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A Girl Like Me is the debut studio album by English singer Emma Bunton, released on 16 April 2001 by Virgin Records. Following the release of the Spice Girls' third studio album, Forever (2000), the group announced that they were beginning an indefinite hiatus and would be concentrating on their solo careers in regards to their foreseeable future.[1] Recording sessions for Bunton's first solo album took place from July 1999 to October 2000 at several recording studios.

A Girl Like Me
Studio album by Emma Bunton
Released	16 April 2001 (2001-04-16)
Recorded	July 1999 – October 2000
Studio	Biffco (Dublin)[lower-alpha 1] Rokstone (London)[lower-alpha 2] The Loft (Bronxville, New York)[lower-alpha 3] Polar (Stockholm)[lower-alpha 4] Olympic (London)[lower-alpha 5] Boundary Row (London)[lower-alpha 6] Sound Gallery (Los Angeles)[lower-alpha 7] Sarm West (London)[lower-alpha 8]
Genre	Pop pop rock dance-pop
Length	45:40
Label	Virgin
Producer	Andrew Frampton Julian Gallagher Rhett Lawrence Steve Mac Evan Rogers Richard "Biff" Stannard Carl Sturken Tin Tin Out
Emma Bunton chronology
A Girl Like Me (2001) Free Me (2004)
Singles from A Girl Like Me
"What Took You So Long?" Released: 2 April 2001 "Take My Breath Away" Released: 27 August 2001 "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" Released: 10 December 2001

A Girl Like Me debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, selling 21,500 copies in its first week. The album spawned three singles: "What Took You So Long?" (which topped the charts in the United Kingdom and New Zealand), "Take My Breath Away" and "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight". The album also features Bunton's collaboration with Tin Tin Out, a cover of "What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. On 7 September 2001, A Girl Like Me was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipments in excess of 100,000 copies.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Chart Attack	2.5/5[4]
Hot Press	Unfavourable[5]
NME	6/10[6]

A Girl Like Me garnered a lukewarm reception from music critics, who praised its catchy songs, but were critical of its generic nature.

Deborah J Elliot of Musical Discoveries was positive about the album, calling it a " very nice listen" that showed Bunton "growing out of her pig tails from the days of the Spice Girls, into a grown woman", and singled out the singles as well as the tracks "Better Be Careful", "High on Love", "A World Without You", "Been There, Done That" and "Spell It Out" for praise.[7] Ian Wade of Dotmusic was also positive towards the album: he praised tracks such as the lead single, "Better Be Careful" and "A World Without You", but was critical of the more R&B cuts such "Been There, Done That". In the end, he concluded: "Overall, 'A Girl Like Me', is a thoroughly likeable affair, much like Emma herself, and should put an end to her enforced toddlerism Baby years once and for all".[8] Stewart Mason of AllMusic felt that Bunton's singing voice lacked depth but that it worked with the well-crafted and addictive pop songs, concluding that it "isn't an album for the ages, but it's better than 'not bad.'"[3] Timothy Park of NME gave the album a 6/10 rating. He said that there were great tracks such as "Take My Breath Away" and "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" that Bunton performs adequately, but concluded that "'A Girl Like Me', like Emma, is very sweet but, like Emma also, it has no balls."[6] Erik Missio of Chart Attack said he saw promise in the album but felt disappointed by its attempts to resemble the Spice Girls' sound.[4] Stephen Robinson of Hot Press criticised the tracks for being overly sweet and borrowing from other genres but being unoriginal with them, calling it "another album to chuck aboard the pop blandwagon."[5]

In a retrospective article about the Spice Girls' solo and group discography, Quentin Harrison of Albumism wrote: "A Girl Like Me's natural air of ease and comfort in its expression of its musical identity establishes that Bunton has an unpretentious awareness of herself as a singer and writer. Her knowledge of her strengths allows her to forgo any major missteps and has let her initiating effort age impeccably thus far"[9]

Track listing

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of A Girl Like Me.[10]

Musicians

Technical

Artwork

• Terry Richardson – photography
• Ian Ross – design
• Ruth Rowland – lettering

Charts

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[23]	Gold	35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[2]	Gold	100,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Label
United Kingdom	16 April 2001	Virgin
Australia	14 May 2001	EMI

Notes

References

На других языках

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- [en] A Girl Like Me (Emma Bunton album)

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[it] A Girl like Me (Emma Bunton)

A Girl like Me è il primo album in studio della cantautrice britannica Emma Bunton, pubblicato nel Regno Unito e in Europa il 16 aprile 2001 dalla Virgin.

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[ru] A Girl Like Me (альбом Эммы Бантон)

A Girl Like Me — дебютный сольный альбом британской певицы Эммы Бантон, выпущенный 16 апреля 2001 года лейблом Virgin Records. Альбом попал в UK Albums Chart и занял 4 место в этом хит-параде. За первую неделю было продано 21,500 копий. В сентябре этого же года было продано более 100,000 копий и A Girl Like Me получил статус «золотого» диска. Всего было продано более 750,000 копий и выпущено 4 сингла в поддержку альбома.

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