''Beautiful Awakening'' is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American singer

Stacie Orrico Stacie Joy Orrico (born March 3, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. After signing to ForeFront Records, Orrico recorded her first album, '' Genuine'' (2000). Her second studio album '' Stacie Orrico'' (2003), released by ForeFront and ...

. It was first released internationally on August 14, 2006, and marked the singer's debut with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

following her transition from

ForeFront Records ForeFront Records is a contemporary Christian music and Christian rock record label founded in 1987 by Dan R. Brock, Eddie DeGarmo, Dana Key, and Ron W. Griffin. It was purchased by EMI in 1996 from Dan R. Brock and Eddie DeGarmo, and is a divis ...

. Conceived during a longer hiatus during which Orrico returned to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and took a waitressing job at a

seafood restaurant A seafood restaurant is a restaurant that specializes in seafood cuisine and seafood dishes, such as fish and shellfish. Dishes may include freshwater fish. The concept may focus upon the preparation and service of fresh seafood, (as opposed to ...

after bouts with exhaustion following her international breakthrough with her self-titled second album (2003) and subsequent touring, the singer consulted a variety of musicians to work with her on new material. The songs, crafted along with frequent collaborators such as

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, and film producer from Columbus, Georgia. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfir ...

and Anthony Dent as well as Dwayne Bastiany,

KayGee Keir Lamont Gist (born September 15, 1969), professionally known by his stage name KayGee, is an American DJ and record producer from East Orange, New Jersey, best known as a member of hip hop trio Naughty by Nature. He has won a Grammy Award ...

Novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

She'kspere Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs is an American record producer, known for producing the TLC (music), TLC #1 hit "No Scrubs" and various Destiny's Child songs from the album ''The Writing's on the Wall''. Briggs' then girlfriend, former Xscape (group), ...

, and

Track & Field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

, took Orrico's work further away from the

teen pop Teen pop is a sub genre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards Preadolescence, preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop". About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Often, the artists themselves are teenagers during their break ...

and more into

R&B-Pop Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...

genre. Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from critics who complimented Orrico's vocal talent and pop charisma displayed on ''Beautiful Awakening.'' However, some felt that it lacked musical growth. Commercially, the album was less successful than her previous album ''Stacie Orrico'' (2003), though it reached the top ten on the

Japanese Albums Chart Japanese Albums Chart may refer to: * Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridg ...

and was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pro ...

(RIAJ). " I'm Not Missing You," the album's lead single, became a top 20 hit in Belgium, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, and Scotland. A second single, "So Simple," failed to chart. In the United States, ''Beautiful Awakening'' was released on January 16, 2007, in limited quantities but was quickly pulled as Virgin folded into

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Background

In 2003, Orrico's career exploded when " Stuck" and " (There's Gotta Be) More to Life", the first two singles from her self-titled second album, became international top ten hits. Overwhelmed by the global success, the singer soon found herself on the hectic music business treadmill and, instead of continue recording, opted to return to her family in

and took a waitressing job at a neighborhood seafood restaurant. During her hiatus, Orrico began writing new material and wound up with 55 new songs.

Singles

" I'm Not Missing You" was released as the album's lead single on August 5, 2006. The song charted at number 19 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart, an extension of the twenty-five songs that failed to make the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Diane Martel Diane Martel (also known as Bucky Chrome and Diamond Martel) is an American music video director and choreographer. As a music video director, she has worked with Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Sting and Jennifer Lopez. One of her ...

directed its accompanying music video. Orrico re-shot the video for release in the U.S. and Canada. It was directed by the husband-wife directing team Honey. The redone video is about Orrico being happy about not being attached to anyone. Unlike the original version, Orrico provided all of her own wardrobe. The video premiered on

Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...

Music on December 6, 2006. The song, as well as Stacie, is featured as one of iTunes' ''39 Girls of Summer''. "So Simple" was the second single for Europe and Asia released on January 26, 2007, in Europe and Australia at around the same time having been released in Southeast Asia in October 2006. The video for "So Simple" was directed by

Ray Kay Reinert K. Olsen (born 10 July 1978), known professionally as Ray Kay, is a Norwegian director and photographer who is currently based in Los Angeles. He is a music video and advertising director. Ray Kay mostly directs music videos and has wo ...

and was shot in

Calabasas, California Calabasas (, ; Spanish language in California, Spanish for "winter squash, squashes") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States.

Critical reception

''Beautiful Awakening'' received generally mixed to positive reviews. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' critic Chuck Taylor called the album "a majestic follow-up and the best blue-eyed soul this side of

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

." He felt that it "percolates with confidence and plentiful momentum" and noted that the album "has a definable signature throughout as if Orrico is performing the set live before your eyes. There are many highlights." Mike Rimmer, writing for ''

Cross Rhythms Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It operates an FM and online radio station, produces radio shows sent internationally, and its website has resources about contemporary Christian music. His ...

'', found that the album was "packed with the R&B pop that is so familiar of her style, all topped by her excellent voice .As always Orrico is superb vocally ..Whilst not as immediate and poppy as her last release, this new slightly more mature approach suits her just fine."

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 Mus ...

editor

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

gave a positive review. He found that he album finds "Orrico not only delivering more of the R&B soaked pop she perfected on her 2003 self-titled sophomore effort, but also maturing as an artist and a woman. Only 17 when she released her previous album, Orrico owns her womanhood here, focusing on such subjects as falling love and keeping true to yourself ..These are heartfelt, hummable and sometimes funky tracks that truly showcase Orrico's growing vocal talent and pop charisma." Andree Farias form ''

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...

'' found that he album lacked "musical growth" and called it "a mild disappointment considering the potential Orrico showed" before. He remarked that "a couple of these songs are some of Orrico's most inspired, self-reflective performances to date utby comparison, though, the rest is all lighthearted stuff. Some of it is even silly, teen-crush fare."

Chart performance

''Beautiful Awakening'' failed to reprise the success of Orrico's self-titled previous album (2003). It reached the top ten on the

, peaking at number 8, and reached the top 20 on the UK R&B Albums chart, peaking at number 15. It also entered the top 40 of the

Swiss Albums Chart The Swiss Hitparade () is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top 75 (released since 1968) * Singles T ...

Track listing

Sample credits * "So Simple" contains a sample from "Ex-Factor" as performed by

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American musician. She is celebrated as one of the most influential musical artists of her generation. Hill is credited with breaking barriers for female rappers, contributing to the popular music, m ...

. * "Take Me Away" contains a sample from "On My Way Home to You" as performed by Michael Franks. * "Is It Me" contains a sample from "A Garden of Peace" as performed by

Lonnie Liston Smith Lonnie Liston Smith Jr. (born December 28, 1940) is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with such jazz artists as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of ...

and "Dead Presidents II" as performed by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

Production

Credits adapted from AllMusic. *Terence "Tramp Baby" Abney – producer *

– producer * Dwayne Bastiany – engineer, instrumentation, producer, programming *Yvan Bing – assistant engineer *Dawn Boonyachlito – stylist *Lashaunda "Babygirl" Carr – producer *Anthony Dent – engineer, instrumentation, producer, programming *Rob Herrera – engineer *Chris Jenkins – assistant engineer *

– producer *Carlton Lynn – engineer, mixing *Graham Marsh – assistant engineer *

– producer *

– creative director, producer, vocal producer *Tiffany Palmer – vocal producer *Herb Powers – mastering *Greg Price – mixing *Carlos Ricketts – vocal producer *Michelle Ryang – A&R *

– producer *Rick Sheppard – engineer, sound design *Track & Field – producer *Trendsettas – producer * The Underdogs – producer *Josh Wilbur – engineer, mixing

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2006 albums 2007 albums Albums produced by KayGee Albums produced by Dallas Austin Albums produced by the Underdogs (production team) ForeFront Records albums Stacie Orrico albums Virgin Records albums