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Up! (album)

Up! is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer Shania Twain. It was released on November 19, 2002, by Mercury Nashville. Three versions of the album were released: a pop version (red disc), a country version (green disc), and a version in the style of Indian film music (blue disc). The album was heavily hyped by the media due to it being Twain's follow-up to her monstrous 1997 studio album Come On Over.

Up!

November 19, 2002 (US)

Fall 2001 – Summer 2002

72:55 (red disc)

The album became a commercial success, albeit less successful than Come On Over. Up! gave Twain her best first week sales in the United States, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums chart with 874,000 copies sold first week. It later became the best-selling country album of 2003 in the US and third overall among all genres. Internationally, Up! was a commercial success, entering the top ten in almost all the markets it entered and topped the charts in Australia, Twain's native Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the UK country charts. On September 23, 2004, the RIAA certified Up! at eleven-times platinum,[1] giving her the distinction of being the only female artist to have three consecutive diamond albums released in the United States.


Eight singles were released from the album, albeit in different chronological order. "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" was released on October 7, 2002 with hype surrounding its release. The song became a record-breaker, peaking at number seven and four on US country and the UK and topping the charts in Canada and Romania. "Up!", the title track, was released as the second single in the US and Australia and as a double a-side single with "When You Kiss Me" in the UK (being the final single over there) and the final single in Europe. Albeit less successful than other singles, it still entered the top five in Canada and Hungary and also peaked at number twelve on the US country charts. "Ka-Ching!" was exclusively released in Europe, becoming a massive commercial success over there; it topped the charts in Portugal and reached the top ten in six other countries. "Forever and for Always" was the album's most successful single in the US, peaking at number four on the country charts and at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as entering the top ten in six countries. Like Ka-Ching!, "Thank You Baby! (For Makin' Someday Come So Soon)" was only released in Europe, entering the top ten in Scotland. "She's Not Just a Pretty Face" peaked within the top ten on the US country charts and was a top-forty hit in Romania. "When You Kiss Me", as a standalone single, only entered the top ten in Portugal. The album's last single "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing" was a minor top-twenty US country and adult contemporary hit.


The album was promoted with interviews and television performances including the Super Bowl XXXVII halftime show. It was further promoted with the successful Up! Tour, which visited North America and Europe, and eight singles with each accompanied by a music video.


Up! was Twain's final studio album until 2017's Now and her final album to be produced by her then-husband, Robert John "Mutt" Lange.

Production[edit]

Writing and recording for the album took place across the world. According to the album booklet, Twain and Lange wrote and recorded in Berlin, Rome, Vienna, Paris, Avignon, Provence, Milan, Dublin, the Bahamas (at the famous Compass Point Studios), The Grenadine Islands, and Mumbai.[2] For the blue international disc, the pair enlisted British-Asian music producers Simon and Diamond Duggal for production collaboration. Canadian folk music group Leahy provided group fiddles throughout the album.

Release and promotion[edit]

When the album was originally released, different regions received different versions of the album. North America received a two-disc set, containing the red disc and the green disc. Most international markets received a two-disc set, referred to as the "International Version," containing the red disc and the blue disc. Both two-disc versions contain a note from Shania offering free downloads of whichever set of mixes not included (e.g. a download of the blue version is offered with the red/green set), for a limited time on her website. Australia received both two-disc sets, with the red/green version being subtitled "U.S. Version".[3] The album was later re-released in some territories as a single-disc set, containing only the red mixes, and an alternate cover with a red background.[4]


The red and green versions were released on vinyl in the United States and Europe on October 14, 2016.[5] They are sold separately, and are featured on translucent red and green vinyl, respectively. This marks the first time the green version was released physically in Europe.


Twain launched an extensive promotional tour for the album, starting in October 2002. Major events included the Super Bowl XXXVII halftime show, the 2002 and 2003 Country Music Association Awards, the 2003 American Music Awards, the 2003 Juno Awards, the 2003 ECHO Awards, the 2003 Billboard Music Awards, and the 2003 CMT Flameworthy Awards.


On October 2, 2002, Twain performed on the Dutch program TROS TV Show. On October 5 she appeared on Wetten, dass..?. On October 19 she appeared on the BBC show Parkinson and on France's Star Academy. On October 26 she filmed a mini-concert for CD:UK. On November 6, she launched the US leg of the promotional tour by opening the 2002 Country Music Awards. On November 24, Twain performed in Edmonton at the 2002 Grey Cup halftime show.


Twain embarked on the successful Up! Tour in September 2003.

Commercial performance[edit]

Up! debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and the all-genre Billboard 200, selling 874,000 copies in its first week of release.[20] In its second week, it remained at the top spot on both charts, selling 623,000 copies. In its third week, sales were still strong enough to top both charts again, selling more than 317,000 copies and beating Tim McGraw's Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors, which held the No. 2 spot for a second consecutive week.[21] The album remained at No. 1 after its fourth week of release, selling more than 373,000 copies. Its last reign on the all-genre chart was after its fifth week. The album's five-week total alone stands at an estimated 2,646,000 units. The RIAA certified the album 11× platinum (Diamond), denoting shipments of 5.5 million in the United States; the RIAA counts each disc separately for certification purposes.[22] It stayed in the Top 200 of the Billboard top 200 albums sales chart for more than 60 weeks.


The album was also certified diamond in Canada 17 days after its release date.[23]


In 2007, the album's cover was listed on Maxim's Sexiest Album Covers.[24]

Rakesh Chaurasia –

flute

Cory Churko – , soloist

slide guitar

Kevin Churko – programming

Sunil Das –

sitar

Diamond Duggal – , coral sitar, bass guitar, synthesizer guitar, keyboards, mandolin, percussion

bouzouki

Simon Duggal – bass guitar, , dholak, drum programming, keyboards, percussion, tabla

darbouka

pedal steel guitar

Paul Franklin

Gavin Greenaway – string arrangements

The Irish Film Orchestra – strings

– background vocals

Robert John "Mutt" Lange

– drums

Paul Leim

– electric guitar

Brent Mason

Mauro Pagini – background vocals

Chintoo Singh –

rabab

Jatinder Thakur – violin

Michael Thompson – electric guitar, slide guitar

– lead vocals, background vocals

Shania Twain

Sanjay Vyas – tabla

banjo, bouzouki, acoustic guitar, mandolin

John Willis

– cello, mandolin, violin

Jonathan Yudkin

List of best-selling albums by women

List of best-selling albums in Canada

List of best-selling albums in the United States