Young Foolish Happy

''Young Foolish Happy'' is the second studio album by English singer Pixie Lott, released on 11 November 2011 by Mercury Records. Lott enlisted previous collaborators Mads Hauge, Phil Thornalley, Toby Gad, Steve Kipner and Andrew Frampton to handle production for the album, in addition to new collaborators such as Tim Powell, The Matrix and Rusko. The album also includes collaborations with artists such as Stevie Wonder and John Legend.

Upon its release, ''Young Foolish Happy'' was met with mixed reviews from music critics; while some reviewers found the album solid, others viewed it as formulaic and short of originality, and felt it lacks the "charm" of Lott's debut album, '' Turn It Up'' (2009). The album debuted at number 18 on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 18,503 copies, failing to match the commercial success of its predecessor. It spawned the UK number-one single " All About Tonight" and the top-10 singles "What Do You Take Me For?" and "Kiss the Stars".

Background and release

Lott began work on the album in Los Angeles in January 2011. In April 2011 she told ''Digital Spy'', "There are a couple of really cool collaborations on the album and I've already worked with some big people, but I can't say who they are just in case those tracks don't make the final cut", describing the sound as "still pop stuff, but maybe a little more soulful. That's the kind of thing that I'm into. That influence is stronger on this album." On 17 September 2011, Lott revealed the album title, which is inspired by The Tams' 1968 song "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy". She stated, "It's a song I grew up listening to, from a young age. I grew up listening to a lot of soul music and I think this album sounds more this kind of way. It's a message that I've always really liked and I think it's important that need to people remember, it's just motivating and inspirational."

The album was initially scheduled for release in the United Kingdom on 7 November 2011, but it was eventually pushed back a week to 14 November. To celebrate the launch of the Pixie Collection, London-based women's clothing retailer Lipsy offered the first 10,000 customers a voucher to redeem on Lott's official website and obtain the album for £3 off.

Singles

" All About Tonight" was released on 2 September 2011 as the album's lead single. Lott premiered the song on BBC Radio 1's ''The Chris Moyles Show'' on 11 July 2011. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Lott's third UK number one. "All About Tonight" also reached number nine on the Irish Singles Chart, Lott's second highest-peaking single on the chart after " Boys and Girls" (2009).

Second single "What Do You Take Me For?", featuring rapper Pusha T, was released on 4 November 2011. The track reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and number 30 on the Irish Singles Chart.

"Kiss the Stars" was released on 29 January 2012 as third and final single from the album, peaking at number eight in the UK and number 33 in Ireland.

Critical reception

''Young Foolish Happy'' received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Kim Dawson and John Earls of the '' Daily Star'' opined that "there's nothing foolish about healbum" and that " irking teeny-bop options for proper soul passion helps her silky voice shine". BBC Music's Fraser McAlpine felt that the album has "little of the magic that characterised her debut's highs" and criticised Lott for "working with songwriters who are capable of a finely tuned pastiche or two", but nevertheless cited "Nobody Does It Better" and "You Win" as "notable exceptions". Rick Pearson of the ''London Evening Standard'' noted that Lott "opts for a more soulful direction this time around, something that works better with her wind tunnel of a vocal. She's still guilty of imitation rather than innovation, however, particularly on the synth-heavy 'All about Tonight', which is a craven rip-off of a Katy Perry record. But an identity is the only thing that's lacking here." AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine named the "Motown-mythologizing" "Stevie on the Radio" one of the "brighter, better songs n the album largely because it has bigger beats and hooks", but commented that "the rest of the record has the form of a blockbuster record but lacks the requisite rhythms or hooks and its scale dampens Lott's spunky personality, which was her primary charm on her debut."

Ben Chalk of MSN Music wrote that while the ballads are "the real weak point", the uptempo material is "a vast improvement". Chalk continued, "Where debut '' Turn It Up'' showcased an original writing talent which belied the giggly blonde Essex girl persona, ''Young Foolish Happy'' sometimes lapses into a pastiche of Pixie's musical heroes." Duncan Gillespie of ''NME'' found "All About Tonight" and "What Do You Take Me For?" to be "quite good", but dismissed Lott's "''Jools Holland''-ready retropop collaboration with Stevie Wonder" as "horrible, but still not horrible enough. Rather than righteous ire, you're left with only a sense of moral and cultural confusion, rather as if you'd caught yourself lusting after an ironing board." Simon Gage of the ''Daily Express'' stated that although ''Young Foolish Happy'' is a "pretty solid album of bouncy pop numbers", artists like Adele, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry leave "artists like Pixie out in the cold", adding that the album "has all the catchiness you would expect from last year's golden girl, but this year is a very different place." Virgin Media's Ian Gittins agreed, commenting that the album is "adequate, but never special: lacking Perry's raunch, Gaga's glitz, Adele's larynx or Jessie J's sass, it looks like Pixie Lott is set to remain a decidedly B-list pop star." Kevin Mathews of Singaporean newspaper ''Today'' expressed that the album "contains enough vocal and rhythmic hooks to keep the pop public sated as tracks like 'Come Get It Now', 'All About Tonight' and 'Nobody Does It Better' deliver in all these departments with some aplomb. The rest of ''Young Foolish Happy'' does not stray too far from this formula, which should keep Pixie Lott in demand for the immediate future."

Commercial performance

''Young Foolish Happy'' debuted at number 18 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 18,503 copies in its first week. The following week, it dropped 24 places to number 42. The album was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 10 February 2012. As of August 2014, it had sold 102,888 copies in the United Kingdom. ''Young Foolish Happy'' also entered the Irish Albums Chart at number 33.

Track listing

Notes

* signifies a vocal producer
* signifies an additional vocal producer
* signifies a production assistant
* signifies an additional producer
* signifies a remixer and additional producer
* The Asian deluxe edition of the album has the same track listing as the Japanese edition, but does not include the song "Perfect" and all tracks after that song are listed as 13 to 22.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the deluxe edition of ''Young Foolish Happy''.

Musicians

* Pixie Lott – vocals ; background vocals
* Robin French – piano, keyboards, bass, backing vocals
* Mr Hudson – piano, drums, guitars, percussion, saxophone, Hammond organ, keyboards, bass, backing vocals
* Rosie Oddie – backing vocals
* Holly Muir – backing vocals
* Felicia Barton – additional background vocals
* Pusha T – vocals
* David Ralicke – horns
* Tim Powell – keyboards, programming
* Sandy Buglass – guitars
* Tony "Rico" Richardson – saxophone, flute
* Colin Graham – trumpet, flugelhorn
* Fiasco – additional programming
* Mads Hauge – vocals, all instruments ; programming ; guitar, background vocals ; mandolin, keyboards, bass
* Abe Laboriel Jr. – bass
* Nathan East – bass
* Aaron Sterling – drums
* Adrian Gurvitz – guitar, keyboards
* Stevie Wonder – harmonica
* J'Anna Jacoby – violin
* Joel Pargman – violin
* Tom Lea – viola
* John Krovoza – cello
* John "JT" Thomas – piano
* Noah Agruss – arrangement
* CJ Baran – arrangement ; all instruments, programming, background vocals
* Marty James – vocals
* Toby Gad – all instruments, programming
* Ant Whiting – additional programming, additional bass guitar
* Tim Baxter – additional string programming
* George Astasio – guitar, bass, programming
* Ray Djan – guitar, keyboards, programming
* Jason Pebworth – keyboards
* Jon Shave – keyboards, bass, programming
* Ashton Foster – programming
* The Arcade – additional programming
* Tinchy Stryder – vocals
* Jaz Rogers – all instruments, programming
* Phil Thornalley – piano, glockenspiel, bass, background vocals ; Wurlitzer electric piano
* Everton Nelson – violin
* Rick Koster – violin
* Bruce White – viola
* Ian Burdge – cello
* Elroy "Spoonface" Powell – background vocals
* Patrick Warren – string arrangements, keyboards
* John Legend – piano
* David Piltch – bass
* Timothy Young – guitar
* Daphne Chen – violin
* Eric Gorfain – violin
* Lauren Chipman – viola
* Richard Dodd – cello
* Patrick "Jester" Jordan-Patrikios – keyboards, programming
* Andrew Frampton – keyboards, programming, all guitars, bass
* Steve Kipner – percussion
* Katie Stevens – background vocals
* Andrew Hey – guitar
* Ash Soan – drums
* Ben Epstein – bass
* Tim "Wacko Jacko" Jackson – piano
* John Thirkell – trumpet
* Phil Smith – tenor saxophone
* Richard "Biff" Stannard – keys, programming
* Ash Howes – keys, programming
* Seton Daunt – guitar
* Emma Rohan – backing vocals
* Benjamin Gordon Benji Boko – keyboards

Technical

* Mr Hudson – production, engineering
* Andy Savours – mixing
* Tim Debney – mastering
* Brian Kidd – production
* Tebey Ottoh – vocal production
* Chris Utley – engineering
* Wesley Michene – engineering
* Jimmy Douglass – mixing
* Rusko – production
* Anne Preven – mixing
* Alex G. – additional engineering, additional vocal production
* Tim Powell – production
* Phil Tan – mixing
* Andrei Basirov – production assistance
* Colin Leonard – mastering
* Mads Hauge – production, mixing, recording
* Phil Thornalley – production
* Adrian Gurvitz – production
* Jaycen Joshua – mixing
* Jesus Garnica – mixing assistance
* Stuart Schenk – recording engineering
* Chris Thompson – recording engineering
* Captain Hook CJ Baran – production, mixing, engineering
* Larry Goetz – additional mixing
* Lee Slater – engineering
* Toby Gad – production ; mixing
* Ant Whiting – vocal production, mixing
* Daniel Aslet – additional vocal engineering
* Jaz Rogers – vocal recording ; production, engineering
* The Invisible Men – production, mixing
* Eagle Eye – production
* Greg "The Wizard" Fleming – mixing
* The Arcade – additional production
* Jamie Snell – mixing
* John Legend – production
* Patrick Warren – production
* Ryan Freeland – mixing, instrument recording
* Jason Agel – lead vocals recording
* Andrew Frampton – production
* Steve Kipner – production
* Patrick "Jester" Jordan-Patrikios – production
* Dan Frampton – mixing
* Anselmo Washington – mixing assistance
* The Underdogs – production
* Harvey Mason Jr. – mixing
* Andrew Hey – recording
* David Boyd – recording assistance
* Dabling Harward – recording assistance
* Michael Daley – recording assistance
* The Matrix – production, recording, mixing
* Aaron Renner – recording, mixing
* Richard "Biff" Stannard – production
* Ash Howes – production
* Benjamin Gordon Benji Boko – remix, additional production

Artwork

* Tom Bird – creative direction
* Sheryl Nields – photography
* Salvador Design – artwork, design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

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2011 albums
Albums produced by Ant Whiting
Albums produced by John Legend
Albums produced by the Matrix (production team)
Albums produced by Mr Hudson
Albums produced by Richard Stannard (songwriter)
Albums produced by Toby Gad
Albums produced by the Underdogs (production team)
Mercury Records albums
Pixie Lott albums