Girl (album 2013)

Girl (ditulis dengan gaya GIRL ) adalah album studio kedua dari musisi Amerika Pharrell Williams . Album ini dirilis pada 3 Maret 2014 oleh label Williams, I Am Other dan Columbia Records . Girl adalah album studio pertama Williams sejak debutnya pada tahun 2006, In My Mind . Album ini menampilkan kolaborasi dengan Justin Timberlake , Miley Cyrus , Daft Punk , JoJo , dan Alicia Keys .

Album Girl menerima ulasan yang umumnya positif dari para kritikus. Album ini mencapai peringkat pertama di 12 negara di seluruh dunia, dan juga masuk dalam 10 besar tangga lagu di 17 negara lainnya. Album ini telah terjual 591.000 kopi di Amerika Serikat hingga Februari 2015. Singel utamanya adalah " Happy " (dari soundtrack Despicable Me 2 ) yang dinominasikan Oscar , yang sukses besar di seluruh dunia, menjadi salah satu singel terlaris sepanjang masa . Singel-singel selanjutnya, " Marilyn Monroe ", " Come Get It Bae ", dan " Gust of Wind " meraih kesuksesan yang cukup baik. Pada Grammy Awards ke-57 , album ini dinominasikan untuk Album Terbaik Tahun Ini dan memenangkan Album Kontemporer Urban Terbaik . "Happy" juga memenangkan Penampilan Solo Pop Terbaik dan Video Musik Terbaik .

Concept
The work was described as a feminist "almost-concept" album in early reviews. Interviewed by Zane Lowe backstage at the 2014 Brit Awards, Williams specified that the capitalization and double-spacing of the album title is deliberately designed, "Because when you look at it, it looks a little weird... Because society is a little unbalanced." He added that he wished to honor the female figures in his life by making the record.

Music and lyrics
The opening track on the album, "Marilyn Monroe", begins with an orchestral string introduction. The song's production is characterized by Williams' distinctive bass line. The album's first single, "Happy", is a neo soul and funk song that Williams sings in a falsetto tone.

"Come Get It Bae", which features uncredited guest vocals from Miley Cyrus, is a funk song with playful beat. Lyrically, the song is based around sex and the metaphor "You want to ride my motorcycle?" serving as a double entendre for sex.

Singles

"Happy" was first released on November 21, 2013, the song was originally written for and included on the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack. The song was reissued on December 16, 2013, as the album's lead single. On November 24, Williams released the first 24-hour music video for "Happy". Guest appearances included Magic Johnson, Steve Carell, Jimmy Kimmel, Jamie Foxx, Odd Future, Miranda Cosgrove, Janelle Monáe and many others. The song has been commercially successful, peaking at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, topping charts in 19 other countries, and reaching top 10 positions in several more. It received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 86th Academy Awards, and Williams performed the song live at the ceremony on March 2, 2014.

In an interview with New York radio station Power 105.1, Williams revealed that the album's second single would be "Marilyn Monroe". On March 10, 2014, the single was added to the playlist of British urban contemporary radio station BBC Radio 1Xtra.

"Come Get It Bae" serves as the third single release from Girl and the second in the United States. It impacted rhythmic, urban contemporary and contemporary hit radio on May 20, 2014.

"Gust of Wind" was released to Italian contemporary hit radio on October 24, 2014, as the album's fourth single. "It Girl" was released to British contemporary hit radio on November 10, 2014, as the album's fifth single.

Critical reception

Girl was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 67, based on 35 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.

Billboard magazine's Reggie Ugwu give the album four and a half stars out of five, and wrote that the album is "a relentlessly positive and unselfconsciously joyful tour de force." Andy Kellman of AllMusic felt that the "carefree soul throwback appears here, almost smack in the middle. It doesn't sound out of place in a set of upbeat, candy-coated pop-R&B that is relatively modern-sounding, laced with some elements of R&B from the mid- to late '60s and that sweet late-'70s to early-'80s spot." He gave the album four out of five stars.

Barry Walters of Spin gave the album an eight out of ten, saying "As suggested by its title, Pharrell's second solo album follows last year's monster smashes for Daft Punk and Robin Thicke with a full-length both unabashedly feminine and neatly spaced-out." Reed Jackson of XXL gave the album an XL rating, saying "Girl not only represents a proper representation of his creativity, but, with high-profile guest spots (Timberlake, Cyrus, Daft Punk) and a number of radio-ready singles, it should also be a success on the charts and further his reputation as a pop icon. Let the man's hot streak continue."

Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine gave the album three out of five stars, saying "As Williams tells it, the Despicable Me 2 team made him go through eight drafts before he arrived at the disarming, first-person charm of "Happy". Girl may have benefited from a few more introspective trips back to the drawing board." Robert Copsey of Digital Spy categorized the album's overall sound as "uplifting R&B-funk" and gave the album four out of five stars, saying "The Motown-funk sound that dominates most of Girl was always going to be a given after the success of "Get Lucky" and "Blurred Lines", but what is surprising is its lyrical content, which is celebratory of women's power and sexuality, unlike his Robin Thicke collaboration."

Commercial performance
Girl debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart on March 9, 2014. With first-week sales of over 70,000 copies, it was the fastest-selling album of 2014 in the UK at the time of its release, overtaking Bruce Springsteen's High Hopes by 45% and being certified silver. As of February 2015, Girl has sold 320,000 copies in the UK and been certified platinum.

In the United States, the album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 113,000 copies. In its second week, the album dropped to number five on that chart, selling 45,000 more copies. In its third week, the album dropped to number six on that chart, selling 34,000 more copies. In its fourth week, the album rose to number five on that chart, selling 25,000 more copies. As of February 2015, the album has sold 591,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing
All tracks written and produced by Pharrell Williams; co-writers are indicated. (Credits adapted from Tidal)

Notes
 "Marilyn Monroe" features additional spoken vocals by Kelly Osbourne
 "Brand New" features additional vocals by Rhea Dummett
 "Happy" features additional vocals by Rhea Dummett, Treveon Henderson, Terrance Rolle, Jasmine Murray, Ashley L. Lee and Shamika Hightower
 "Come Get It Bae" features additional vocals by Rhea Dummett, Miley Cyrus and Andrew Coleman
 "Gust of Wind" features additional vocals by Daft Punk
 "Lost Queen" is followed by the hidden track "Freq", which features uncredited vocals from JoJo

Personnel

 Pharrell Williams – lead vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, programming, drums, percussion, production, guitar
 Hans Zimmer – strings arrangement
 Kelly Osbourne – background vocals 
 Justin Timberlake – vocals 
 Timbaland – beatboxing 
 Miley Cyrus – vocals 
 Daft Punk – vocoder 
 Francesco Yates – electric guitar  (credited as Francesco)
 JoJo – vocals 
 Alicia Keys – vocals 
 Thomas Bangalter (Daft Punk) – vocals 
 Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (Daft Punk) – vocals 
 Tori Kelly – vocals 
 Leah LaBelle – vocals 
 Reah Dummett – additional vocals
 Brent Paschke – guitar
 Andrew Coleman – arranger, digital editing, engineer, electric guitar
 Mike Larson – arranger, coordination, digital editing, engineer
 Adrian Breakspear – engineer
 Nick Valentin – assistant engineer
 Jimmy Douglass – mixing
 Leslie Brathwaite – mixing
 Bob Ludwig – mastering
 Beau Vallis – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts
+Chart performance for Girl Chart (2014) Peakposition Australian Urban Albums (ARIA) 33 Croatian International Albums (HDU) 9 Japanese Albums (Oricon) 3 Japanese International Albums (Billboard Japan) 1 South African Albums (RISA) 14 South Korean Albums (Gaon) 18

Year-end charts
+2014 year-end chart performance for Girl Chart (2014) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 18 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 69 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 15 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 18 Canadian Albums (Billboard) 31 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 20 French Albums (SNEP) 19 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 54 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 28 Polish Albums (ZPAV) 47 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 22 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 6 UK Albums (OCC) 15 US Billboard 200 26 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 4

+2015 year-end chart performance for Girl Chart (2015) Position French Albums (SNEP) 178 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 55

Decade-end charts
+Decade-end chart performance for Girl Chart (2010–2019) Position US Billboard 200 133

Certifications and sales

Release history
+Release dates and formats for Girl Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref. Worldwide March 3, 2014  

References

Category:2014 albums
Category:Albums produced by Pharrell Williams
Category:Columbia Records albums
Category:2010s concept albums
Category:Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album
Category:Pharrell Williams albums