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Sound of a Woman

Sound of a Woman is the major label debut studio album by Canadian singer Kiesza. It is her second album after her 2008 self-titled independent release[3] and her first full-length international debut. It was released on October 13, 2014.

Sound of a Woman
Studio album by
Kiesza
ReleasedOctober 13, 2014 (2014-10-13)
Genre
Length50:21
Label
Producer
  • Rami Samir Afuni (also exec.)
  • Jordan Orvosh
  • Simen & Espen
Kiesza chronology
Hideaway
(2014) 		Sound of a Woman
(2014) 		Weird Kid
(2019)
Singles from Sound of a Woman
  1. "Hideaway"
    Released: April 11, 2014
  2. "Giant in My Heart"
    Released: June 16, 2014
  3. "Bad Thing"
    Released: September 22, 2014
  4. "No Enemiesz"
    Released: November 24, 2014
  5. "Sound of a Woman"
    Released: May 12, 2015
  6. "Cut Me Loose"
    Released: August 21, 2015[2]

Background

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In February 2014, Kiesza released the video for her new single "Hideaway" through the indie label Lokal Legend.[4] Idolator considered it unique, for having a single take through the entire video, as Kiesza walked and danced through the streets of Brooklyn.[4] John Gentile of Rolling Stone called the style "impressive".[5] Kiesza reported to Rolling Stone that she had trouble making the video, partly because she broke a rib just before filming, and "couldn't move for an entire month afterward."[5] It was premiered by Annie Mac on her Mac's Special Delivery segment on BBC Radio 1.[6][7] "Hideaway" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart issued for April 26, 2014.[8]

Shortly after "Hideaway" charted, Kiesza released a new video for her cover of Haddaway's song "What Is Love".[9] Mike Bell of the Calgary Herald referred to her version of the song as a "jaw-droppingly gorgeous cover of Haddaway's 1993 dance smash What Is Love?"[10] She did a slowed down version, with a video showing her and others, slowly revealed to be without clothes, to express "raw emotions".[10]

Kiesza described Sound of a Woman as having grunge, rock, and folk influences in addition to her usual house or dance genre and that some songs on the album would be surprising to people.[11]

Singles

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"Hideaway" was released as Kiesza's debut single on April 11, 2014. Both the song and its accompanying music video have been met with general acclaim from contemporary music critics. "Hideaway" topped the UK Singles Chart upon release, selling over 136,000 copies in its first week, becoming the third-fastest selling single of 2014 in the United Kingdom.

"Giant in My Heart" was released as the album's second single on June 13, 2014, and reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart, while "Bad Thing" featuring American rapper Joey Badass was released as the album's third single on September 22, 2014.[12] "No Enemiesz" was released as the album's fourth single on November 23, 2014. Its music video was released a month earlier on October 24, 2014.

"Sound of a Woman" was released as the album's fifth single on May 24, 2015. The SeeB remix of "Cut Me Loose" was released as the album's sixth and final single on August 21, 2015.[2]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic63/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [14]
Clash7/10[15]
Edmonton Journal     [16]
Exclaim!7/10[17]
The Guardian     [18]
Idolator4/5[19]
The New York Timespositive[20]
NOW Magazine     [21]
The Observer     [22]
Pitchfork5.2/10[23]
Slant Magazine     [24]
Spinpositive[25]

Sound of a Woman received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63 based on twelve reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[13] Brennan Carley of Spin called it "one of the most elastic albums of the 1990s, both 20 years too late and also totally in time" and noted that Kiesza "shows the insight to carve a lane out for herself in pop music that apparently nobody else felt the need to journey down."[25] Melody Lau of Exclaim! felt that the album makes "an important statement" in the dance music scene and hailed Kiesza's voice as "exceptionally strong and versatile."[17] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote that "while [Kiesza] doesn't quite have the freedom in her voice to mimic fully the divas she's aiming for, she sings powerfully and with an understanding of how to deliver notes with rhythmic aggression."[20]

Bianca Gracie of Idolator described the album as "the perfect soundtrack that feeds your '90s nostalgia."[19] Heather Phares of AllMusic wrote that "while Sound of a Woman is slightly too long and unfocused, at its best it's a potent reminder of how much fun this sound was -- and is."[14] Julia Leconte of NOW Magazine noticed that "at first, [...] Kiesza's debut album seems overwrought [...] but eventually, subtleties and variety emerge" and felt that "Kiesza's so much better when she reels back her impressively ranging vocals to buttery."[21] Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork noted that Sound of a Woman "fails to spark, as its homogenous textures blend together to rob this music of the personality and emotion it has when done right" and felt that the songs on the album "don't give any clues as to who Kiesza is."[23] Elliot Greiner of Mxdwn asserted that "lyrically [Sound of a Woman] is dry, musically it leeches off of the inventiveness of its predecessors, and in total it sounds like the extended soundtrack to a Samsung advert."[26] Sandra Sperounes of the Edmonton Journal concluded that "it's too early to tell if Kiesza will end up on the same heap of former pop-culture phenoms, but her album's brief forays into R&B [...] hint at a much more promising and multi-dimensional future for the 25-year-old redhead."[16]

Track listing

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Sound of a Woman – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Hideaway"
Afuni4:11
2."No Enemiesz"
  • Ellestad
  • Afuni
Afuni3:17
3."Losin' My Mind" (featuring Mick Jenkins)
  • Ellestad
  • Afuni
  • Jayson Jenkins
Afuni3:51
4."So Deep"
  • Ellestad
  • Afuni
Afuni4:28
5."Vietnam"
  • Ellestad
  • Afuni
  • Paolo "Shirazi" Prudencio
Afuni3:50
6."Bad Thing" (featuring Joey Badass)
Afuni3:31
7."What Is Love"
Afuni3:08
8."Sound of a Woman"
  • Ellestad
  • Afuni
Afuni3:46
9."The Love"
  • Ellestad
  • Afuni
  • Prudencio
  • St. John
Afuni3:57
10."Piano"
  • Ellestad
  • Afuni
  • St. John
Afuni4:28
11."Giant in My Heart"
  • Ellestad
  • Afuni
Afuni4:29
12."Over Myself"
  • Ellestad
  • Simen Eriksrud
  • Espen Berg
Simen & Espen3:32
13."Cut Me Loose"
  • Ellestad
  • Jordan Orvosh
Orvosh3:53
Total length:50:21
Sound of a Woman – iTunes edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Hideaway" (acoustic version)
  • Ellestad
  • Afuni
3:14
Total length:53:35
Sound of a Woman – UK deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Hideaway" (acoustic version)
  • Ellestad
  • Afuni
3:16
15."Take Me to Church" (Hozier cover)Andrew Hozier-Byrne4:43
16."Prayer in C" (Lilly Wood and the Prick cover) (BBC live version)
3:55
17."Take Ü There" (Jack Ü featuring Kiesza)
3:30
18."Hideaway" (video) 4:36
19."Giant in My Heart" (video) 4:37
Total length:73:36

Charts

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Chart performance for Sound of a Woman
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[27] 18
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29] 33
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[30] 14
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[31] 66
French Albums (SNEP)[32] 160
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[33] 10
Italian Albums (FIMI)[34] 28
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 14
UK Albums (OCC)[36] 40
US Billboard 200[37] 42
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[38] 1

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label
Australia[39] October 17, 2014
United States October 21, 2014
United Kingdom December 1, 2014
Brazil[40] February 25, 2015 CD Universal Music

References

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  1. ^ Persaud, Navi (13 October 2014). "Kiesza And Mick Jenkins Release 'Losin' My Mind': 'Sound Of A Woman' Album Next Week". emptylighthouse.com. Westbourne International LLC. Retrieved 20 September 2022. The song features Kiesza's soulful lyrics about heartbreak and being completely obsessively in love with someone. There is an old school R&B vibe and Jenkins adds a quality verse
  2. ^ a b "Cut Me Loose (SeeB Remix)". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  3. ^ "KIESZA 2008 Independent Release CD recorded before Hideaway or Giant In My Heart". eBay. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  4. ^ a b Daw, Robbie (March 20, 2014). "Popping Up: Kiesza". Idolator. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Gentile, John (February 13, 2014). "Kiesza Barrels Through the Pain in 'Hideaway' – Video Premiere". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  6. ^ "Kiesza – 'Hideaway'". PopJustice.com. January 24, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  7. ^ Herr, Lindsay (February 13, 2014). "Kiesza takes it to the streets in her debut video for lead single "Hideaway"". EarMilk. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  8. ^ Lane, Daniel (April 20, 2014). "Kiesza claims her debut UK Number 1 single with Hideaway". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  9. ^ Daw, Robbie (23 April 2014). "Kiesza Covers Haddaway's "What Is Love": Watch The Video For Her Rendition Of The '90s Classic". Idolator. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  10. ^ a b Bell, Mike (May 3, 2014). "Calgary singer Kiesza taking the pop music world by storm". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  11. ^ "Kiesza reveals tracklisting for debut album Sound Of A Woman". Officialcharts.com. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  12. ^ Breihan, Tom (September 22, 2014). "Kiesza – "Bad Thing" (Feat. Joey Bada$$)". Stereogum.
  13. ^ a b "Sound of a Woman - Kiesza". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  14. ^ a b Phares, Heather (October 2014). "Kiesza Sound of a Woman". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  15. ^ Diver, Mike (26 November 2014). "Kiesza – Sound Of A Woman". Clash. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  16. ^ a b Sperounes, Sandra (23 October 2014). "Album review: Kiesza, Sound of a Woman". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  17. ^ a b Lau, Melody (October 2014). "Kiesza Sound of a Woman". Exclaim!. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  18. ^ Gibsone, Harriet (27 November 2014). "Kiesza: Sound of a Woman review – full-throttle pop with lots of jazz hands". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  19. ^ a b Bianka, Gracie (21 October 2014). "Kiesza's 'Sound Of A Woman': Album Review". Idolator. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  20. ^ a b Caramanica, Jon (20 October 2014). "Aretha Franklin, Annie Lennox and Kiesza Release New Albums". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  21. ^ a b Leconte, Julia (23 October 2014). "Kiesza Sound Of A Woman (Universal)". Now. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  22. ^ Jones, Corinne (30 November 2014). "Kiesza: Sound of a Woman review – too much stylistic muddle". The Guardian/The Observer. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  23. ^ a b Fitzmaurice, Larry (22 October 2014). "Kiesza Sound Of A Woman". Pitchfork. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  24. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (14 October 2014). "Kiesza Sound of a Woman". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  25. ^ a b Carley, Brennan (21 October 2014). "SPIN Album of the Week: Kiesza Channels '90s House Divas on 'Sound of a Woman'". Spin. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  26. ^ Elliot Greiner. "Kiesza- Sound of A Woman; Music". Mxdwn. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  27. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Kiesza – Sound Of A Woman" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  28. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kiesza – Sound Of A Woman" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kiesza – Sound Of A Woman" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  30. ^ "Kiesza Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  31. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kiesza – Sound Of A Woman" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  32. ^ "Lescharts.com – Kiesza – Sound Of A Woman". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  33. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kiesza – Sound Of A Woman" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  34. ^ "Artisti - Classifica settimanale WK 43 (dal 20-10-2014 al 26-10-2014)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  35. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Kiesza – Sounf Of A Woman". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  36. ^ "{{{artist}}} | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  37. ^ "Billboard 200: 2014-10-30". Billboard. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  38. ^ "Kiesza Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  39. ^ "Sound of a Woman by Kiesza". iTunes Store. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  40. ^ "Sound Of A Woman – Explicit Version". Livraria Saraiva. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
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