''X'' is the third and final studio album to be released by British-Irish pop group

Liberty X Liberty X (originally called Liberty) are a British-Irish group originally consisting of Michelle Heaton, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young. The group was formed by the five finalists of the 2001 ITV talent show ''Popstars' ...

, released on 10 October 2005. The album was the band's first release on the

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

label, after being dropped from

V2 Records V2 Records (or V2 Music; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007 and sold to IASin 2013. In the Benelux, V2 operates separately from PIAS, as the label bought itself out from ...

in 2004. The album was released two years after their previous album, ''

Being Somebody ''Being Somebody'' is the second studio album by English-Irish pop vocal group Liberty X. It was released on 3 November 2003 via V2 Records. The album was released a year-and-a-half after their debut release, '' Thinking It Over''. The album pea ...

''. The album was the least successful of their three studio albums, only peaking at number 27 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 ...

and selling less than 50,000 copies.

Background

After being dropped from the

label, the band were quick to sign a record deal with rival label

, and began recording their third studio album in April 2005. The label decided the band should experiment with their sound, and thus, enlisted the help of their long-time collaborators

Goldust Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE ...

and

Lucas Secon Lucas Secon, (born 3 November 1970) also known by the stage name Lucas, is a record producer, songwriter and rapper. He has written and produced for artists including the Pussycat Dolls, Alesso, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Kylie Minogu ...

, as well as working with new collaborators, including Jud Mahoney, Pete "Boxsta" Martin and Johnny Douglas. The band also enlisted the help of rapper

Rev Run Joseph Ward Simmons (born November 14, 1964), better known by the stage name Run, Rev. Run or DJ Run, is an American rapper, producer, DJ and television personality. Simmons is one of the founding members of the influential hip hop group Ru ...

, who feature on two of the album's ten new tracks. The band also decided to spice up four of their old classic hits, of which new mixes appear on the end of the album. The album's first single, "

Song 4 Lovers "Song 4 Lovers" is a song by English-Irish pop band Liberty X, released as the lead single from their third studio album, '' X'' (2005). The song features uncredited vocals from Rev Run of Run-D.M.C. and was produced by Liberty X member Tony Lun ...

", featuring

, was written and produced by band member Tony Lundon. For the track, Lundon experimented with the

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and

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areas of music, as well as venturing into hip hop with the feature of

on the track. The album's second single, " A Night to Remember", a cover of the

Shalamar Shalamar () is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer ...

original, was released on 14 November 2005, as the official Children in Need single of the year. It was also backed with another cover of a disco track, "Everybody Dance" written by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. Neither "A Night to Remember" nor "Everybody Dance" feature on the original edition of the album, they are only listed as the album's second single due to their inclusion on the Xtra Edition. From January 2006, the band began touring the album on a small, theatre tour across 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 ...

. Once the tour was complete, the band returned to film a music video for the track "X", which was released as the album's third and final single on 19 June 2006. Despite the release of a new single and a re-issue of the album entitled the Xtra Edition released two weeks later featuring "A Night to Remember" and "Everybody Dance", the album only managed to peak at number 27, and the band were dropped from the label shortly after. An Australian edition of the album, packaged with a bonus DVD containing several of the band's music videos, became the band's last ever official release anywhere in the world. "It's OK" and "Everybody Dance" were omitted from certain versions of the album for contractual reasons.

Critical reception

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 ...

editor Jon O'Brien found that "''X'' is unfortunately not a swan song reflective of Liberty X's capabilities. Unlike their debut, which managed to capture the pop/R&B zeitgeist effortlessly, ''X'' is bogged down by dated production, lifeless ballads, and clichéd attempts at hip-hop ..The band is certainly one of the better pop groups of the early noughties, but instead of going out with a bang, they've gone out with a bit of a damp squib."

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:X (Liberty X Album) Liberty X albums 2005 albums 2006 albums Virgin Records albums