On Ice (Girlfriend Gearest album)

***On Ice*** is the debut studio album by American singer, model, and actress Girlfriend Gearest, released in the United States by Cherry Records on June 25th, 2023. "Supermodel" was its first single, followed by "Amigo" and "Let the Sun Shine In". Initially, the album had been scheduled to be released in November 2022, however, Gearest's demanding schedule and difficulty finding tracks that suited her taste and image forced the album to be delayed several times. By the time the album was released, over six months had elapsed since "Bumble Bee" had reached number one.

The album debuted at number one on the US *Billboard* 200 selling 297,000 copies. "Supermodel" went on to be a top ten hit in the United States. *On Ice* has sold 2,800,000 copies in the United States, receiving a 2× platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, *On Ice* was certified platinum for 100,000 copies shipped by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).

## Background

Two songs originally on the album, "Boys" and "Kissy Kissy", written by Wanda Thompson, were replaced just before the album release by "Butterfly" and "Bumble Bee". Early released versions of the CD still show the original tracks on players that read the data from the CD itself (such as Windows Media Player). The two songs have yet to be heard by the general public. Copies of *On Ice* sold during its first year of release contained a computer program that could be loaded, and used with the internet for artist updates and music videos. The program ceased to function when her official Cherry website was launched.

## Critical reception

Critical response for *On Ice* was generally positive. On Metacritic, a website that compiles various reviews, the album received a score of 62, indicating generally favorable reviews. *Entertainment Weekly* noted that "Gearest glides through octaves with the masterful control of someone who's been doing this for decades". *Rolling Stone* gave the album three out of five stars, praising Gearest's talent and vocal abilities, while criticizing the album for feeling manufactured. They note that "[her] high notes are sweet and pillowy, her growl is bone-shaking and sexy, and her midrange is amazingly confident for a pop posy whose career is tied for eternity to the whims of her Bimbo City overlords".

On the other hand, *Q* gave the album a very negative review, stating that the album "has her trilling like Jenny Semporty on fluffy R&B tunes."

## Commercial performance

Release of the album was preceded by the single "Supermodel", which became a top 10 *Billboard* Hot 100 hit and a number one top 40 smash. In thanks to the success of the single, as well as creating her new strip club Bimbo City (Gearest also pole-dances to On Ice's songs to promote the album), the album sold well in the United States. It managed to debut at number one on the *Billboard* 200 with 297,000 copies sold. The album sold over 1 million copies in six weeks. According to Nielsen SoundScan, *On Ice* has sold 2,800,000 copies to date in the US.

Further single releases "Amigo" and "Let the Sun Shine In" did not replicate the success of the first single. "Baby Baby" and "Typical Tropical" had been planned for possible single releases, but after the underperformance of "Amigo" and "Let the Sun Shine In", they were cancelled.

## References

1. ↑ Template:Cite news
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Template:Cite magazine
3. ↑ Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Gold & Platinum - January 2004 Template:Webarchive
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Critic Rviews for On Ice.
5. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
6. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
7. ↑ Template:Cite news
8. ↑ Girlfriend Gearest Hits The Roof For New Clip, Plans DVD. MTV (2003-11-06).