The Beginning is the sixthstudio album by American musical groupthe Black Eyed Peas, released on November 26, 2010 byInterscope Records. It is a prequel to the group's previous albumThe E.N.D. (2009), and their last credited as "the" Black Eyed Peas (with a 'the' prefix). Its lead single, "The Time (Dirty Bit)", was released on November 9, 2010. The second single, "Just Can't Get Enough" was released on February 18, 2011, while its third and final single, "Don't Stop the Party", was released on June 24, 2011.
The Beginning debuted at number six on the USBillboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 119,000 units; critical reception was generally mixed to negative. The album was the group's final project to featureFergie as a member, and was followed by a five year hiatus.
Background
On June 6, 2010, the band confirmed that they were working on a new album in an interview forThe Big Issue. The album was described as a sequel toThe E.N.D.will.i.am announced that the new album, which "symbolizes growth, new beginnings, and starts a fresh new perspective," would be titledThe Beginning and be released on November 30, 2010.[3] The album was officially announced in a press release on October 26, 2010.[4]
Some songs were made available as promotional singles for the album release. The first, "Do It Like This", was released on November 15, 2010,[5] and the second, "Light Up the Night", on November 22, 2010.[6]The Beginning was one ofOprah's Favorite Things for 2010, and members of Oprah's audience were given copies of the album 11 days before its official release.[7]
"The Time (Dirty Bit)" was released as thelead single fromThe Beginning on November 5, 2010. It officially debuted on United States radio on November 16, 2010.[9][10] The music video for "The Time (Dirty Bit)" was released on November 23, 2010 and was directed byRich Lee, who had previously directed the video for "Rock That Body" and "Imma Be". The song topped the charts in more than 15 countries.
"Just Can't Get Enough" was released as the album's second single when it impacted US mainstream on February 8, 2011.[11][12] It was announced on January 21, 2011 via Twitter and their official site that it would become a single.[13] The music video for "Just Can't Get Enough" was directed by Ben Mor. It was shot over a three-day period in Tokyo just one week before the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The song topped the charts in many countries.
"Don't Stop the Party" was announced as the third single fromThe Beginning by will.i.am on May 9, 2011. A music video for the song was released oniTunes the next day, along with the single.[14] The video, which is directed by Ben Mor, features on stage and backstage footage of the group during their 'The E.N.D World Tour' throughout 2009 and 2010.[15]
Promotional singles
"Do It Like This", was released on November 16, 2010 worldwide and on November 26 on iTunes. It was the first promotional single from the album as part of "The Countdown to The Beginning".[citation needed]
"Light Up the Night" was the second promotional single from the album and was released on November 24, 2010 worldwide and on November 26 on iTunes. The song charted at number 99 at theCanadian Hot 100.[16]
Other notable songs
"Love You Long Time" had charted, at the first week after the album's release, at number 36 on theUK Dance Chart.[citation needed]
The Beginning received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. The album was praised for its production, but it was heavily criticized by the lack of appearance of Fergie, will.i.am's vocals, use ofAuto-Tune, and lyrics. AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received anaverage score of 47, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[18]
Monica Herrera wrote forBillboard that "the music is expertly produced, but problems arise when Will.i.am claims the same of his wordplay. On the track "Don't Stop the Party," he chest-thumps, "Kill you with my lyricals/Call me verbal criminal." It's a silly boast for an artist who clearly focuses on beats over rhymes, and is probably better off for it."[28] Kevin O'Donnell ofSpin described the album as "one of the year's wildest sonic stews" and concluded "Pop's reigning peddlers of dumb fun are actually starting to sound stylishly avant-garde on their sixth album."The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan gave the album 3 out of 5 stars calling it "upscalehip-pop" and said that "the Black Eyed Peas have created an album similar to 2009's enormously successfulThe END, but with moreAuto-Tune and less input from the wonderfulFergie."[22]Rolling Stone reviewer Jon Dolan viewed that the album "largely picks up whereThe E.N.D. left off" and felt that "they give themselves over more fully than ever to the groove palette of club culture, stirring up electro funk, Euro-trance and classic disco."[25] John Bush ofAllmusic gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, and noted that althoughDavid Guetta only appears on one track "his production job for 2009’s “I Gotta Feeling” casts a long shadow on this record of don't-stop-the-party jams and club-life tracks."[19]
Entertainment Weekly writer Simon Vozick-Levinson gave the album a very positive review and stated "The Beginning wisely sticks with the heavier electronic beats they began importing from European clubs forThe E.N.D. — a key ingredient that transformed the Black Eyed Peas from merely major stars to arguably the biggest chart act going [...] Every song is piled high with sticky pop melodies, slick hip-hop rhythms, bright synth parts, and vocals that have been diced and processed to high heaven, all furthering the goal of maximum catchiness."[1] Greg Kot ofChicago Tribune gave the album 1.5 out of 4 stars and called it "the quartet’s tamest, most hook-deprived album in the Fergie era" and stated "the music’s reliance on rhythmic and lyrical repetition (as opposed to progression and surprise) becomes wearying."[29] In his review forThe Independent, Andy Gill gave it three out of five stars and wrote "It's a textbook blend of the over-familiar and the electronically treated, though their use of auto-tune and digital-stutter vocal effects is a touch more restrained than usual. From there on, the aspect never extends beyond the dancefloor, with martial synth-stomp riffs, spartan electro beats and loping bass grooves driving tracks."[30] Ben Ratliff ofThe New York Times gave the album a negative review and noted it similarities with its predecessor,The E.N.D. with few differences, "less of Fergie’s actressy, un-Autotuned belting (too bad about that), bolder two-step techno beats, more heavily draped synthesizer tones and a fascination with late ’70s and early ’80s pop radio." and found the lyrics "soggy" and "cynical."[31]musicOMH writer Luke Winkie stated that "will.i.am's productions sound like the bare minimum one could throw together and call a beat, usually encompassed by a simplified drum sequence and a buzzsaw synth turned up to the red and repeated long enough for DJs to make their paycheck" and wrote "the band has a knack of elongating their elementally good ideas into preposterously tiresome compositions."[24]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number six on theBillboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 119,000 copies in the United States.[32] It is their third album to chart inside the top ten, but their lowest charting album sinceElephunk, which peaked at number 14 in 2003. As of October 2011, the album had sold over 800,000 copies in the United States.[33]
In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 17 selling 34,006 copies. After a performance onThe X Factor on December 5, 2010, the album rose eight places to number nine and subsequently spent three weeks in the top ten. In Canada, it debuted at number two selling 27,400 copies in its first week, being kept off the top spot by a margin of 200 copies behindSusan Boyle'sThe Gift.[34] The album debuted at number one in France, selling 35,653 copies in its first week.[35] It is the Black Eyed Peas' third consecutive number-one album in the country.
In Germany, the album debuted at number five and started to slowly fall down. In its third week, the album was at No. 9 but could jump to No. 7 the following week. Following the success of the single "The Time (Dirty Bit)", the album rose from No. 7 to No. 2 in its fifth week, the album's peak position.[36][37]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Release history
List of release dates, showing country, record label, and edition
^abcVozick-Levinson, Simon (November 24, 2010)."The Beginning | Music".Entertainment Weekly. Archived fromthe original on November 27, 2010. RetrievedDecember 2, 2010.
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