Unhealthy is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Anne-Marie. It was released on 28 July 2023, through Major Tom's and Asylum Records. Unhealthy was preceded by three singles: "Psycho", "Sad Bitch" and "Unhealthy". The album features guest appearances from American singer Khalid, British rapper Aitch, Thai singer Minnie from South Korean girl group (G)I-dle and Canadian singer Shania Twain.
| Unhealthy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 28 July 2023 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:05 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Anne-Marie chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Unhealthy | ||||
Unhealthy peaked at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and became her best selling album to date in her homeland.[3] The album also saw continued success in other charts including peaking at number 1 on the Scottish albums chart and at number 11 on the Irish albums chart, respectively.
Background edit
Anne-Marie started working on her third studio album in 2022. While promoting her single "Psycho" with Aitch in September 2022 she revealed that she's been writing a lot of new stuff and figured out what she wants to say.[4]
The singer finished working on the album in January 2023.[5] The record was written at four writing camps, including Decoy Studios in Suffolk. A total of 19 songs were written in a week, including pop, rock, country and musical songs.[6]
On 27 April 2023, Anne-Marie announced the title, release date, artwork and tracklist of her third album.[7] On the same day, the singer met fans at Brick Lane in London, where she revealed billboards advertising "Unhealthy", which she later graffitied with black paint.[8]
In a podcast "Table Manners" with Jessie Ware and Lennie Ware, Anne-Marie provided information about her third studio album. She explained that after the release of her second album and having weekly therapy sessions during lockdown, she began to feel numb to emotions. Because of this, she stopped talking to her therapist so often and as a result she started feeling completely different. This change inspired her third album. "When I started therapy in lockdown, that's when I started writing the second album, so it was all very much about self improvement, you know, figuring out my brain and all those techniques my therapist was telling me. I felt like I went into therapy because I was quite numb to emotions and then I came out of therapy numb to emotions in another way. I just learned so much on how to understand everything and deal with things that I just didn't feel extreme anger, extreme sadness or extreme happiness anymore. I was back on the middle road. And I kinda missed those extremities again so I stopped therapy, I do it every now and again, but it was like a weekly thing for years. (...) So the second album was very much like that, you know, calm and collected. So in the process of this new album I just wanted to feel everything again."[9] She later added: "I basically have done a journey of two relationships: one which I came out of which wasn't great and then one which I've gone into which didn't start great because it was like an obsessiveness, unhealthiness and then at the end it kind of levels out. So it's like all of the phases of a relationship that you could imagine is put into the album."[10]
The album title was inspired by her food dietries and the fact that she is an obsessive person and most of her thoughts are unhealthy.[11]
Talking about the writing process Anne-Marie said: "I definitely feel like I was less scared to experiment with stuff on this one. I feel like in the last two albums I've definitely felt a way about staying in a lane, like if I don't sound like this or if I don't make a song that sounds like this, are they gonna know it's Anne-Marie? I definitely think my label and people around me were a bit worried about me going 'I'm gonna try new stuff'. (...) It's not as if I've changed completly, it just feels like every song had a freedom to just be whatever it wanted to be."[12]
During the interview on The One Show, Anne-Marie explained the story behind the picture that was chosen for the album cover: "When I got into the industry, I felt a way about being a pop star and what I'm supposed to look like. Whether it's like make-up and fake nails and all this stuff. And with my other albums I've kind of done that and I've got nails on, and you know, all of that stuff. And in this one I just thought 'No, I'm going to be me.' So I found my shower door and pushed my face up against it."[13]
Promotion edit
Intimate performances edit
| Tour by Anne-Marie | |
| Location |
|
|---|---|
| Associated album | Unhealthy |
| Start date | 26 July 2023 |
| End date | 23 September 2023 |
| No. of shows | 15 |
On 23 June 2023, Anne-Marie announced six intimate shows across UK in support of Unhealthy. The tickets went on sale on 27 June at 12 pm BST.[14] On 30 June, the singer added another two shows in Kingston and Bristol due to high demand.[15] On 4 July 2023, Anne-Marie announced that on 28 July, the release day of her album, she will do an intimate performance in London as part of the YouTube Music Nights. Tickets for the event did not go on sale, instead for a chance to attend, the copy of Unhealthy had to be pre-ordered from the artist's official store.[16] On 11 July 2023, a show in Southampton was announced.[17] During the album release week 4 additional shows were added.[18][19]
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Show time | Retailer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 July 2023 | Kingston | England | Pryzm | 5pm BST | Banquet |
| 7pm BST | |||||
| 28 July 2023 | London | Lafayette | 7pm BST | - | |
| 30 July 2023 | Brighton | Chalk | 6pm BST | Resident | |
| 31 July 2023 | Leeds | The Wardrobe | 7pm BST | Crash Records | |
| 1 August 2023 | Coventry | hmv Empire | 7pm BST | HMV | |
| 2 August 2023 | Bristol | The Fleece | 4pm BST | Rough Trade | |
| 7pm BST | |||||
| 3 August 2023 | Liverpool | The Cavern Club | 7pm BST | Jacardana | |
| 15 August 2023 | Kingston | Pryzm | 7pm BST | Banquet | |
| 16 August 2023 | Southampton | The 1865 | 7pm BST | Vinilo | |
| 18 September 2023 | Glasgow | Scotland | SWG3 | 7pm BST | Assai Records |
| 22 September 2023 | Dundee | Fat Sam's | 5pm BST | ||
| 7pm BST | |||||
| 23 September 2023 | Southend-on-Sea | England | Cliffs Pavillion | 7pm BST | Crash Records |
Colouring-in room edit
On 10 July 2023, Anne-Marie announced that she would invite fans on 19 July 2023 into a room in East London to colour the walls with her if they pre-saved Unhealthy in the next 48 hours from her official store.[20] Tickets did not go officially on sale, but instead, fans would get invites if they pre-ordered the copy of Unhealthy.
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Clash | 4/10[21] |
| Evening Standard |   [1] |
| The Guardian | [2] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 5/10[22] |
| NME | [23] |
Unhealthy received mixed reviews from music critics upon release. For Clash, Tamzin Kraftman wrote that "with repetitive melodic motifs and overcooked themes, Anne-Marie had a chance to offer a profound perspective but settled for the mundane."[21] Evening Standard's David Smyth described Unhealthy as "very much a radio-friendly pop album".[1] Tanatat Khuttapan of The Line of Best Fit wrote that "Anne-Marie's true control of the narrative is via honest intercommunication; Unhealthy realises it a little too late, perhaps impeded by the poor decisions that appear to be hers."[22] Writing for NME, Sophie Williams said that "Anne-Marie's goal of making pop that represents the most intimate, darkest of feelings is admirable but not always effective. It’s not exactly clear what message she’s pining for."[23] Reviewing for The Guardian, Tara Joshi described the album as "broadly a fun record that's pushing to be more raw and upfront than she [Anne-Marie] has managed before", and adding that "Anne-Marie does sound freer and more playful in her own right, toying with more ambitious instrumentation (rock, orchestral) alongside the dance-pop and ballads."[2]
Commercial performance edit
In its first charting week, Unhealthy opened at number-two on the UK Albums Chart with sales of 23,778, of which 19,778 were physical copies, marking it her best selling album in the country.[24] It secured the highest weekly sale for an album by a UK female soloist since Florence and the Machine’s Dance Fever topped the chart in May 2022.[25]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sucks to Be You" |
|
| 0:43 |
| 2. | "Sad Bitch" |
|
| 2:12 |
| 3. | "Psycho" (with Aitch) |
|
| 2:42 |
| 4. | "Haunt You" |
|
| 2:53 |
| 5. | "Trainwreck" |
|
| 3:03 |
| 6. | "Grudge" |
|
| 2:12 |
| 7. | "Obsessed" |
|
| 2:26 |
| 8. | "Kills Me to Love You" |
|
| 2:22 |
| 9. | "Unhealthy" (featuring Shania Twain) |
|
| 2:29 |
| 10. | "Irish Goodbye" |
|
| 2:09 |
| 11. | "Cuckoo" |
|
| 2:35 |
| 12. | "You & I" (featuring Khalid) |
|
| 3:25 |
| 13. | "Never Loved Anyone Before" |
|
| 2:54 |
| Total length: | 32:05 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Better Off" |
| Mojam | 2:49 |
| 15. | "Ick" |
| Billen Ted | 2:52 |
| 16. | "Expectations" (with Minnie from (G)I-dle) |
| Paprikaa | 3:09 |
| Total length: | 40:55 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17. | "Psycho" (acoustic) |
| Duncan Brookfield | 2:21 |
| 18. | "Sad Bitch" (acoustic) |
| Brookfield | 2:14 |
| 19. | "Unhealthy" (acoustic) |
| Brookfield | 2:26 |
| Total length: | 47:56 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Baby Don't Hurt Me" (with David Guetta and Coi Leray) |
|
| 2:20 |
Notes edit
- "Unhealthy" does not feature Shania Twain’s vocals on the LP version of the album.
- All songs except "Expectations" and "Baby Don't Hurt Me" are stylized in all caps.[28][29]
- "Psycho" interpolates "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of...)", written by Lou Bega, Pérez Prado and Zippy Davids, as performed by Lou Bega.[30]
- "Obsessed" interpolates "I'd Do Anything", written by Lionel Bart, as performed in Oliver!.[31]
- "Baby Don't Hurt Me" samples "What Is Love", written by Tony Hendrik and Karin van Haaren, as performed by Haddaway.[32]
Personnel edit
Credits adapted from Tidal.[33]
Musicians
- Anne-Marie – vocals (all tracks)
- Mojam - programming (1, 12, 14)
- Evan Blair - keyboards, synthesizer, drum programming (2); programming (2, 6, 7, 13)
- Samuel Brennan - percussion, drums, synthesizer, bass programming (2); drum programming, piano (3), programming (2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 15)
- Tom Hollings - drums, synthesizer, bass programming (2); percussion (2, 3); bass, percussion programming (3); programming (2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 15)
- Aitch - vocals (3)
- Slowthai - backing vocals (6)
- Shania Twain - vocals (9)
- Connor McDonough - programming (9)
- Riley McDonough - programming (9)
- Khalid - vocals (12)
- Kamille - backing vocals (12)
- Felix Stephens - cello (10,12)
- Nina Lim - violin (12)
- Rics - programming (12)
- Andrea Cozzaglio - strings programming (12); drums programming (13)
- Liam Toon - drums (13)
- Travis Sayles - programming (13)
- Nami Ondas - programming (13)
- Minnie - vocals (16)
- Paprikaa - programming (16)
- Duncan Brookfield - bass, guitar, percussion, piano (17); programming (17, 18)
Technical
- Stuart Hawkes – masterer (1-15, 18)
- Joe Burgess - assistant mixer (1-15, 18)
- Niko Battistini - assistant mixer (1-15, 18)
- Geoff Swan - mixer (1-8, 10-15, 18, 19)
- Connor McDonough - mixer, engineer (9)
- Riley McDonough - mixer, engineer (9)
- Mojam - engineer (1, 3, 12, 14,); vocal recording engineer (1, 12)
- Evan Blair - engineer (2, 6, 7, 13); vocal recording engineer (7, 13)
- Bob MacKenzie - engineer (3)
- Dom Shaw - engineer (3)
- Katie May - engineer (3)
- Billen Ted - engineer (3-5, 8, 10, 11, 15); vocal recording engineer (4, 5, 8, 11)
- Cameron Gower Poole - vocal recording engineer (6, 10, 13, 19); mixer (17)
- Mark Ralph - vocal recording engineer (9)
- Mark "Spike" Stent - vocal recording engineer (9)
- Samuel Brennan - vocal recording engineer (10)
- Kay One - vocal recording engineer (16)
- Andrea Cozzaglio - strings recording engineer (12); drums recording engineer (13)
- Duncan Brookfield - mixer (17)
- Dick Beetham - masterer (17)
- Jeremy Cooper - masterer (19)
- Bankz - additional vocal recording engineer (3)
Artwork
- Slowthai - photography
- Will Beach - photography
- Elliott Elder - design
Charts edit
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[34] | 38 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[35] | 166 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[36] | 72 |
| Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[37] | 11 |
| Irish Albums (OCC)[38] | 11 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[39] | 1 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[40] | 2 |
Certifications edit
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[41] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history edit
| Region | Date | Format | Edition | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | 28 July 2023 | Standard | [42][43][44] | ||
|
Deluxe | [45] | |||
| Japan | CD | Japan bonus | Warner Music Japan | [26] | |
| Various | 31 July 2023 |
|
Voicenote edition |
|
[28] |
| 2 August 2023 |
|
Karaoke edition |
|
[46] |
References edit
- ^ a b c Smyth, David (28 July 2023). "Anne-Marie - Unhealthy album review: enjoyably ranty". Evening Standard.
- ^ a b c Joshi, Tara (30 July 2023). "Anne-Marie: Unhealthy review – freer and more playful". The Guardian.
- ^ Smith, Carl (4 August 2023). "Travis Scott secures first Number 1 album with Utopia as Anne-Marie claims the fastest-selling album of 2023 for a UK solo female with Unhealthy". Official Charts. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "FM104 chats to pop princess Anne-Marie". FM104. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Candy floss. Trapped wind. Helium. Ibiza. Mv. Tattoos. Double chin. Japan. Period. Finished album". www.instagram.com. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ Dodds, Emma (19 June 2023). "Anne-Marie: Everything you need to know about her third album 'Unhealthy'". Planet Radio. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ Murray, Robin (27 April 2023). "Anne-Marie launches new album 'Unhealthy'". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Thank you so much for being with me to announce the album this morning". Twitter. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ Ware, Jessie; Ware, Lennie (14 June 2023). "S15 Ep17:Anne-Marie". Table Manners (Podcast). Acast. Event occurs at 45:26. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ Ware, Jessie; Ware, Lennie (14 June 2023). "S15 Ep17:Anne-Marie". Table Manners (Podcast). Acast. Event occurs at 47:15. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ Ware, Jessie; Ware, Lennie (14 June 2023). "S15 Ep17:Anne-Marie". Table Manners (Podcast). Acast. Event occurs at 44:50. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ Ware, Jessie; Ware, Lennie (14 June 2023). "S15 Ep17:Anne-Marie". Table Manners (Podcast). Acast. Event occurs at 48:16. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "'No, I'm going to be me'". www.instagram.com. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Gonna celebrate the release of my new album with some intimate shows in July and August!". Twitter. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ "You lot sold out my intimate shows so fast! As a thank you I've added two extra performances at Banquet Records and Rough Trade Bristol". Twitter. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ "On 28th July I'm gonna be doing an intimate YouTube Music Nights performance at London Lafayette where I'll be playing my new album in full for the first time!". Twitter. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ "Extra outstore date added!". Twitter. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ MacDonald, Ben (2 August 2023). "Two Dundee Anne-Marie shows sell out in minutes as fans snap up tickets for Fat Sam's". The Courier. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ Day-Parker, Jessica (2 August 2023). "'I'm back!': south Essex star Anne-Marie announces Cliffs Pavilion homecoming gig". Echo. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ "This One is Going To Be The Best! On July 19th I've got a massive colouring room in East London and I want you to colour with me! Maybe we can listen to some of the album too who wants to join me? Pre-order from my store in the next 48 hours for the chance to come. Let's Go". Twitter. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ a b Kraftman, Tamzin (31 July 2023). "Anne-Marie – Unhealthy".
- ^ a b Khuttapan, Tanatat (26 July 2023). "Anne-Marie attempts to control her narrative with "Unhealthy"". The Line of Best Fit.
- ^ a b Williams, Sophie (28 July 2023). "Anne-Marie – 'Unhealthy' review: reflective pop proves tricky to pull off". NME.
- ^ Jones, Alan (4 August 2023). "Charts analysis: Travis Scott lands first No.1 album with Utopia". Music Week. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ Smith, Carl (4 August 2023). "Travis Scott secures first Number 1 album with Utopia as Anne-Marie claims the fastest-selling album of 2023 for a UK solo female with Unhealthy". Official Charts. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Anne-Marie / アン・マリー「UNHEALTHY / アンヘルシー」 | Warner Music Japan". ワーナーミュージック・ジャパン | Warner Music Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Anne-Marie/アンヘルシー". tower.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ a b c Super Unhealthy (Voicenote Edition) by Anne-Marie, retrieved 4 August 2023
- ^ Unhealthy (Deluxe) by Anne-Marie, 28 July 2023, retrieved 4 August 2023
- ^ Magliola, Anna (5 October 2022). "Anne-Marie's 'Psycho' video surpasses 6 million views". Planet Radio. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Anne-Marie invites fans into her perfectly imperfect world with new album "Unhealthy" out this July". warnermusic.co.nz. 2 May 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ Mier, Tomás (7 April 2023). "David Guetta revives Haddaway's 'What Is Love' with the help of Anne-Marie and Coi Leray". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ "Anne-Marie 'Unhealthy' - credits". Tidal. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Anne-Marie – Unhealthy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Anne-Marie – Unhealthy" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ "Top Albums (Week 31, 2023)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2023. 31. hét". MAHASZ. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "British album certifications – Anne-Marie – Unhealthy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Unhealthy CD". Anne-Marie Official Shop. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ "UNHEALTHY See Through You Translucent Vinyl". Anne-Marie Official Shop. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ "Unhealthy Cassette". Anne-Marie Official Shop. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ "Unhealthy (Deluxe)". Amazon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ "Unhealthy (Karaoke Edition)". music.apple.com. Retrieved 3 August 2023.