''Without Regret'' is the first major-label (and second overall) album from ''American Idol'' season two seventh place finalist,

Kimberly Caldwell Kimberly Ann Caldwell-Harvey is an American singer, actress and television hostess. She rose to fame when she was a finalist on the second season of ''American Idol''. After her American Idol stint, Caldwell was an entertainment correspondent ...

. The album was released on April 19, 2011.

Background

Caldwell signed a record deal with

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

and

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, and her debut album ''Without Regret'' was scheduled to be released on April 6, 2010, but was delayed to a July 2010 release date due to the addition of three new songs: the single "Desperate Girls & Stupid Boys", "Naked" and "Hotter Without You", which replaced the songs "Cost of Love", "When I'm Not Around" and " Sleep While I Drive". In December 2009, she released her first single "Mess of You" and in December 2010 she released "Desperate Girls & Stupid Boys". The video for "Desperate Girls & Stupid Boys" premiered on January 18, 2011 on VEVO. ''Without Regret'' was delayed again to December 31 and after a fourth delay, the album was finally released on April 19, 2011, over a year after the original release date.

Release and reception

The album received negative reviews.

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 ...

critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

gave a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars, writing: "''Without Regret'' is designed as a reminder – a full-blown, air-brushed, impeccably manicured collection of power ballads and updated arena rock designed to showcase Caldwell's strut. Frequently, all these machinations just wind up playing like a straitjacketed, tempered-down Kelly Clarkson, retaining the oversized production but lacking the gargantuan hooks or personality, for that matter." Jonathan Keefe of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' gave the album's rating a 1.5 out of 5 stars, writing: "Something that Caldwell struggled with during her time on ''American Idol'' was with song selections, and ''Without Regret'' is undone by some frankly awful songwriting. ... Still, Caldwell does her damndest to sell the terrible material with conviction and sincerity. Her voice is actually interesting: Her husky alto has a heavy rasp, and she displays quite a bit of power in her lower register."

Singles

"Mess of You" was released as the first single on Caldwell's official website and MySpace page on December 17, 2009. "Desperate Girls & Stupid Boys" was the second single released on December 3, 2010, which led to Caldwell to push back the release of the album to its current release date. The song debuted at number 30 on ''Billboard''s Hot Dance Club Play Chart. *"Naked" was released as the third single in 2011.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for ''Without Regret'' adapted from

.http://www.allmusic.com/album/without-regret-mw0001965455/credits Without Regret Album credits. *Marshall Altman – arranger, percussion, producer, programming, string arrangements, background vocals *Adam Ayan – mastering *John Baxter – vocal producer *Matt Beard – photography *Kimberly Caldwell – vocals *Michael Chaves – additional production, acoustic and electric guitars *Angelica Cob–Baehler – creative director *Justin Cortelyou – engineer, vocal editing *Richard Dodd – mastering *Andy Grush – keyboards *Tommy Henriksen – bass, engineer, guitar, keyboards, mixing, percussion, piano, producer, programming, synthesizer *Sean Hurley – bass *Izler – electric guitar *Allison Kaplan – background vocals *Tim Lauer – keyboards, synthesizer *MachoPsycho – producer, synthesizer *Jon Maddux – engineer *Steven Melrose – A&R *Ari Michelson – photography *

Jamie Muhoberac Benjamin Edward "Jamie" Muhoberac is an American session keyboardist with numerous credits. He is best known for his work with Seal and Was (Not Was). Biography Muhoberac has worked with acts including The All-American Rejects, Fleetwood Mac, Bob ...

– bass, keyboards, piano *Daniel Piscina – assistant engineer, digital editing *Keely Hawkes Pressly – background vocals *Zac Rae – effects, Fender Rhodes, noise, organ (Hammond), piano, synthesizer, Wurlitzer *Eric Robinson – additional production, engineer, mixing *Jason Roller – acoustic guitar *John-Mark Baxter Seltzer – guitar, piano, producer, vocal producer, background vocals *Carrie Smith – art direction, design, package design *Chris Steffen – assistant engineer *Aaron Sterling – drums, percussion *Joe Zook – additional production, mixing

References

{{Authority control 2011 debut albums Albums produced by Marshall Altman Kimberly Caldwell albums Capitol Records albums Vanguard Records albums Albums produced by Tommy Henriksen