''Bad Intentions'' is the debut solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

from British rapper, singer, and songwriter

Dappy Costadinos Contostavlos (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Κοντόσταυλος; born 11 June 1987), better known by his stage name Dappy, is a British rapper and singer. He is the lead singer of the Camden-based hip hop and grime trio N- ...

, released on 22 October 2012 via Takeover Entertainment Limited and

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. The album is Dappy's first studio material released since the split of his previous hip-hop band,

N-Dubz N-Dubz are an English hip hop trio from Camden Town, London, consisting of cousins Dappy and Tulisa, and Fazer. After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, N-Dubz briefly signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the Wor ...

. The release of the album was announced in July 2011. On 3 July 2012, the album was confirmed for release on 1 October, however, the album was later pushed back two weeks to 15 October before eventually being released on 22 October. ''Bad Intentions'' includes guest appearances from English musician

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...

, English-Irish boy band

The Wanted The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band consisting of group members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes and, until his death in 2022, Tom Parker (singer), Tom Parker. The group was formed in 2009 and signed a worldw ...

and upcoming British rapper Margs. The album produced two singles before the release, the lead single " No Regrets" which entered at number 1 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, "

Rockstar Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to: Films * ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg * ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali * ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...

" featuring

which attained similar success and " Good Intentions". The fourth single "Yin Yang" failed to peak within the top 40. The album debuted at number 6 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

, number 12 on the

Scottish Albums Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

and number 34 on the

Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). The charts were previously compiled on behalf of IRMA by Chart-Track, and have been compiled by the ...

while receiving mixed to negative reviews from critics.

Background

After

decided to take an indefinite break to begin work on solo projects, following their departure from American record label

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

, it was revealed that Dappy intended to pursue a solo career. He commented in an interview, "I want to do the unexpected and I want to break barriers." In the same interview, he insisted that he "wished to push his music style and motives in alternative directions."N-Dubz star Dappy has ‘big goals’ for his solo career
pressparty.com. Thursday, 21 July 2011. His first solo effort was a collaboration with fellow rapper

Tinchy Stryder Kwasi Esono Danquah III ( ; born 14 September 1986), known by the stage name Tinchy Stryder, is a Ghanaian British, Ghanaian-British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor. Stryder has released three solo (music), solo studio al ...

, on the lead single from his fourth studio album, ''Full Tank'', entitled " Spaceship". He later revealed his debut solo single, " No Regrets", and announced that his debut solo record would be entitled ''Bad Intentions''. Shortly after the announcement, "

" was later revealed as the album's second single. Concurrently, at the time of the recording, Dappy recorded a cover of

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's "We Will Rock You", entitled "Rock You", which appears on the deluxe edition of the album in the form of a

Radio 1 Live Lounge ''Radio 1's Live Lounge'' is a collection of live tracks played on Jo Whiley's Radio 1 show. It consists of both covers and the bands' own songs. Originally, it was scheduled for release in May 2006, but later changed to be released on 16 Octob ...

performance. Both tracks feature instrumental performances from

. In a press interview in April 2012, Dappy revealed that the album's third single was set to be called "Dare to Dream". The track was not released, and does not appear on the album, and it remains unknown whether the track was re-titled or removed from the album completely.

Singles

" No Regrets" was released as the album's lead single on 18 September 2011, peaking at #1 on the

and #8 in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Dappy's

bandmate,

Fazer Fazer () is one of the largest corporations in the Finnish food industry. The company was founded by Karl Fazer in 1891, as a "French-Russian confectionery" in central Helsinki. Today, it employs over ten thousand people across Finland, Sweden, R ...

, makes a cameo appearance in the music video for the track, playing the piano in the bridge section. The track was originally recorded by

, during recording sessions in America for their debut American release, but remained unreleased until Dappy released it as a solo track in September 2011. "

", a collaboration with Queen guitarist

, was released as the album's second single on 26 February 2012. It peaked at #2 on the

, being held off the top spot by

Gotye Wouter André "Wally" De Backer (born 21 May 1980), better known by his stage name Gotye ( ), is a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. The name "Gotye" is a pronunciation respelling of "Gauthier", the French cognat ...

's "

Somebody That I Used to Know "Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song written, produced, and performed by Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter Gotye featuring vocals from New Zealand singer Kimbra. The song was released in Australia and New Zealand by Eleven Music on 5 ...

" featuring

Kimbra Kimbra Lee Johnson (born 27 March 1990), known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Known for mixing pop with R&B, jazz and rock musical elements, her accolades include four ARIA Music Awards, two Grammy Awards and se ...

. The track was written and recorded as a solo piece, and the collaboration with Brian May did not occur until several months later, when the guitarist favoured Dappy's material. The third single, " Good Intentions", was released on 16 September 2012. The release of the track was first confirmed by Dappy at

T4 on the Beach T4 on the Beach was an annual British one-day music event which was held on the beach at Weston-super-Mare and televised on Channel 4. The event began in 2003 as Pop Beach in Great Yarmouth, changing to the current title and venue in 2005. The d ...

. The track premiered on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Xtra on 8 August. A music video for the track was filmed in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

during July 2012. Dappy said of the single, "Hope you like it guys... Something a little different for ya... Just speaking from the heart...". The single peaked at number 12 on the

, becoming Dappy's first single to chart outside the top 10. "Yin Yang" was to be released as the album's fourth single on 10 December 2012. The music video for the track premiered on 14 October. The track premiered on

Xtra on 10 October. Similarly to "Good Intentions", the music video for the track was filmed in

during July 2012. It failed to chart within the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 73, becoming the album's and Dappy's least-successful single. It was later replaced as the fourth single by 'I.O.U', which was released on 6 February 2013.

Other songs

" I'm Coming (Tarzan Part 2)" was released as a promotional single on 3 July 2012. A music video was also filmed for the track, which also debuted on 3 July. The track peaked at #35 on the

after a week of sales. The track was deemed controversial for its derogatory take on pop culture."I'm Coming (Tarzan, Pt. 2) – Single by Dappy – Download I'm Coming (Tarzan, Pt. 2) – Single on iTunes"
''

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

''. " Come with Me" with Margs, Dawood and

Retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...

was originally to be released as the third single on 12 August 2012, however "Good Intentions" was released instead. To this date the video remains unreleased and the single was removed from purchase just days after release, and only charted at number 101 on the

Critical reception

''Bad Intentions'' received mainly negative reviews from contemporary

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. Lewis Corner of

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

felt that the two lead singles "have already proven themselves radio-friendly anthems. Big strings, ear-snagging choruses and the occasional bit of witty wordplay makes them the most listenable of the set", however "the bulk of Bad Intentions fails to appeal", rating the album 2 out of 5 stars.

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

's Tim Lee believed that the album "doesn't lack bravado" and compared Dappy's album to ''

The Marshall Mathers LP ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' is the third studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on May 23, 2000, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was produced mostly by Dr. Dre and Eminem, along with The 45 King, the Bass Br ...

'' by

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

, saying that "Dappy would love Bad Intentions to be considered in a similar vein o The Marshall Mathers LP but "it misses out on replicating anything good from it" and "lacks wit, inventiveness and even the decency to stick to its cause". British newspaper ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'' rated ''Bad Intentions'' 1 out of 5 stars, saying: "an inventory of violent sexism, hilariously inept arrhythmic rapping and r’n’b 'skits' that make

Chris Moyles Christopher David Moyles (born 22 February 1974) is an English radio and television presenter, author and presenter of ''The Chris Moyles Show'' on Radio X. Previously he has presented ''The Chris Moyles Show'' on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 20 ...

sound like

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

", demeaning its "constant sexual braggadocio". Andy Gill of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' viewed the album's content as mostly angry: "He constantly boils over into splenetic, scattershot anger. Even the album's most heartfelt ballad, "Good Intentions", seethes with righteous anger". Rahul Bahal of ''The Upcoming'' credits Dappy's flow and delivery, that have a "unique quality" and are of "a decent standard", but criticises the album's production and themes: "The problem with the album remains its ties to N-Dubz, who Dappy has failed to escape. It seems he has made no progression beyond what he did with his group, except for talking about himself more", giving the album 2 out of 5 stars. Ian Gittins of

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, Cable television, television and Internet access, internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Engla ...

compared Dappy to American rapper

due to the album's comedic themes: "This lack of gravitas bedevils this utterly generic, predictable, dreary record. Congratulations to Dappy: he's unwittingly made the comedy record of the year."

Commercial performance

Upon release ''Bad Intentions'' entered the

at number six. The following week it dropped thirty-three places down to number 39, spending a total of four weeks within the top 100. The album entered at number 8 on the

UK Download Chart The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The main chart co ...

and number 1 on the

UK R&B Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

. The album entered the

at number 34, remaining on the chart for one week. On the

, ''Bad Intentions'' entered at number 12.

Track listing

* The album's track listing was confirmed by

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

on 3 July 2012,Dappy – Bad Intentions: Deluxe Edition: Ltd
''

HMV Group Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

''. however, on 17 August, the track listing was revised.Bad Intentions (Play.com Exclusive)
''

Play.com Rakuten.co.uk is a website owned by Rakuten, that operates as an online marketplace. The website does not sell any products directly, but instead allows third party sellers to sell their products. The website replaced Play.com, which was origin ...

''. On 26 September, the album's track listing was confirmed via

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

with the length of each track being revealed. The

edition also includes three bonus music videos.iTunes – Music – Bad Intentions (Deluxe Edition) by Dappy
Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved on 7 October 2012.

Chart performance

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2012 debut albums Takeover Entertainment albums Dappy albums Albums produced by Nathan Retro Albums produced by David Dawood Albums produced by Fraser T. Smith Island Records albums Albums produced by TMS (production team)