The Power of Love (Sam Bailey album)

Background

After winning the tenth series of The X Factor on 15 December 2013, Bailey signed a joint record deal with Syco Music and Sony Music. She also released a cover of Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper" as her winner's single on 16 December. On The Xtra Factor after the final results show, judge Gary Barlow said that he would like to write songs for Bailey. In an interview with the Official Charts Company, Bailey said that she wanted to release her debut album in spring 2014, which, with a gap of just three months, would make it 'the fastest album in X Factor history' (although Nicholas McDonald, who was the runner-up to Bailey, ended up releasing his debut album a week earlier than Bailey making that the fastest album in X Factor history).

The album was recorded in London in January 2014. On 21 January, Bailey tweeted that her debut album would be called The Power of Love. On 22 January, Bailey appeared at the 19th National Television Awards and sang the album's title track, "The Power of Love". She also performed a duet of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" with Michael Bolton. During an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show on 24 January, Bailey announced that she had finished recording The Power of Love earlier that day. The album's artwork was revealed on 18 February. On 4 March, a sampler of the album was released on Bailey's official YouTube channel.

Composition

It was confirmed that the album would contain both cover versions and original material. In an interview with Digital Spy, Bailey said "I wanted to do some [cover versions]. It wasn't just them telling me what to do - there were a lot ideas passed across the table. I didn't want to cover any songs by artists that are around at the moment or are current in the charts because I don't think that's right. I wanted to do songs that were inspirational to me back in the day and close to my heart, particularly with my dad..." One of the songs, Supertramp's "Lord Is It Mine", was chosen in memory of Sam's father, Ronnie, who died from cancer in 2008. "It was played at my dad's funeral," she said. "It was his favourite song and I've always wanted to sing it. When I recorded it, I was literally sobbing – I had to turn my microphone around so nobody could see me and shut the curtains."

It had previously been reported that Bailey and Bolton may record a duet for the album. During The X Factor, Bolton extended his UK trip in order to meet her and said he would work with her "in a heartbeat" and would "love to duet" with her. On 29 January, the duo released pictures of themselves recording a duet of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", and this will be included on the album. Bolton said, "The only thing more important than a great instrument is the ability to put your heart into that instrument. That's what resonates with people, that's what moves human beings and she has that combination." Another duet on the album is "And I Am Telling You" with Nicole Scherzinger, which Bailey originally performed on the X Factor final.

Singles

On 16 December 2013, the day after she won The X Factor, Bailey released a cover of Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper" as her winner's single. On 22 December, the song debuted atop the UK Singles Chart with first-week sales of 149,000 copies, becoming the Christmas number one. On 30 December, the Official Charts Company revealed that "Skyscraper" was the fifth fastest-selling single of 2013.

On 18 February 2014, the song "Compass" received its debut airplay on BBC Radio 2. The song was previously released in 2010 by classical singers Mark Vincent and Didrik Solli-Tangen. It was announced as the album's second single, however its release was cancelled and the song serves as the promotional single.

Critical reception

The album received a mixed reception from critics. Daniel Falconer of Female First gave it 2 stars out of 5. Referring to a duet with Nicole Scherzinger (And I Am Telling You), he wrote: "Unfortunately for Sam, [Scherzinger] manages to bring herself to the forefront as she takes the best lines and shows that her ability is a much more honed one. Granted, she's been in the business for quite some time now, but Sam should have put her foot down." In an extremely negative review, Virgin Media's Ian Gittins gave the album 1/5 and called it "the worst album made by an X Factor winner to date."

In a positive review, the Scunthorpe Telegraph wrote, "Obviously cashing in on her success of winning X-Factor Sam’s debut album is a commendable effort. But some of her choices have been flogged to death. The ex-prison warder is strong however on emotion and that could make this a best-seller. Her duet with Michael Bolton on Ain’t No Mountain High Enough is the stand-out track."

Commercial performance

On 27 March 2014, the album debuted at number two on the Irish Albums Chart. On 30 March, it went in at number one on the UK Albums Chart, making Bailey the first X Factor winner to have a number one album since Alexandra Burke topped the chart with her debut album Overcome in October 2009. The album sold 72,644 copies in its first week, making it (at the time) the fastest-selling album of 2014 in the UK, the second fastest-selling female solo album, behind Taylor Swift's 1989, and the 41st best-selling album overall. The album has sold 165,711 copies in the UK as of November 2015.

Track listing