Continuum/Interrupted

### Producer

Jeff Bhasker ‧ Klas Åhlund ‧ Bloodshy & Avant ‧ Cutfather ‧ MNDR ‧ The Monsters & The Strangerz

## Singles

1. "The Best"
March 17, 2014
2. "State of Mind"
May 22, 2014
3. "My Prerogative"
July 31, 2014
4. "Wake Me Up"
January 31, 2015
5. "Shiver"
March 26, 2015
6. "I Feed You My Love"
March 26, 2015

***Continuum/Interrupted*** is the fourth studio album by American singer Natasha Lewis, released on May 27, 2014, by Musik Factory. It is her first release since her third album Sexy. Love. Control. Vanity. (2010). Work on the album began following Lewis' gradual recovery from her breakdown due to stress and exhaustion. The album introduced new American and European producers including Jeff Bhasker, Klas Åhlund, Cutfather and The Monsters and The Strangerz.

*Continuum/Interrupted* has received very positive reviews from music commentators. Many critics had commended the production, Lewis' innovative writing and many believed that it was a true welcome back to the pop scene. Commercially, *Continuum/Interrupted* was a success. In the US, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming her third number-one album and was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at number one as well. It stayed there for 3 consecutive weeks and was certified 2x Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The album achieved strong charting internationally, peaking inside the top 5 in countries including Austria, Germany, Ireland, Taiwan and France.

*Continuum/Interrupted* was promoted by the Off the Map World Tour where she traveled around the globe. The tour received favorable reviews from critics and was a commercial success, making it Lewis' most expensive tour to date. The album was nominated for the Grammy Awards 2015 for Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year, as well as the BRIT Award for International Album in 2015. According to *The Times*, the album had sold six million copies worldwide as of December 2016.

## **Background and recording**

While recovering from all the stress and exhaustion in the monastery, Lewis began writing lyrics towards the end of her stay in mid 2013, having not worked on any music for the previous two years. Inspired by thinking about the things she wanted to do once her recovery was complete and of her doubts about returning to her career, she wrote lyrics which would later form the basis of "I'm Not Sorry" and "The Answer."

Due to the recovery time following her breakdown, *Continuum/Interrupted* was the first album Lewis had consciously prepared for the recording of, having previously been engaged for much of her career in an endless cycle of record, release, and tour. She had worried about not having sung in some time and whether or not she would be ready to perform in front of everybody. Lewis started recording the project in August 2013.

The title of the album, *Continuum/Interrupted*, is a reference to something her manager, Berenice Lamonica, said during one of the sessions. According to Natasha, Lamonica said it was funny how the singer always kept changing and evolving with her music, especially with this album; but then all of the sudden she changes her mind and decides to record some music similar to the old ones, interrupting the continuum that is her evolution.

## **Release**

The release of *Continuum/Interrupted* was announced on March 17, 2014. To promote the release of the album, Lewis performed in several TV on the release week, such as Good Morning America, Today Show, The Tonight Show, and others. Natasha was also interviewed by various radio stations, such as Kiis FM and Z100.

Shortly after this, Lewis expressed that she was shocked with how well received the album was to *The Sun*. "I was afraid it wouldn't make an impact because half of it is not radio friendly at all", she admitted. "Given the time I spent away, I am definitely shocked by the hype it's getting. I put my heart on this album and it's definitely good seeing it being recognized by critics, fans and selling so well".

## **Singles**

"The Best" was released on March 17, 2014, as the album's lead single. The song was met with positive response from critics, who complimented its hook and empowering lyrics and deemed it as a return of form and a "comeback" single for Lewis. "The Best" debuted on the *Billboard* Hot 100 at number 12 jumping to number one the next week. The song is considered one of Lewis' biggest songs and has been covered by several other artists. "The Best" has sold over 2,200,000 digital downloads in the United States. The music video premiered on March 22, 2014.

"State of Mind" was released on May 22, 2014, as the album's second single, a few hours after being performed at the Billboard Music Awards. It debuted and peaked at number seven on the US *Billboard* Hot 100. "State of Mind" has sold over 1,540,00 digital downloads in the United States. The accompanying music video portrays Lewis in a very disturbed state, singing in weird outfits and scenaries, reflecting her state of mind. The video received positive reviews from critics.

"My Prerogative" was released on July 31, 2014, as the album's third single. The cover received positive reviews from contemporary critics. Spence D. of IGN said that the lyrics fit perfectly with Lewis' relationship with the media at the time. He also added, "As for her interpretation, it's an interesting chameleonic diversion that comes off like a mash-up between vintage Prince-styled production, Cameo swagger, and Lara Liwford sultriness, and captures the gloss and glory of all the aforementioned influences". In the United States, "My Prerogative" peaked at number 3 on the *Billboard* Hot 100.

"Wake Me Up" was released as the album's fourth single on January 31, 2015. The music video portrays. The release was delayed because Natasha was on Tour and couldn't dedicate time to promote the song and film the music video. "Wake Me Up" peaked on the US *Billboard* Hot 100 at number 10, and was number 1 on the UK, France, Italy and Germany.

"Shiver" and "I Feed You My Love" were released as the final singles of the album, for Europe and the rest of the globe respectively. Both songs failed to make an impact on charts due to the lack of promotion, but Natasha stated from the beginning that the songs were only getting released because they were fan favorites.

## Review scores

### The Times

★★★★½

*Continuum/Interrupted* received positive reviews from contemporary critics. *Pitchfork*'s Mark Richardson said he felt that the album was "gorgeous and rich", and much more cohesive than her previous works. According to Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album holds a score of 74 out of 100 based on 34 reviews—indicating "generally favorable reviews"—following its release. This effectively makes *Continuum/Interrupted* Lewis' second best reviewed album to date, after *Super Bitch*.

*The Guardian* writer Alexis Petridis wrote that "Every chorus clicks, the melodies are great, and they soar and swoop, the better to demonstrate Lewis' increased confidence in her voice". At *The Daily Telegraph* the album scored 3 out of 5 and critic Hugh Montgomery felt, Continuum/Interrupted is more of the same, but less. Only because disc 1 sounds different, but in general the album has the same message as usual: sex. Caryn Ganz for *Rolling Stone* gave a positive review, commenting the album "is a smart record, with great reflexions about life and of course some awesome club bangers". Despite the 3.5 star rating, *Rolling Stone* named it the third best album of 2014 and best pop album in its annual compilations, later commenting: "*Continuum/Interrupted* qualifies as a radical statement from a pop star in 2014".