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The Heavy Entertainment Show

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Not to be confused with the single H.E.S. on Williams's previous album.

The Heavy Entertainment Show
Standard cover art. Digital Deluxe features the same, but with turquoise text.
Studio album by
Robbie Williams
Released4 November 2016 (2016-11-04)
RecordedJune 2015 – June 2016
GenrePop[1]
Length40:03
LabelColumbia
Producer
Robbie Williams chronology
Under the Radar Volume 1
(2014) 		The Heavy Entertainment Show
(2016) 		Under the Radar Volume 2
(2017)
Singles from The Heavy Entertainment Show
  1. "Party Like a Russian"
    Released: 30 September 2016
  2. "Love My Life"
    Released: 20 October 2016
  3. "Mixed Signals"
    Released: 28 February 2017[2]

The Heavy Entertainment Show is the eleventh studio album by English recording artist Robbie Williams. It was released on 4 November 2016 through Columbia Records. It features guest appearances from Rufus Wainwright and John Grant. The album was primarily produced by Williams' longtime songwriting partner Guy Chambers and Richard Flack, along with a variety of producers such as Stuart Price, Johnny McDaid and Gary Go.

The Heavy Entertainment Show was supported by three singles: "Party Like a Russian", "Love My Life" and "Mixed Signals", with the second topping the charts in Slovenia and Slovakia and being a top ten hit in five other countries. The album debuted atop the UK albums chart and stayed in the top 10 for three weeks.[3] It also reached the top in 4 other countries. The album was promoted with "The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour", which started on 2 June 2017 in Manchester and ended on 17 November 2018 in Mexico City.

Background

[edit]

In May 2016, it was announced that Robbie Williams had signed a recording contract with Sony Music. Williams said in a statement: "They're [Sony Music] inspired, I'm inspired. I'm more ready than I ever have been and I'm totally convinced I'm in the right place. I look forward to working on this album, which is an album I'm immensely proud of, in this exciting new partnership with Sony Music."[4]

Composition

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Musically, The Heavy Entertainment Show is a pop album with elements of rock, swing, country and electro-pop.[5] The third track "Mixed Signals" was co-written by all four members of the American alternative rock band the Killers, who also perform all instrumentation.

Release and promotion

[edit]

The album was announced on 25 September 2016, the same day Williams performed at the Apple Music Festival in London.[6] He told the crowd: "Today I announced my new album, it's called "The Heavy Entertainment Show. It's out on the 4th of November and you can pre-order it now. Enjoy", and sang two songs from the album that he had already performed on the "Let Me Entertain You Tour" and the "Swings Both Ways Live" tour, respectively: "Motherfucker" and "Sensational".[6]

On the same day, the album's title track "The Heavy Entertainment Show" was released on Spotify and as an "instant grat" through the iTunes Store.

The album's first official single, "Party Like a Russian", was released on 30 September 2016. The second single, "Love My Life", was released on 20 October 2016.[7]

Robbie Williams performing during the Apple Music Festival at the Roundhouse in London, England on September 25, 2016

On 7 November, Williams announced a concert tour titled The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour to promote the album. It began on 2 June 2017 in Manchester, England and ended in November 2018 in Mexico City.[8]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic59/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Evening Standard[10]
The Guardian[11]
The Independent[12]
NME[13]

The Heavy Entertainment Show received a Metacritic score of 59 based on 9 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic was highly positive in his 4-star review, saying "Aptly titled, Williams is entertaining as ever, a consummate showman until the end. The album is a grab bag of ideas, darting here and there in its pursuit of a hit. However, this isn't too much of a distraction, Mr Entertainment and his bombast do not disappoint. The Heavy Entertainment Show is his most invigorated album in years, a truer return to the pop realm than Take the Crown. Here, Williams dresses up his antics in expert production with plenty of cheekiness to spare."[14]

Kitty Empire from The Observer gave a mixed three-star review stating, "Cheek, swagger and schmaltz, the tunes that could only come from Williams make this record entertaining, if a little groan worthy. The could-be-anybody songs just don't stick in the memory."[15]

Tim Jonze from The Guardian gave a negative two-star review and said, "A lurching mess of styles, it lurches from one thing to the next, be that MOR balladry, glam rock or orchestral show tunes."[16]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Two days before the album was released in the Netherlands, Williams received a gold edition of the album during his appearance on RTL Late Night on 2 November 2016 for over 20,000 pre-orders of the album in the country. It debuted at number 1 on the UK album's chart with combined first week sales of 67,000 copies sold.[17]

Track listing

[edit]
The Heavy Entertainment Show – Standard edition[18]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Heavy Entertainment Show"
3:22
2."Party Like a Russian"
  • Chambers
  • Flack
3:02
3."Mixed Signals"
Stuart Price3:58
4."Love My Life"
3:28
5."Motherfucker"
  • Williams
  • Flynn Francis
  • Tim Metcalfe
  • Heath
  • Chambers
  • Flack
4:17
6."Bruce Lee"
  • Williams
  • Price
Price3:13
7."Sensitive"
Price3:16
8."David's Song"
  • Chambers
  • Flack
4:14
9."Pretty Woman"
Robson2:55
10."Hotel Crazy" (featuring Rufus Wainwright)
  • Williams
  • Chambers
  • Wainwright
  • Chambers
  • Flack
4:25
11."Sensational"
  • Mike Curb
  • Mack David
  • Williams
  • Chambers
  • Wainwright
  • Heath
  • Chambers
  • Flack
3:47
Total length:40:03
The Heavy Entertainment Show – Deluxe edition[19]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."When You Know"
  • Chambers
  • Flack
4:20
13."Time on Earth"
  • Williams
  • Chambers
  • Heath
  • Chambers
  • Flack
4:51
14."I Don't Want to Hurt You" (with John Grant)
  • John Grant
  • Williams
  • Chambers
  • Chambers
  • Flack
4:18
15."Best Intentions"
  • Williams
  • Chambers
  • Heath
  • Chambers
  • Flack
3:44
16."Marry Me"
  • Chambers
  • Flack
3:53
Total length:61:12

Notes

  • ^a signifies an additional producer

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[55] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[56] Gold 7,500*
Germany (BVMI)[57] Gold 100,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[58] Gold 25,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[59] Gold 20,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[60] 3× Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[61] Platinum 300,000‡
Summaries
Worldwide — 700,000[62]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Yeung, Neil (10 November 2016). "Robbie Williams: Heavy Entertainment Show review – a lurching mess of styles". Allmusic. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  2. ^ "Mixed Signals".
  3. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Robbie Williams signs to Sony Music". Music Week. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Robbie Williams - 'Heavy Entertainment Show' Review | NME". NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Robbie Williams review – a perfect meeting of ego, self-deprecation and hits". the Guardian. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Listen: Robbie Williams's new song 'Love My Life' is a sweet little number about his kids". Entertainment.ie. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  8. ^ "The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour". Robbie Williams Official Website. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Heavy Entertainment Show – Robbie Williams". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  10. ^ Paine, Andre (4 November 2016). "Robbie Williams – The Heavy Entertainment Show review: 'he's still got it'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  11. ^ Jonze, Tim (6 November 2016). "Robbie Williams: The Heavy Entertainment Show review – cheek, swagger and schmaltz". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  12. ^ Gill, Andy (2 November 2016). "Album reviews: Robbie Williams – The Heavy Entertainment Show, Lambchop – FLOTUS, Bon Jovi, and more". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  13. ^ Bassett, Jordan (3 November 2016). "Robbie Williams – 'Heavy Entertainment Show' Review". NME. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  14. ^ "The Heavy Entertainment Show - Robbie Williams | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  15. ^ "Robbie Williams: The Heavy Entertainment Show review – cheek, swagger and schmaltz". www.theguardian.com. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Robbie Williams: Heavy Entertainment Show review – a lurching mess of styles". www.theguardian.com. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
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  19. ^ "Heavy Entertainment Show (Deluxe) by Robbie Williams". iTunes Store (GB). Retrieved 25 September 2016.
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  34. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Robbie Williams – The Heavy Entertainment Show". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
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  37. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  38. ^ "Top 100 Slovak Albums". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  39. ^ "South Korea Circle International Album Chart". On the page, select "2016.10.30~2016.11.05" to obtain the corresponding chart. Circle Chart Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  40. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Robbie Williams – The Heavy Entertainment Show". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  41. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Robbie Williams – The Heavy Entertainment Show". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  42. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Robbie Williams – The Heavy Entertainment Show". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  43. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  44. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2016". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  45. ^ "Ö3 Austria Top 40 – Album-Charts 2016". oe3.orf.at. Archived from the original on 4 January 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  46. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2016 Albums". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  47. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2016 Albums". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
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  49. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  50. ^ "Top of the Music – FIMI/GfK: Le uniche classifiche annuali complete" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  51. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade Alben 2016 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  52. ^ White, Jack (30 December 2016). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Albums of 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
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  55. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  56. ^ "Austrian album certifications" (in German). IFPI Austria. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  57. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Robbie Williams; 'The Heavy Entertainment Show')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  58. ^ "Italian album certifications – Robbie Williams – The Heavy Entertainment Show" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 27 February 2017. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "The Heavy Entertainment Show" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
  59. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Robbie Williams – Heavy Entertainment Show" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 12 November 2021. Enter Heavy Entertainment Show in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2016 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  60. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('The Heavy Entertainment Show')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  61. ^ "British album certifications – Robbie Williams – The Heavy Entertainment Show". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  62. ^ "Anuario Sgae 2016". Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
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