Ain't Easy" and a cover of The Jackson 5's classic hit "I Want You Back", followed the same success, heading into the Top 5, gaining the girls Brit Awards and MOBO Awards nominations. They performed at the 1999 Brit Awards alongside Steps, Tina Cousins, B*Witched and Billie Piper and were also nominated for Best British Newcomer. In 1998 Madonna signed Cleopatra to her Maverick label and introduced them to the United States at Nickelodeon's 11th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, where they performed their debut single, "Cleopatra's Theme". It was released shortly afterwards and reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 16 in the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The video reached number 4 on the TRL Top 10 countdown. Comin' Atcha sold over 300,000 copies in the US[11] and entered the top 30 there in July 1998.
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cleopatra's Theme" | 4:09 |
| 2. | "Life Ain't Easy" | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Don't Suffer in Silence" | 3:56 |
| 4. | "A Touch of Love" | 5:08 |
| 5. | "The Bird Song" | 4:51 |
| 6. | "Thinking About You" | 4:08 |
| 7. | "What You Gonna Do Boy" | 5:01 |
| 8. | "The World We Live In" | 5:36 |
| 9. | "Dying Rose" | 3:42 |
| 10. | "Two Timer" | 4:35 |
| 11. | "I Want You Back" | 4:02 |
Japanese bonus tracks
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "We Haven't Finished Yet" | 4:16 |
| 13. | "Bird Song" (live version) | 4:59 |
Credits edit
- Cleo Higgins – lead vocals, arranger
- Yonah Higgins – backing vocals
- Zainam Higgins – backing vocals
- Christine Higgins – backing vocals
- Shaun LaBelle – synthesizer, bass, drum programming, producer, keyboards, strings
- Steve Menzies – arranger
- Harry Morgan – percussion, piano
- Dik Shopteau – engineer
- Roger Troutman – backing vocals, guitar, keyboards, talk box
- Allee Willis – arranger
- Clem Clempson – guitar
- Brad Haehnel – engineer
- Ronnie Wilson – producer, mixing
- Kenneth Hayes – arranger
- Niven Garland – engineer
- Reggie C. Young – horn
- Marcellus Fernandes – mixing, mixing engineer
- Errol Walters – executive producer
- Milton McDonald – guitar
- Paul Eastman – arranger
- Cziz Hall – arranger
- Sinclair Palmer – arranger
- Tim Scrafton – arranger
- Damien Mendis – multi instruments, mixing, producer
- Sam Noel – programming, remixing, engineer
- Yvonne Sheldon – vocals
- Graeme Stewart – engineer
- Steve Christian – arranger
- Michael "Mickey D" Davis – executive producer
- Amichi Agoua – bass
- Big Ears – strings, Synclavier technician
- Stuart Bradbury – multi instruments
- Kadria Thomas – vocals
- Tyndale Thomas – vocals
- Dennis Charles – producer, mixing
- Barney Chase – remixing
- Brad Heshnel – engineer
- Dave Phillips – piano, keyboards, programming
- Kevin Armstrong – guitar
- David Barry – guitar
- Gary Bias – horn
- Ray Brown – horn
- Stephen Chase – mixing
- Renny Hill – engineer
- Andy Williams – vocals
- Maurice White – arranger
Charts edit
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[12] | 78 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] | 84 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14] | 34 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[15] | 42 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[16] | 20 |
| UK R&B Albums (OCC)[17] | 3 |
| US Billboard 200[18] | 109 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[19] | 2 |
Certifications edit
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[20] | Silver | 60,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References edit
- ^ a b c d Cheal, David (23 May 1998). "Pop CD of the week". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020.
Musically, this is a bubbly blend of soul, pop and Seventies funk.
- ^ a b c d e Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Cleopatra: Comin' Atcha!". AllMusic.
Cleopatra's debut album Comin' Atcha has a few weak spots, but that should be expected from any dance-pop album.....Cleopatra have a spunky charm that makes their light dance-pop and urban ballads enjoyable.
- ^ Bagge, Peter (2001). "Raiding Hannah's Stash: An Appreciation of late '90s Bubblegum Music". In Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (eds.). Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth. Los Angeles: Feral House. pp. 259–269.
- ^ Verna, Paul (11 July 1998). "Reviews & Previews: Albums". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 28. p. 21. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- ^ "CLEOPATRA: Comin' Atcha! (WEA)". Daily Mirror. 24 May 1998. p. 43.
- ^ Browne, David (26 June 1998). "COMIN' ATCHA!". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Comin' Atcha!". People. 13 July 1998. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020.
- ^ Cleopatra: Comin' Atcha. WEA. 1998.
- ^ a b "Cleopatra: Comin' Atcha". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "BPI Certification for Cleopatra: Comin' Atcha". British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "Plugged In". Pluggedinonline.com. 5 September 2011. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 60.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Cleopatra – Comin' Atcha!" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Cleopatra – Comin' Atcha!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Cleopatra | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Cleopatra Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "Cleopatra Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "British album certifications – Cleopatra – Comin' Atcha". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 February 2021.