''Lee Ryan'' is the debut and only solo studio album to be released by

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

band-member and singer,

Lee Ryan Lee Ryan (born 17 June 1983) is an English singer, songwriter and actor, best known as a member of the boy band Blue. Ryan took part in the BBC series '' Strictly Come Dancing''. He was partnered with professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova and was ...

. The album was the first to be released from the millionaire contract that the singer made with the label Sony BMG and from it 4 singles were released, all of them appearing on charts in Europe. The album was moderately successful and reached silver and gold records in the UK and Italy, respectively.

Background and production

At the end of February 2005 Lee Ryan was diagnosed with nodules on his throat, causing the cancellation of the farewell tour of

. The tour was scheduled to start on 11 of March. With no further plans with the band, all members decided to focus on their solo projects. According to the spokesperson of the band this was "not the end" and "they're taking a break, but they haven't officially split". Ryan revealed on

ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...

documentary ''

The Big Reunion ''The Big Reunion'' is a British reality-documentary series that began airing on ITV2 on 31 January 2013. The show featured chart-topping bands who were big in the UK pop music scene between the 1990s and early 2000s, and the programme followed ...

'' that soon after, he was approached by record executives to pursue a solo career. He signed a $1.1 million record deal with

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

and was looked after by music chief Hugh Goldsmith to help him produce and write his debut album. The record label had high hopes for his career, hoping that he would become the new

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

. Lee Ryan admitted that there were parallels between himself and the former Take That star, but is reluctant to encourage the comparison. He said: "Aside from making a similar career change, I don't want to be compared too heavily with Robbie's style - but I do admire him for his success as a solo artist." According to an interview with Craig McLean, Ryan wrote a lot of tracks for the album, enough to fill half of his second album as well. He mainly worked with Ash Howes and

Martin Harrington Martin Harrington is a British songwriter, record producer and music publisher. He has written songs for many music artists including Emma Bunton, Five, Celine Dion, Ed Sheeran, Natalie Imbruglia and Blue. See also *Music of the United Kingdom ...

, who had already worked with

Natalie Imbruglia Natalie Jane Imbruglia ( , ; born 4 February 1975) is an Australian singer and actress. In the early 1990s, she played Beth Brennan in the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours''. Three years after leaving the programme, she began a singing car ...

and

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

, while had recently produced

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

's hit single

Love at First Sight Love at first sight is a personal experience as well as a common trope in literature: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. Described by p ...

. Lee Ryan wanted to collaborate with Kylie Minogue, hoping she would sing backing vocals on a track. His plans unfortunately never materialised.

Army of Lovers Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance- pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the E ...

was chosen as the first single of the album.

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cosmetic ...

also signed Ryan up to be the face of their new line of clothing in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Ryan did not receive any money for the deal, he was just going to be provided with many new clothes and he should wear at least one piece of Dolce & Gabbana when promoting the album or performing live.

Release and promotion

The album was released on 1 August 2005, debuting at #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 ...

which was its peak position. It remained inside the top 75 for another three weeks before disappearing from the chart completely. The album was also released in Europe to moderate success. It managed thought to reach #3 in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Ryan did several appearances to European television channels in order to promote his album, including an appearance in

TVP2 TVP 2 (TVP Dwa, ''Program II Telewizji Polskiej'', ''"Dwójka"'') is a Polish public mainstream TV channel operated by TVP. Launched in October 1970, its varied line-up contains a variety of programming (documentary, history, talk-shows, game-sh ...

, where he sang an unplugged version of "In the Morning" and Italy where he sang the Italian version of the first single

"Ho Te". Shortly after the release of the album Ryan released his second single,

Turn Your Car Around "Turn Your Car Around" is the second single released from Blue member Lee Ryan's debut solo album, ''Lee Ryan''. The track peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, also reaching the top 20 in several other European countries, including number t ...

, which was also moderately successful, doing no boost to the album sales, which remained outside the top 75 in the UK. January 2006 saw the release of the album's third single

When I Think of You "When I Think of You" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her third studio album, ''Control'' (1986). It was released on July 28, 1986, as the album's third single. Composed by songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Le ...

, which peaked at #15 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 ...

and while it succeed in promoting the album's sales a bit, as the album re-entered the UK Albums Chart for four more weeks, it became Ryan's last release from the album in the

. The album's fourth single, Real Love, was not released in the

due to poor sales of the album and its former singles, however, the song was released across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and was used as the theme to the film '' Ice Age: The Meltdown.'' Ryan also secured a vocal role in the British version of the film. The song received additional production from Brian Rawling and Paul Meehanfor its release as a single. Because of the album poor sales Ryan was later dropped from his record label.

Singles

was the first single from the album, released on 18 July 2005. The single peaked at #3 on the

, but found higher success staying at #1 for four weeks in

. The physical single featured an acoustic version of the song, an album sampler featuring samples of "When I Think of You", "Parking" and "Jump" and the music video. The second singe released from the album was

on 10 October 2005. The single peaked at #12 on the

, but found higher success peaking at #2 in

and reaching #1 in the European Top 20. The physical single featured three b-sides: "Best of You (BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge)", "These Words (Gold Horizons)" and "Movin' On", as well as the music video. The Italian version of the single also included the song "Ho Te", the Italian version of the first single

. "

" was the third song to be released as single from the album on 30 January 2006. The single peaked at #15 on the

, before dropping out of the top forty the following week. The physical single featured a new B-side called "I Can Let Go Now". A final single was released from the album, which also served as the lead single from the film soundtrack Ice Age: The Meltdown. The song Real Love received additional production from Brian Rawling and Paul Meehanfor, being released on 7 April 2006. The single was not released in the UK due to the low sales of the album and the mediocre sales of the previous singles, however it found success in

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The single also featured a club remix by the Sharp Boys.

Critical reception

The critical reception of the album was mixed to negative. Jon O'Brien from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the album 3,5 out of 5 stars, stating that "Ryan has produced a surprisingly sophisticated and authentic debut". He also gave credit to his vocal abilities while recognising his "undeniable talents". Michael Hubbard from

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 ...

found that Lee Ryan's debut album "showcases vocal prowess" but he thought that the songs "are a mixed bag of made-to-order drivetime ditties and flaccid shelf filler". Bine Jankowski of

Laut.de laut.de is a German online magazine dealing exclusively with entertainment music, especially pop music, rock music, alternative music, alternative, Metal music, metal, hip-hop, jazz and Techno music, techno. It comprises record reviews, intervi ...

gave 2 out of 5 stars, commenting that the album was extremely mainstream, ideal for dentist's waiting rooms and lifts. Caroline Sullivan commented on Lee Ryan's debut album as a disappointment, while reviewing

Simon Webbe Simon Solomon Webbe (born 30 March 1979) is a British singer. He is best known as a member of the boy band Blue, forming in 2000 before splitting in 2005 and reforming in 2009, selling over 15 million records. Webbe released three solo studio a ...

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

Track listing

;Notes * signifies a co-producer * signifies a remixer

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee Ryan (Album) 2005 debut albums Lee Ryan albums Albums produced by Cutfather Pop rock albums by English artists