''Beautiful Awakening'' is the third studio album by American singer

Stacie Orrico Stacie Joy Orrico (born March 3, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter and occasional actress. After signing to ForeFront Records, Orrico recorded her first album, '' Genuine'' (2000), which sold 13,000 units in its first week of release. Af ...

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

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldw ...

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 divi ...

. Conceived during a longer hiatus during which Orrico returned to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

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 t ...

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 musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfirmed events in ...

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 a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

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 is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, took Orrico's work further away from the

teen pop Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements of ...

and more into

R&B-Pop Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythms, ...

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 , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in No ...

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 p ...

(RIAJ). "

I'm Not Missing You "I'm Not Missing You" is a song written by Keir "KayGee" Gist, Terence "Tramp Baby" Abney, Esteban Crandle, Tawanna Dabney, Balewa Muhammad and Orrico herself for Stacie Orrico's third studio album ''Beautiful Awakening''. It was co-produced by ...

," 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 (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...

Background

In 2003, Orrico's career exploded when "

Stuck Stuck may refer to: Film and television * ''Stuck'' (2001 film), a short film directed by Jamie Babbit * ''Stuck'' (2002 film), a Canadian TV drama directed by Lindsay Bourne * ''Stuck'' (2007 film), a thriller directed by Stuart Gordon and starr ...

" 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

" 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) is an American music video director and choreographer. Awards Diane Martel was nominated for the Video of the Year for her work in "Blurred Lines" – Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell & T.I. in 2013. Fil ...

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 services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...

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 (from Spanish ''calabazas'' "gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica and Santa Susanna mountains.

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 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 ''mot ...

." 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 music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

editor

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

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'' "evan ...

'' 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 (german: link=no, Schweizer 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 7 ...

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 singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

. * "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.

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