Rebecca Ferguson

Top Lyrics By
Rebecca Ferguson

Rebecca Ferguson "Heaven" album

- Release date : December 2011 -

Heaven is the debut album by British singer-songwriter Rebecca Ferguson, released on December 5, 2011. The lead single from Heaven, "Nothing's Real but Love" was released on November 20.

Rebecca co-wrote the album with songwriters including Steve Booker (Duffy) and Eg White, who has previously worked with Adele, Duffy and James Morrison. Talking about the album she said: “I've loved writing and recording the album throughout this year so I'm really excited for everyone to hear it! I feel like I've learnt a lot about myself going through the writing process, putting my experiences on paper and into the tracks. It's a record I'm really proud of.”

She revealed that her split from Zayn Malik inspired her debut album. She said that the breakup, along with her previous relationships, inspired her to co-write every song on the album. In an interview with Daily Star Sunday she said: “A lot of the songs are about past relationships. The theme is relationships in general, making them, breaking them, love and loss. Recording was hard. It wasn't a case of skipping to the studio and being happy. I got really emotional and sometimes I had really bad days. I poured out all my heart and soul into the album and would often cry. At the beginning they didn't know I could write so they were bringing songs in for me but I put my foot down and said if you want me to be a credible artist you have to let me write. Now I've co-written every single song on the album.”

"Heaven" album tracks and lyrics

"Heaven" album reviews

It's no secret that X Factor runners-up often get a sweeter deal than the winners themselves. Series 5 "losers" JLS are now three successful albums into their career, while 2009's silver medallist Olly Murs topped the charts last week with his latest set. In fact, there are so many of them clogging up the charts this year that we initially feared the worst for Rebecca Ferguson.

Fortunately, it would seem the best has been saved for last. She may have been branded "the shy one" on last year's show, but there's plenty of evidence here to suggest she won't take any crap (she insisted on co-writing each of the album's ten tracks) - or at the very least, write a heartbreaking song about it somewhere down the line. The result is the simplistic, soul-pop sound heard on lead single 'Nothing's Real But Love'.

Her vocal - somewhere between Corinne Bailey-Rae and Macy Gray - remains the star attraction throughout. R&B-tinged 'Glitter & Gold' is punchy but remains unembellished in its production, 'Shoulder to Shoulder' is an emotional tale of dysfunctional love told over a raw piano hook, and the jazzy 'Mr Bright Eyes' provides a moment of light relief in which she sounds genuinely happy.

Elsewhere, she continues to distance herself from her reality show roots - though it's without the anti-pop or 'Credible Cardle' spiel. 'Diamond to Stone' oozes class that few would expect from a former contestant, while closer 'Too Good to Lose' will please fans that gravitated towards her club classics persona. Overall, Heaven is a stunning debut that is far from being a boundary-breaker, but revels in sticking to what it knows best.

*** by Robert Copsey, Digital Spy ***

With Christmas around the corner, you can hardly move for X Factor-related stocking-fillers – recent weeks have yielded albums from One Direction, Matt Cardle, Cher Lloyd et al. But the best, relatively speaking, has been saved for last. Scouse soul-popper Ferguson, 2010's runner-up, has been spared the generic ballad/urban treatment and allowed to go her own retro-soul way, a move that makes the most of her rich, emotive voice. The usual sidemen, including Cardle co-composer Eg White, are on board, but have come up with 10 atypically direct, unembellished R&B/soul tracks. The gospelish wails on the single Nothing's Real but Love are as over-dramatised as things get; otherwise, Ferguson keeps things simple and open-hearted. She's believably peppery on the goodbye-to-love song Fairytale, with its Muscle Shoals overtones, while her delight at meeting "the one" feels real on Mr Bright Eyes. The obvious comparison is Adele: Ferguson is no innovator, but her voice makes the world a slightly nicer place.

*** by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian UK ***

She came second to Matt Cardle on last year's X Factor, but unlike her hat-clad vanquisher, Rebecca Ferguson has yet to criticise her alma mater or claim "there's a lot of conspiracy" to the events of 9/11. The 25-year-old Liverpudlian has conducted herself in a fashion unexpected from a talent show star – with dignity.

That quality is writ large on this impressive debut album. Featuring production from the likes of Eg White (Adele), Wayne Hector (Westlife) and Fraser T Smith (James Morrison), Heaven is a collection of classy adult pop songs dressed in vintage soul clothing. Comparisons to Amy Winehouse and Duffy are inevitable, and not unwarranted, but the most obvious reference point might be the underrated output of Gabrielle – think back to her 1996 hit Give Me a Little More Time.

Yes, it's as cutting edge as buttering bread, but Ferguson wields the knife with conviction. She sells everything from the piano balladry of Teach Me How to Be Loved to Fairytale's slinky Philadelphia soul to funkier, Motown-leaning moments like Mr Bright Eyes. She even nails the string-draped melodrama of Fighting Suspicions, which almost suggests what a Dusty Springfield Bond theme might have sounded like.

Shrewdly, those experienced production hands keep the arrangements lush but unobtrusive; even when her songs are embellished with strings, horns and Dusty in Memphis-style backing vocals, the focus remains firmly on Ferguson's voice. It's a terrific instrument – as rich, strong and flavourful as posh coffee, and entirely free of melisma.

In fact, Ferguson's singing is impressive enough to disguise the odd tired line about butterflies and wild horses or wine and roses. But though she may be a romantic, she's no sap. Witness this insight into a scrappy relationship on Shoulder to Shoulder: "I get a kick when you worry / That you're just no good for me."

Most of these songs concern some kind of romantic entanglement, but it's an exception that supplies the most prescient moment. "[It] won't buy you happy when you've been bought and sold," she warns on Glitter & Gold, a parable for "people who are very ambitious". It's wise advice that, like this album as a whole, suggests Ferguson is far more Will than Gareth.

*** by Nick Levine, BBC Music ***