Critical reception Professional ratings Aggregate scoresĬorinne Bailey Rae received generally positive reviews from music critics. As of October 2009, Corinne Bailey Rae had sold over four million copies worldwide. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on 5 December 2006, and had sold 1.9 million copies in the US by January 2010. On the issue dated 3 March 2007, it peaked at number four with 120,000 copies sold. The album debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, selling 40,000 copies in its first week. The album had sold 968,341 copies in the United Kingdom by May 2016, earning a triple platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 22 July 2013.
In the United States, " Breathless" was released as a promotional single in 2007.Ĭorinne Bailey Rae debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 108,181 copies in its first week. Several songs from the album appear in the 2006 comedy-drama film Venus starring Peter O'Toole. On the same day, the album was re-released with a bonus disc containing some of the B-sides and remixes included on previous singles, as well as three new tracks-one of which, a cover of Björk's 1993 song " Venus as a Boy", only previously appeared on a covermount for Q magazine. " I'd Like To" was released on 12 February 2007 as the fourth and final single. " Trouble Sleeping" was released as the album's third single in May 2006, peaking at number 40 in the UK. The second single, " Put Your Records On", peaked at number two in February 2006. When re-released in October 2006, "Like a Star" reached a new peak position of number 32 on the UK chart. I had a lot to learn.” Which she soon did, from countless jazz and R&B acts passing through-“people who were just leagues ahead of me, musically, but who didn’t have a massive ego and were happy to put aside some of their time for me.” Quick-study Rae became the club’s main draw." Like a Star" was released as the album's lead single in a limited-edition format in 2005, peaking at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart. “I didn’t even give the band enough space to do a solo-I kept racing into the next verse, the next chorus. “I just loved it and I didn’t want it to end,” she says. Rae only knew a few standards-she chose “God Bless The Child.” The experience was transforming. Rae had already attempted a music career (with ill-fated alt-folk combo Helen) when a lounge crooner invited her onstage that first fateful night. How did she swing it? Easy, chortles Rae, who was fortunate enough to get hired by one of Leeds’ hippest jazz/blues nightspots. She didn’t hone her craft on Britain’s requisite pub or coffeehouse circuit like most young artists-instead, she learned the ropes working shifts as a hat-check girl. It was a quirky path to fame for 26-year-old ex-English-lit major Corinne Bailey Rae. Even mega-buzz band The Arctic Monkeys have sworn fanboy allegiance.įor fans of: Madeleine Peyroux, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu Why she’s worth watching: Her laidback, soulful album just hit #1 on the U.K. “It’s not like I’m secretly saying, ‘By the way, it’s time to pack your bags!’” “So my songs aren’t strictly autobiographical,” she clarifies. Fun fact: Rae trades in tales of heartbreak on her eponymous Capitol debut, but she’s been happily married to a professional sax player for four years.