A Girl Like Me (Emma Bunton album)

A Girl Like Me is the debut solo studio album by English singer Emma Bunton, released on 16 April 2001 by Virgin Records. Following the release of the Spice Girls' third studio album, Forever (2000), the group announced that they were beginning an indefinite hiatus and would be concentrating on their solo careers in regards to their foreseeable future.[1] Recording sessions for Bunton's first solo album took place from July 1999 to October 2000 at several recording studios.

A Girl Like Me
Studio album by
Emma Bunton
Released16 April 2001 (2001-04-16)
RecordedJuly 1999 – October 2000
Studio
Genre
Length45:40
LabelVirgin
Producer
Emma Bunton chronology
A Girl Like Me
(2001)		 Free Me
(2004)
Singles from A Girl Like Me
  1. "What Took You So Long?"
    Released: 2 April 2001
  2. "Take My Breath Away"
    Released: 27 August 2001
  3. "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight"
    Released: 10 December 2001

A Girl Like Me debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, selling 21,500 copies in its first week. The album spawned three singles: "What Took You So Long?" (which topped the charts in the United Kingdom and New Zealand), "Take My Breath Away" and "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight". It also includes Bunton's collaboration with Tin Tin Out, a cover of "What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. On 7 September 2001, A Girl Like Me was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipments in excess of 100,000 copies.[2]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Chart Attack2.5/5[4]
Hot PressUnfavourable[5]
NME6/10[6]

A Girl Like Me garnered a lukewarm reception from music critics, who praised its catchy songs, but were critical of its generic nature.

Deborah J Elliot of Musical Discoveries was positive about the album, calling it a " very nice listen" that showed Bunton "growing out of her pig tails from the days of the Spice Girls, into a grown woman", and singled out the singles as well as the tracks "Better Be Careful", "High on Love", "A World Without You", "Been There, Done That" and "Spell It Out" for praise.[7] Ian Wade of Dotmusic was also positive towards the album: he praised tracks such as the lead single, "Better Be Careful" and "A World Without You", but was critical of the more R&B cuts such "Been There, Done That". In the end, he concluded: "Overall, 'A Girl Like Me', is a thoroughly likeable affair, much like Emma herself, and should put an end to her enforced toddlerism Baby years once and for all".[8] Stewart Mason of AllMusic felt that Bunton's singing voice lacked depth but that it worked with the well-crafted and addictive pop songs, concluding that it "isn't an album for the ages, but it's better than 'not bad.'"[3] Timothy Park of NME gave the album a 6/10 rating. He said that there were great tracks such as "Take My Breath Away" and "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" that Bunton performs adequately, but concluded that "'A Girl Like Me', like Emma, is very sweet but, like Emma also, it has no balls."[6] Erik Missio of Chart Attack said he saw promise in the album but felt disappointed by its attempts to resemble the Spice Girls' sound.[4] Stephen Robinson of Hot Press criticised the tracks for being overly sweet and borrowing from other genres but being unoriginal with them, calling it "another album to chuck aboard the pop blandwagon."[5]

In a retrospective article about the Spice Girls' solo and group discography, Quentin Harrison of Albumism wrote: "A Girl Like Me's natural air of ease and comfort in its expression of its musical identity establishes that Bunton has an unpretentious awareness of herself as a singer and writer. Her knowledge of her strengths allows her to forgo any major missteps and has let her initiating effort age impeccably thus far"[9]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."What Took You So Long?"
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
3:59
2."Take My Breath Away"
Mac3:34
3."A World Without You"
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
4:53
4."High on Love"
  • Bunton
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
  • Harrigton
  • Ash Howes
  • Sharon Murphy
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
3:49
5."A Girl Like Me"
  • Bunton
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
4:01
6."Spell It O.U.T."
Frampton3:12
7."Sunshine on a Rainy Day"
Tin Tin Out4:17
8."Been There, Done That"
  • Bunton
  • Frampton
  • Braide
Frampton3:05
9."Better Be Careful"
  • Bunton
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
  • Harrington
  • Howes
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
3:19
10."We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight"
Lawrence3:23
11."She Was a Friend of Mine"
  • Bunton
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
3:34
12."What I Am" (with Tin Tin Out)
Tin Tin Out4:34
Total length:45:40

Notes
  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of A Girl Like Me.[10]

Musicians
  • Emma Bunton – vocals
  • Ash Howes – programming (tracks 1, 4)
  • Steve Mac – arrangement (track 2)
  • Ulf Forsberg – string concertmaster (track 3)
  • Henrik Janson – string arrangements, string conducting (track 3)
  • Ulf Janson – string arrangements, string conducting (track 3)
  • Simon Hale – string arrangements (tracks 4, 9); brass arrangements (track 9)
  • StoneBridge – keyboards (track 5)
  • Andrew Frampton – arrangement, string arrangements (track 6)
  • Chris Braide – arrangement (tracks 6, 8)
  • Nick Ingman – string arrangements (track 6)
  • Lawrence Johnson – additional vocal arrangement (track 7)
  • Rhett Lawrence – arrangement, programming, guitar (track 10)
  • Ramon Stagnaro – guitar (track 10)

Technical
  • Richard "Biff" Stannard – production (tracks 1, 4, 9)
  • Julian Gallagher – production (tracks 1, 4, 9)
  • Ash Howes – recording (tracks 1, 4, 9); mixing (track 4); engineering (tracks 4, 9)
  • Alvin Sweeney – additional recording, Pro Tools (track 1); additional engineering (tracks 4, 9)
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (track 1)
  • Jan "Stan" Kybert – mix engineering, Pro Tools (track 1)
  • Matt Fields – mixing assistance (track 1)
  • Steve Mac – production, mixing (track 2)
  • Chris Laws – engineering (track 2)
  • Evan Rogers – production (tracks 3, 5, 11)
  • Carl Sturken – production (tracks 3, 5, 11)
  • Al Hemberger – engineering (tracks 3, 5, 11)
  • Mick Guzauski – mixing (track 3)
  • Tom Bender – mixing assistance (track 3)
  • Stefan Boman – string engineering (track 3)
  • StoneBridge – additional production, mixing (track 5)
  • Andrew Frampton – production (tracks 6, 8)
  • Daniel Frampton – engineering (tracks 6, 8)
  • Brad Gilderman – mixing (tracks 6, 8, 11)
  • Steve Price – string recording (track 6)
  • Tin Tin Out – production, mixing (tracks 7, 12)
  • Rhett Lawrence – production, recording engineering, mixing (track 10)
  • Jason Bonilla – recording engineering (track 10)
  • Will Catterson – recording engineering (track 10)
  • Evan Lloyd – engineering assistance (track 10)
  • Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado – mixing (track 10)
  • Dylan "3D" Dresdow – mixing (track 10)

Artwork

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[23] Gold 35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[2] Gold 100,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history
Region Date Label
United Kingdom 16 April 2001 Virgin
Australia 14 May 2001 EMI

Notes
  1. Tracks 1, 4 and 9
  2. Track 2
  3. Tracks 3, 5 and 11
  4. Strings on track 3
  5. Tracks 6 and 8
  6. Track 7
  7. Track 10
  8. Track 12

References
  1. "Spice Girls dismiss comeback plan". BBC News. 18 February 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  2. "British album certifications – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". British Phonographic Industry. 7 September 2001. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type A Girl Like Me in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  3. Mason, Stewart. "A Girl Like Me – Emma Bunton". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  4. Missio, Erik (16 April 2001). "Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Chart Attack. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  5. Robinson, Stephen (26 April 2001). "A Girl Like Me". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  6. Mark, Timothy (18 April 2001). "Emma Bunton : A Girl Like Me". NME. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  7. Elliot, Deborah J. "Review Digest - Review of A Girl Like Me at Musical Discoveries". Musical Discoveries. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  8. Wade, Ian. "EMMA BUNTON - 'A GIRL LIKE ME' (VIRGIN)". Dotmusic. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  9. Harrison, Quentin. "WITH ALL DUE RESPECT: Revisiting The Spice Girls' Dynamic Group & Solo Discographies". Albumism. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  10. A Girl Like Me (liner notes). Emma Bunton. Virgin Records. 2001. LC03098.CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. "ARIA Top 100 Albums – Week Commencing 21st May 2001" (PDF). The ARIA Report (586). 21 May 2001. Retrieved 31 August 2008 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "Austriancharts.at – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  13. "Danishcharts.dk – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  14. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18 no. 19. 5 May 2001. p. 20. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  15. "Emma Bunton: A Girl Like Me" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  16. "Lescharts.com – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  18. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Emma Bunton". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  19. "Charts.nz – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  20. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  21. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  22. "UK Year-End Charts 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. p. 6. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  23. "ARIA Hitseekers – Week Commencing 25th June 2001" (PDF). The ARIA Report (591): 16. 25 June 2001. Retrieved 31 July 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
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