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Perfectionist is the debut studio album by British pop artist, Natalia Kills. It was released on April 1, 2011 through several record labels including Interscope and Cherrytree Records. Despite having previously started an acting career, Kills ventured into rap music and released her first single in 2005; however, her label eventually became bankrupt. She continued to work as a songwriter until 2008, when she was signed by will.i.am and started recording her first studio album.
Kills worked with musicians including Fernando Garibay, Jeff Bhasker, and Martin Kierszenbaum, and created a concept album based on perfectionism. Its lyrical content contains references to love, sex, and money while its sound is mostly styled in synthpop and dance-pop. Perfectionist received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who criticized its music and preferred Kills' visual projects. The album performed moderately on international record charts, obtaining top 50 positions in some European countries. In the United States, it reached number 129, and has sold 14,000 copies there as of September 2013; in the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 134.
The album spawned three singles—"Mirrors", "Wonderland" and "Free"—which attained success in Europe and were accompanied by music videos. "Mirrors" managed to peak within the top 5 of the US Hot Dance Club Songs. In association with Guillaume Doubet, Kills also produced a web series titled "Love, Kills xx", based on her secret thoughts and desires. Comprising 10 episodes, it shows Kills seeking revenge and hurting men.
Background[]
Natalia had been working on this album since early 2009. The album has production from will.i.am, Akon, Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, Jeff Bhasker and Kills herself. Natalia spoke about the album and her film, to coincide with the album, titled "The Exhibitionist", "I wanted to describe and express myself musically and visually. To show who I am and what inspires me. I love silent movies from the 20's. I wanted my film to be in the classic film noir style and tie in my album concept of "Perfectionist" The album consists of dark, but pop styled music. Via Twitter, Natalia revealed there were no features on the album.
Singles[]
- Official singles
- The First official single from the album, "Mirrors," was released worldwide on different dates in the summer of 2010.
- "Wonderland" is the sophomore single that was released worldwide.
- "Free" is the third and final single release from the album. Black Eyed Peas front man, Will.I.Am, joined some vocals for a remix that will be released as the official single.
- Promotional singles
- "Zombie" was the first promotional single released on June 20 worldwide. The music video currently has over 3 million views on YouTube.
- "Activate My Heart" was the second promotional single released. It was released on April 23, 2010 and took on a more robotic sound, rather than the dark sound of "Zombie". It will not be included on her debut album as a standard track.
Tracklist[]
| Perfectionist | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Perfection" | Kills | Martin Kierszenbaum | 0:32 | ||||||
| 2. | "Wonderland" | Kills • Michael Warren • Feemster | Feemster | 3:31 | ||||||
| 3. | "Free" | Kills • Jeff Bhasker • Scott Mescudi • Dion Wilson | Bhasker • Dion Wilson | 3:57 | ||||||
| 4. | "Break You Hard" | Kills • Feemster | Feemster | 4:22 | ||||||
| 5. | "Zombie" | Kills • Bhasker | Kills • Bhasker | 3:19 | ||||||
| 6. | "Love is a Suicide" | Kills • Fernando Garibay • Warren | Garibay | 3:57 | ||||||
| 7. | "Mirrors" | Kills • Kierszenbaum • Akon • Giorgio Tuinfort | Kierszenbaum • Akon • Tuinfort | 3:16 | ||||||
| 8. | "Not In Love" | Kills • Kierszenbaum | Kierszenbaum | 3:23 | ||||||
| 9. | "Acid Annie" | Kills • Kierszenbaum | Kierszenbaum | 3:37 | ||||||
| 10. | "Superficial" | Kills • Feemster | Feemster | 3:17 | ||||||
| 11. | "Broke" | Kills • Garibay • Warren | Garibay | 4:08 | ||||||
| 12. | "Heaven" | Kills • Bhasker | Bhasker | 4:49 | ||||||
| 13. | "Nothing Lasts Forever" | Kills • Bhasker | Bhasker | 3:30 | ||||||
| 14. | "If I Was God" | Kills • Feemster | Feemster | 4:43 | ||||||
Total length: |
50:21 | |||||||||
Release History[]
| Region | Date | Format | Edition | Label |
| Austria | April 1, 2011 | CD / Digital Download | Standard | Universal |
| Germany | ||||
| Switzerland | ||||
| France | Digital Download | |||
| Poland | April 15, 2011 | CD | ||
| Australia | August 9, 2011 | |||
| Canada | August 16, 2011 | CD / Digital Download | Standard / Deluxe | |
| United States | CD / Digital Download | will.i.am / Cherrytree / KonLive / Interscope | ||
| United Kingdom | September 19, 2011 | CD / Digital Download | Standard | Polydor |
Chart performance[]
| Austrian Albums (O3 Austria) | 35 |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) | 36 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 50 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 94 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 129 |
| US Billboard 200 | 134 |
| US Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard) | 6 |
| US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) | 1 |