Freak of Nature

For other uses, see Freak of Nature (disambiguation).
Freak of Nature
Studio album by
Anastacia
ReleasedNovember 23, 2001 (2001-11-23)
Recorded2001
Studio
Genre
Length47:14
Label
Producer
Anastacia chronology
Not That Kind
(2000) 		Freak of Nature
(2001) 		Anastacia
(2004)
Singles from Freak of Nature
  1. "Paid My Dues"
    Released: November 12, 2001[3]
  2. "One Day in Your Life"
    Released: February 25, 2002[4]
  3. "Boom"
    Released: March 20, 2002[5]
  4. "Why'd You Lie to Me"
    Released: September 9, 2002[6]
  5. "You'll Never Be Alone"
    Released: November 18, 2002[7]

Freak of Nature is the second studio album by American singer Anastacia, released on November 23, 2001, by Epic Records and Daylight Records. The album was primarily produced by Ric Wake, Sam Watters, and Louis Biancaniello, with additional production from Richie Jones.

With the worldwide success of its singles, particularly "Paid My Dues", "One Day in Your Life" and bonus track "Boom" (the 2002 FIFA World Cup official song), and a extensive promotional album tour, Freak of Nature topped the charts in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, while reaching number four in the United Kingdom and the top ten of multiple other countries across Europe and Oceania. The album has sold seven million copies worldwide.[8][9]

Release

For the US edition of the album, three tracks from the album were remixed ("One Day in Your Life", "You'll Never Be Alone", and "Don't Stop (Doin' It)"). A new track, "I Thought I Told You That", a collaboration with Faith Evans, was also included on the US album. A collectors edition of the album was released in Europe in November 2002, featuring a bonus disc containing "I Thought I Told You That", a cover version of the Disney song "Someday My Prince Will Come", and "Boom" (which served as the 2002 FIFA World Cup official song), as well as three remixes and two live recordings.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[10]
Entertainment WeeklyB[11]
Entertainment.ie[12]
NME2/10[13]
Q[14]
Slant Magazine[15]
Yahoo! Music[16]

AllMusic editor Jose F. Promis found that Freak of Nature "continues with the late-'80s bombastic funk/soul/pop revival ushered in by her debut, Not That Kind, but this time there's a few more ballads in the mix [...] Reminiscent of Taylor Dayne at times, Anastacia successfully avoids the sophomore slump by delivering an album full of raw emotion, power, and musicality which manages to improve upon its predecessor."[2] Entertainment Weekly noted that "Anastacia is really about R&B – in the Patti LaBelle-meets-Deborah Cox mode. Her second CD, Freak of Nature, is bombastic and overproduced, but Anastacia has major-league pipes, solid rhythm, and an ear for the commercial hook."[11]

Aidin Vaziri from Rolling Stone wrote that Freak of Nature "is pure polish. With producer Rick Wake overseeing a majority of the cuts, the songs are tempered with as much plucky R&B; passion as they are cold hard dollar signs. Anastacia eases off the pummeling power ballads that made up most of her debut, but there are still moments of sheer overkill."[17] Similarly, Yahoo! Music's James Salmon Overall cited the album as "highly polished, well-penned pop album that is given a much-needed edge by a performer whose voice should be bottled and donated to scientific research." He felt that "Anastacia does manage to vary both tempo and mood with considerable skill. Just when you think she's about to grind to an insipid halt she snaps out of it with good old fashioned pop rants against the male species."[16]

Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani fel that Freak of Nature "steers clear of the power ballads that weighed down her debut. Though the album’s highlight is the summery, midtempo "Overdue Goodbye," Anastacia should keep the sloppy slow numbers to a minimum and, like a good bombastic diva-in-training, keep her eye on the dancefloor."[15] In a negative review, Entertainment.ie wrote: "Anastacia's choice of material is consistently weak, largely built around 80's style power ballads that make her sound like a poor man's Tina Turner. Only on a handful of heavy, dramatic funk tracks is she allowed to really show what she can do. Freak of Nature is not without its merits as a pop album, but its title flatters itself."[12] NME's Louis Pattison called the album an "inauspicious follow-up" and a "relic of pop days gone by".[13]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Freak of Nature"
3:39
2."Paid My Dues"
3:21
3."Overdue Goodbye"
  • Anastacia
  • Mann
4:34
4."You'll Never Be Alone"
  • Biancaniello
  • Watters
4:21
5."One Day in Your Life"
  • Anastacia
  • Watters
  • Biancaniello
  • Biancaniello
  • Watters
3:28
6."How Come the World Won't Stop"
  • Anastacia
  • Mann
4:03
7."Why'd You Lie to Me"
Wake3:43
8."Don'tcha Wanna"
  • Biancaniello
  • Watters
3:43
9."Secrets"
5:22
10."Don't Stop (Doin' It)"
  • Anastacia
  • Watters
  • Biancaniello
  • Biancaniello
  • Watters
4:21
11."I Dreamed You"
Wake5:04
12."Overdue Goodbye (Reprise)"
  • Anastacia
  • Mann
1:35
Total length:47:14
Japanese edition bonus track[18]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Boom" (2002 FIFA World Cup official song)
Ballard3:19
US edition[19][20]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Freak of Nature"
  • Anastacia
  • Jones
  • Kupper
  • Mann
3:39
2."Paid My Dues"
  • Lawson
  • Sharpe
  • Kafi
  • Anastacia
3:21
3."Overdue Goodbye"
  • Anastacia
  • Mann
4:34
4."You'll Never Be Alone" (US version)
  • Anastacia
  • Watters
  • Biancaniello
  • Biancaniello
  • Watters
4:39
5."One Day in Your Life" (US version)
  • Anastacia
  • Watters
  • Biancaniello
  • Biancaniello
  • Watters
3:50
6."How Come the World Won't Stop"
  • Anastacia
  • Mann
4:03
7."I Thought I Told You That" (featuring Faith Evans)
Wake3:35
8."Why'd You Lie to Me"
  • Anastacia
  • Sharpe
  • Lawson
  • Parker
  • Butler
  • Cox
Wake3:43
9."Don'tcha Wanna"
  • Anastacia
  • Watters
  • Biancaniello
  • Wonder
  • Wright
  • Biancaniello
  • Watters
3:43
10."Secrets"
  • Anastacia
  • James
5:22
11."Don't Stop (Doin' It)" (US version)
  • Anastacia
  • Watters
  • Biancaniello
  • Biancaniello
  • Watters
4:27
12."I Dreamed You"
  • Anastacia
  • Bramble
  • Robbins
Wake5:04
13."Overdue Goodbye (Reprise)"
  • Anastacia
  • Mann
1:35
Total length:51:35
Collectors edition bonus disc[21][22]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."I Thought I Told You That" (featuring Faith Evans)
  • Malek
  • Renée
  • Anastacia
Wake3:35
2."Someday My Prince Will Come"
Ballard3:44
3."Boom" (2002 FIFA World Cup official song)
  • Anastacia
  • Ballard
Ballard3:19
4."Paid My Dues" (The S-Man's Darkstar Mix)
  • Lawson
  • Sharpe
  • Kafi
  • Anastacia
5:17
5."One Day in Your Life" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix)
  • Anastacia
  • Watters
  • Biancaniello
10:12
6."Why'd You Lie to Me" (Nu Soul DNB Mix)
  • Anastacia
  • Sharpe
  • Lawson
  • Parker
  • Butler
  • Cox
6:38
7."Freak of Nature" (live from Japan, September 13, 2002)
  • Anastacia
  • Jones
  • Kupper
  • Mann
Chuckii Booker4:23
8."Overdue Goodbye" (live from Japan, September 13, 2002)
  • Anastacia
  • Mann
Booker5:41
Total length:42:49

Notes

  • ^a signifies an additional producer
  • ^b signifies a remixer
  • "Boom" does not appear on the UK collectors edition bonus disc[23]

Sample credits

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Freak of Nature
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[73] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[74] Platinum 40,000*
Belgium (BEA)[75] Platinum 50,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[76] Platinum 50,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[77] Platinum 39,275[77]
France (SNEP)[78] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[79] 3× Platinum 900,000^
Hungary (MAHASZ)[80] Gold  
Netherlands (NVPI)[81] 2× Platinum 160,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[82] Gold 7,500^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[83] 2× Platinum 100,000*
Poland (ZPAV)[84] Gold 35,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[85] Platinum 100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[86] 2× Platinum 160,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[87] 5× Platinum 200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[88] 3× Platinum 900,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[89] 3× Platinum 3,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for Freak of Nature
Region Date Edition Label Ref.
Australia November 23, 2001 Standard Sony [90]
France November 26, 2001 [91]
Germany [92]
Italy [93]
United Kingdom Epic [94]
United States June 18, 2002
[20]
Japan July 24, 2002 Sony Japan [18]
United Kingdom November 11, 2002 Collectors Epic [23]
Germany Sony [21]
France November 18, 2002 [22]

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