''It's the Girls!'' is the fourteenth studio album by American singer

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on November 4, 2014. Midler's first release with the label since '' Bette'' (2000), the album is a collection representing the music of the great

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

s of the past.Hampp, Andrew
"Bette Midler Announces ''It's the Girls!'', Her First Album Since 2006"
Billboard.com, September 23, 2014. The album sold 40,000 copies in its first week of release in the United States, thus allowing it to reach number three on the ''Billboard'' 200, her highest position on the chart. This made Midler only the second female singer after

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

to have top 10 albums in five consecutive decades. ''It's the Girls!'' also marked Midler's highest debut week sales ever, and her second-highest position in the US after the ''Beaches'' soundtrack, released in 1988.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

editor Matt Collar found that the album "sounds like a retrospective, a return to the cabaret and theatrical style of her early career. Working with veteran producers Marc Shaiman and Scott Riesett, Midler frames her resonant vocal chops with lush arrangements that, while reverential to the original recordings, certainly allow her to express her own personality on each song ..These are brightly produced songs perfectly suited to Midler's vocal style, stage bravado, and cheeky sense of humor." Amy Rose from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', wrote that "Midler has a voice that’s rich enough to reanimate any pop standard ..and the album’s spirit of femme camaraderie comes through in their powerhouse harmonies and jokey just-us-girls delivery." Stephen Holden, writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', felt that ''It's the Girls!'' "was "one of her best ..That music, along with

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

, is in Ms. Midler and roducer Mr. Shaiman’s bones, and their fit is as comfortable as ever ..Midler’s brash, mouthy vocal persona is still capable of sounding playfully transgressive, at least by ’60s standards."

Commercial performance

''It's the Girls!'' debuted at number three on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 40,000 copies in its first week of release, ending November 9, 2014, according to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

. This made Midler only the second female singer after

to have top 10 albums in five consecutive decades. The album also marked Midler's highest debut week sales ever, and her second-highest position in the US after the ''Beaches'' soundtrack, which came in at number two in 1988.

Track listing

All tracks prodced by Marc Shaiman and Scott M. Riesett.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

''It's the Girls!''
at Bette Midler's website 2014 albums Bette Midler albums Warner Records albums Covers albums Traditional pop albums {{2010s-pop-album-stub