The Beginning (Black Eyed Peas album) explained

The Beginning
Type:studio
Artist:the Black Eyed Peas
Cover:The Beginning (The Black Eyed Peas album).jpg
Border:yes
Caption:Standard edition artwork. The deluxe edition contains a black background and multi-coloured blocks instead of blue blocks.
Recorded:2010
Genre:Pop
Label:Interscope
Prev Title:The E.N.D.
Prev Year:2009
Next Title:Masters of the Sun Vol. 1
Next Year:2018

The Beginning is the sixth studio album by American group the Black Eyed Peas. The album was released on November 26, 2010 by Interscope. It is a prequel to the group's previous album The E.N.D. (2009) and their last credited as the Black Eyed Peas (with a 'the' prefix). The lead single, "The Time (Dirty Bit)", was released on November 9, 2010. The second single was "Just Can't Get Enough" and it was released on February 18, 2011. The final single was "Don't Stop the Party" and was released on June 24, 2011. The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 119,000 copies. The Beginning was the final Black Eyed Peas album to feature Fergie as a member of the group, as well as the last before the group's five year hiatus.

Background

On June 6, 2010, the band confirmed that they were working on a new album in an interview for The Big Issue. The album was described as a sequel to The E.N.D. will.i.am announced that the new album, which "symbolizes growth, new beginnings, and starts a fresh new perspective," would be titled The Beginning and be released on November 30, 2010.[1] The album was officially announced in a press release on October 26, 2010.[2]

Some songs were made available as promotional singles for the album release. The first, "Do It Like This", was released on November 15, 2010,[3] and the second, "Light Up the Night", on November 22, 2010.[4] The Beginning was one of Oprah's Favorite Things for 2010, and members of Oprah's audience were given copies of the album 11 days before its official release.[5]

A tour called The Beginning Massive Stadium Tour began in June 2011 in France and ended in November 2011 with a total of 20 shows.[6]

Singles

Promotional singles

Other notable songs

Critical reception

The Beginning received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. The album was praised for its production, but it was heavily criticized by the lack of appearance of Fergie, will.i.am's vocals, use of Auto-Tune, and lyrics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 47, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[16]

Monica Herrera wrote for Billboard that "the music is expertly produced, but problems arise when Will.i.am claims the same of his wordplay. On the track "Don't Stop the Party," he chest-thumps, "Kill you with my lyricals/Call me verbal criminal." It's a silly boast for an artist who clearly focuses on beats over rhymes, and is probably better off for it."[17] Kevin O'Donnell of Spin described the album as "one of the year's wildest sonic stews" and concluded "Pop's reigning peddlers of dumb fun are actually starting to sound stylishly avant-garde on their sixth album." The Guardians Caroline Sullivan gave the album 3 out of 5 stars calling it "upscale hip-pop" and said that "the Black Eyed Peas have created an album similar to 2009's enormously successful The END, but with more Auto-Tune and less input from the wonderful Fergie."[18] Rolling Stone reviewer Jon Dolan viewed that the album "largely picks up where The E.N.D. left off" and felt that "they give themselves over more fully than ever to the groove palette of club culture, stirring up electro funk, Euro-trance and classic disco."[19] John Bush of Allmusic gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, and noted that although David Guetta only appears on one track "his production job for 2009’s “I Gotta Feeling” casts a long shadow on this record of don't-stop-the-party jams and club-life tracks."[20]

Entertainment Weekly writer Simon Vozick-Levinson gave the album a very positive review and stated "The Beginning wisely sticks with the heavier electronic beats they began importing from European clubs for The E.N.D. — a key ingredient that transformed the Black Eyed Peas from merely major stars to arguably the biggest chart act going [...] Every song is piled high with sticky pop melodies, slick hip-hop rhythms, bright synth parts, and vocals that have been diced and processed to high heaven, all furthering the goal of maximum catchiness."[21] Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune gave the album 1.5 out of 4 stars and called it "the quartet’s tamest, most hook-deprived album in the Fergie era" and stated "the music’s reliance on rhythmic and lyrical repetition (as opposed to progression and surprise) becomes wearying."[22] In his review for The Independent, Andy Gill gave it three out of five stars and wrote "It's a textbook blend of the over-familiar and the electronically treated, though their use of auto-tune and digital-stutter vocal effects is a touch more restrained than usual. From there on, the aspect never extends beyond the dancefloor, with martial synth-stomp riffs, spartan electro beats and loping bass grooves driving tracks."[23] Ben Ratliff of The New York Times gave the album a negative review and noted it similarities with its predecessor, The E.N.D. with few differences, "less of Fergie’s actressy, un-Autotuned belting (too bad about that), bolder two-step techno beats, more heavily draped synthesizer tones and a fascination with late ’70s and early ’80s pop radio." and found the lyrics "soggy" and "cynical."[24] musicOMH writer Luke Winkie stated that "will.i.am's productions sound like the bare minimum one could throw together and call a beat, usually encompassed by a simplified drum sequence and a buzzsaw synth turned up to the red and repeated long enough for DJs to make their paycheck" and wrote "the band has a knack of elongating their elementally good ideas into preposterously tiresome compositions."[25]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 119,000 copies in the United States.[26] It is their third album to chart inside the top ten, but their lowest charting album since Elephunk, which peaked at number 14 in 2003. As of October 2011, the album had sold over 800,000 copies in the United States.[27]

In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 17 selling 34,006 copies. After a performance on The X Factor on December 5, 2010, the album rose eight places to number nine and subsequently spent three weeks in the top ten. In Canada, it debuted at number two selling 27,400 copies in its first week, being kept off the top spot by a margin of 200 copies behind Susan Boyle's The Gift.[28] The album debuted at number one in France, selling 35,653 copies in its first week.[29] It is the Black Eyed Peas' third consecutive number-one album in the country.

In Germany, the album debuted at number five and started to slowly fall down. In its third week, the album was at No. 9 but could jump to No. 7 the following week. Following the success of the single "The Time (Dirty Bit)", the album rose from No. 7 to No. 2 in its fifth week, the album's peak position.[30] [31]

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Credits for The Beginning adapted from Allmusic.[32]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2010–2011)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[33] 18
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[34] 10
Swiss Romandie Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2010)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[36] 42
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[37] 81
French Albums (SNEP)[38] 17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[39] 52
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[40] 29
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[41] 78
UK Albums (OCC)[42] 46
Chart (2011)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[43] 57
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[44] 45
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[45] 21
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[46] 8
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[47] 4
French Albums (SNEP)[48] 6
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[49] 52
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[50] 12
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[51] 18
UK Albums (OCC)[52] 111
US Billboard 200[53] 27

Release history

Region! scope="col"
DateLabelEdition
Australia[54] [55] November 26, 2010Universal Music
Germany[56]
Argentina[57] Deluxe
Poland[58]
United Kingdom[59] November 29, 2010Polydor
France[60]
Hong Kong[61] Universal Music
Mexico[62] November 30, 2010Interscope
Greece
United States
Italy
Japan[63] December 1, 2010Universal Music
Colombia[64]
Brazil[65] [66] December 3, 2010

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: MusicSearch Blog – Black Eyed Peas Reveal New Album Details!. BlackEyedPeas.com. June 10, 2010. September 10, 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110201164224/http://blackeyedpeas.dipdive.com/news/26072. February 1, 2011. mdy-all.
  2. The Black Eyed Peas to Release Brand-New Album – The Beginning – On November 30, 2010. November 26, 2010. PR Newswire. October 29, 2010.
  3. Web site: New Black Eyed Peas Single "Do It Like This" available on iTunes!. https://web.archive.org/web/20101121130304/http://dipdive.com/news/26703. dead. November 21, 2010. November 15, 2010. Dipdive. November 16, 2010.
  4. Web site: Light Up the Night – Single. iTunes Store United States. November 22, 2010.
  5. http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Oprahs-Ultimate-Favorite-Things-2010/21 Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things – Page 21
  6. Black Eyed Peas Testing Waters for Stadium Tour in 2011. November 23, 2010. Gary. Graff. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. November 14, 2010.
  7. Web site: Top 40/M Future Releases | Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release . Allaccess.com . December 2, 2010.
  8. Web site: Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases | R&B Song and Hip-Hop Music Release Dates | . Allaccess.com . December 2, 2010.
  9. Web site: Top 40/M Future Releases | Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates . Allaccess.com . February 19, 2012.
  10. Web site: Look at the 2/8 section on mainstream . Fmqb.com . February 19, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110527163502/http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=16691 . May 27, 2011 .
  11. Web site: The next single is.... . January 21, 2011 . BlackEyedPeas.com . January 22, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110124214450/http://www.blackeyedpeas.com/home/news/818777 . January 24, 2011 .
  12. News: BEPnews. The next BEP single is..... May 12, 2011. Black Eyed Peas.com. May 9, 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130106161148/http://www.blackeyedpeas.com/home/news/825396. January 6, 2013. mdy-all.
  13. Web site: Corner. Lewis. Black Eyed Peas unveil new music video – Music News – Digital Spy. Digital Spy. May 11, 2011 . May 12, 2011.
  14. The Black Eyed Peas Chart History, Canadian Hot 100 . . August 23, 2018.
  15. Web site: The Black Eyed Peas choisit "Whenever". Pure Charts in France. fr. August 24, 2011. Thierry. Cadet. July 7, 2021.
  16. Web site: The Beginning Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic . CBS Interactive . . January 22, 2011.
  17. Herrera. Monica. The Black Eyed Peas, "The Beginning" Billboard.com. Billboard. December 2, 2010. November 19, 2010.
  18. Web site: Sullivan. Caroline. Black Eyes Peas: The Beginning – review Music . The Guardian . December 2, 2010. November 25, 2010.
  19. Dolan. Jon. The Beginning by Black Eyed Peas Rolling Stone Music Music Reviews. Rolling Stone. December 2, 2010. November 30, 2010.
  20. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=the-beginning-r2067866/review|pure_url=yes}} The Beginning – The Black Eyed Peas ]. John. Bush. Rovi Corporation. June 25, 2020.
  21. Vozick-Levinson. Simon. The Beginning Music. https://web.archive.org/web/20101127024952/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20444705,00.html. dead. November 27, 2010. Entertainment Weekly. December 2, 2010. November 24, 2010.
  22. Web site: Kot. Greg. Turn It Up: Album review: Black Eyed Peas, 'The Beginning'. Chicago Tribune. December 2, 2010. November 26, 2010.
  23. News: Gill. Andy. Album: Black Eyed Peas, The Beginning (Interscope/Polydor) – Reviews, Music – The Independent. The Independent . December 2, 2010. November 26, 2010.
  24. News: Ratliff. Ben. CDs from Black Eyed Peas, Calle 13 and Eric Benét - Review . The New York Times. December 2, 2010. November 29, 2010.
  25. Web site: Winkie. Luke. The Black Eyed Peas – The Beginning album reviews . musicOMH. December 2, 2010. November 29, 2010.
  26. Caulfield. Keith. Boyle Back to No. 1 on Billboard 200, Peas Begin At No. 6 Billboard.com. Billboard. December 9, 2010. December 8, 2010.
  27. Langhorne, Cyrus. Chris Brown's Fame Glows Gold, Wiz Khalifa Rolls Back Into Top 10, Nicki Minaj Rides A Small Boost . SOHH. 4CONTROL Media. Retrieved on May 4, 2011.
  28. Web site: CANOE – JAM! Music – Artists – Boyle, Susan: Boyle battles Peas on charts. https://archive.today/20120710130346/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/B/Boyle_Susan/2010/12/08/16473781.html. usurped. July 10, 2012. Williams. John. CANOE Jam!. December 9, 2010. December 8, 2010. mdy-all.
  29. Web site: Ventes de disques : Black Eyed Peas devant Jean-Louis Aubert . fr . LeParisien . December 16, 2010 . December 7, 2010.
  30. Web site: Black Eyed Peas im Höhenflug – media control . Media-control.de . February 19, 2012.
  31. Web site: Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche . musicline.de . February 19, 2012.
  32. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=the-beginning-r2067866/credits|pure_url=yes}} The Beginning – Black Eyed Peas ]. AllMusic . December 2, 2010.
  33. Web site: ČNS IFPI. cs. Hitparáda – TOP50 Prodejní. IFPI Czech Republic. December 9, 2010.
  34. Web site: The Beginning / Black Eye Peas . ja . . April 4, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20230417130306/https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/144588/products/896225/1/. live. April 17, 2023.
  35. Web site: Les charts de la Suisse romande. Lescharts.ch. 12 June 2019.
  36. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums 2010. ARIA. February 24, 2014.
  37. Web site: Rapports Annuels 2010. Ultratop. June 21, 2020.
  38. Web site: Top de l'année Top Albums 2010. SNEP. fr. June 12, 2021.
  39. Web site: VIVA Album Top 50 - Alle Musikvideos - Chart . VIVA.tv . 2014-03-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110108131925/http://www.viva.tv/charts/viva-album-jahrescharts-2010-2010-211/ . January 8, 2011 .
  40. http://www.amprofon.com.mx/Archivos/PDF/top_anual/Top_100_Album_2010.pdf
  41. Web site: Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2010 – hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. June 21, 2020.
  42. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2010. Official Charts Company. June 21, 2020.
  43. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums 2011. ARIA. February 24, 2014.
  44. Web site: Jahreshitparade Alben 2011. austriancharts.at. June 12, 2021. de.
  45. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2011. Ultratop. June 21, 2020.
  46. Web site: Rapports Annuels 2011. Ultratop. June 21, 2020.
  47. Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2011. . February 19, 2012.
  48. Web site: Top de l'année Top Albums 2011. SNEP. fr. June 12, 2021.
  49. Web site: MTV | Album Jahrescharts 2011 | charts . Mtv.de . December 31, 2011 . February 19, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120111012418/http://www.mtv.de/charts/Album_Jahrescharts_2011 . January 11, 2012 .
  50. http://www.amprofon.com.mx/Archivos/PDF/top_anual/Top_100_Album_2011.pdf
  51. Web site: Steffen Hung . Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2011 . hitparade.ch . February 19, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130815083859/http://hitparade.ch/year.asp?key=2011 . August 15, 2013 .
  52. Web site: End Of Year Chart 2011. Official Charts Company. March 23, 2021.
  53. Web site: Billboard 200 Year-End 2011. Billboard.BIZ . May 4, 2012.
  54. http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/music/urban-grooves/beginning-the-deluxe-edition/582339 Deluxe Edition
  55. http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/music/urban-grooves/beginning-the/584258 Standard Edition
  56. Web site: The Beginning: Black Eyed Peas: Amazon.de: Musik . Amazon.de . February 19, 2012.
  57. http://www.tematika.com/cds/rp_internacional--1/rp_internacional--1/the_beginning--522304.htm
  58. Web site: The Beginning PL – Black Eyed Peas za 37,99 zł . pl . empik.com . November 26, 2010 . February 19, 2012.
  59. Web site: The Beginning: The Black Eyed Peas: Amazon.co.uk: Music . Amazon.co.uk . February 19, 2012.
  60. Web site: The Beginning – Edition Super Deluxe : The Black Eyed Peas en CD album : tous les disques à la Fnac . Musique.fnac.com . June 17, 2009 . December 2, 2010.
  61. Web site: BLACK EYED PEAS / BEGINNING (2CD) – HMV Hong Kong . Hmv.com.hk . December 2, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160131215007/http://www.hmv.com.hk/product/dance.asp?sku=219233 . January 31, 2016 . dead .
  62. Web site: Mixup Music Store . https://web.archive.org/web/20101207060619/http://www.mixup.com/mixup/Product.aspx?sku=602527557830 . dead . December 7, 2010 . Mixup.com . November 25, 2009 . December 2, 2010 .
  63. Web site: The Beginning-Deluxe Edition-(Special Edition (Deluxe))【CD】-Black Eyed Peas Release Country: Japan｜Hip Hop & Rap｜Dance & Soul｜Music｜HMV ONLINE Buy Music & Movie CD / DVD . Hmv.co.jp . February 19, 2012.
  64. Web site: The Time (Dirty Bit) Nuevo Vídeo de Black Eyed Peas . Facebook . Entertainment Store . November 26, 2010 . November 26, 2010 . es . dead . https://archive.today/20121129125722/http://www.facebook.com/notes/entertainment-store/the-time-dirty-bit-nuevo-video-de-black-eyed-peas/168436486520678 . November 29, 2012.
  65. Web site: Temos mais de 4.650.737 títulos esperando por você . Livraria Cultura . February 19, 2012 . dead . https://archive.today/20120630132304/http://www.livrariacultura.com.br/scripts/musica/resenha/resenha.asp?nitem=22361093&sid=2051661091298293541897653&k5=7F88FBC&uid= . June 30, 2012 . mdy-all .
  66. http://sonora.terra.com.br/#/cd/172257/the_beginning Black Eyed Peas/The Beginning – Músicas – Terra Sonora:Sonora

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