Lil' Chris (album)

Background

Lil' Chris rose to prominence in January 2006 at the age of 15 after appearing in series two of Channel 4's Rock School. The TV show saw Gene Simmons (from the band KISS) try to form a rock band out of a class of children attending Kirkley High School (now East Point Academy). In the series, Lil' Chris was immediately seen as a contender for the band after revealing that he could sing, play guitar, drum and write songs. Eventually he was selected as frontman and lead singer in the line-up for the group (now named "Hoax UK" after the slogan on his cap). In the final episode the group went on to open for Judas Priest, Rob Zombie and Anthrax at a concert in Long Beach, California. A week after the performance Lil' Chris was contacted by record producers Ray Hedges and Nigel Butler, who appeared in Rock School to help the class with songwriting. Hardman went on to sign a record contract with RCA Records and released his debut single "Checkin' It Out" in September 2006 which reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart.

After performing a cover of Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, he then released his debut album Lil' Chris in December 2006. He continued to promote and release singles from his album throughout 2007, as well as performing as a supporting act for McFly on their 24 date Up Close and Personal tour throughout the UK. Hardman also took part in BBC Three's Celebrity Scissorhands and made guest appearances in episodes of CBBC's SMart and TMi. In 2008 he hosted his own series Everybody Loves Lil' Chris for Channel 4.

Recording

"Is There Anybody Out There (Kickin' Off)" was written by Hedges and Butler with the group during their time on Rock School, and is thus sometimes credited as being co-written by the group (then known as "Hoax UK"). The album version is slightly different to the version performed on the show. "Gettin' Enough??" has been compared to have a similar tone to that of "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" by the Buzzcocks. "Rachel" was reportedly written about singer and personality Rachel Stevens. Hardman toured the UK, signing copies of the album, including a signing in his hometown, at their Woolworths store.

Critical reception

Danny McKenna of Amazon said of the album; "Having set out his pseudo-punk stall with his first single "Checkin' It Out", which hit number three in September 2006, Rock School winner Lil' Chris – a cheeky 16-year-old from Lowestoft, Suffolk, who looks three years younger but puts on live performances as if he were five years older – now offers the world his debut album. Allegedly penned whilst bunking off school, Lil' Chris continues its author's willful domination of the punk-pop sound with songs like "Is There Anybody Out There?", the electronically charged "Gettin' Enough??", "Me and My Life" and the quirky "Is She Ready". The results, as with the debut single, are mixed. Chris' brattish, high-pitched voice is full of unconvincing warbles and wails - it doesn't quite back up the supposedly angry stance as much as it should. The highly derivative songwriting also doesn't do much to convince, but while the project doesn't offer anything in terms of truly serious musical merit, Chris himself is full of youthful verve and does deliver on the entertainment front."