Eoghan Quigg is the only studio album by Northern Irish pop singer Eoghan Quigg, released on 6 April 2009, and their only release by their label RCA Records Quigg who finished third in the fifth series of the UK television talent show The X Factor, was the first of the finalists from that series to release a studio album. The record predominantly features cover versions of songs that Quigg performed on The X Factor, and one original song, "28,000 Friends".

Eoghan Quigg
Studio album by
Released3 April 2009
RecordedEarly 2009
GenrePop
Length42:26
LabelRCA, Sony
ProducerNigel Wright
Singles from Eoghan Quigg
  1. "28,000 Friends"
    Released: April 2009 (Airplay only)

On its release, the album was described by multiple critics as the worst ever recorded.[1] Its commercial failure led to Quigg being dropped by RCA Records.[2]

Background

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After finishing third in The X Factor in 2008, Quigg was signed by record label RCA Records. Quigg began work on the album in London in early 2009, and was given a week to record it.[3] The album was recorded at Sphere Studios in Battersea and released on 6 April 2009 in the UK.[4] Quigg described the album's musical direction as drawing inspiration from Busted,[5] and two songs from the album were written by ex-Busted band members, "Year 3000" being written by James Bourne and Charlie Simpson, and "28,000 Friends" by Bourne.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [6]
Daily Record     [7]
Digital Spy     [8]
Express     [9]
Music-News     [10]
Orange     [11]
Q     [12]
Star     [13]

Eoghan Quigg was widely panned by music critics.[14][15] Simon Darnell of MK News wrote: "If I told you this album was dreadful, not only would I be doing a huge disservice to the word dreadful, in fact I'd almost be praising the quality of the music... this set of songs is so mind-numbingly, spirit-crushingly dismal."[16] Jon O'Brien of AllMusic described the album as "bad karaoke", with deficient production values failing to hide Quigg's "limited ability" and "bum notes".[6] Nick Levine of Digital Spy called it "amateurish as well as utterly redundant".[8] One track singled out for criticism by multiple reviewers was the cover of Take That's "Never Forget",[6][8][11] the vocal performance on which was described by Levine as "positively wince-inducing".[8] Gigwise placed the record at number one in their "The 20 Worst Albums of 2009" in December of that year.[17]

The album has been called the worst ever made.[1] A Popjustice reviewer predicted that it would garner a lasting legacy as such, having been "recorded so cheaply and with such little regard for the art of pop that the final product simply does not count as music."[18] Peter Robinson of The Guardian called it "the worst album in the history of recorded sound" and an "album so bad that it would count as a new low for popular culture were it possible to class as either culture... or popular".[19]

Commercial performance

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The album was initially a commercial success in Ireland where it debuted at no 1 on the Irish Albums Chart, knocking Lady Gaga's The Fame off the top spot. The album dropped from no 2 in its second week to no 20 in its third week and spent a total of eight weeks on the chart,[20] but failed to sell enough for a Gold certification, rendering the album a failure. In the UK the album peaked at no 14,[21] and exited the Top 100 after three weeks. The album had first-week sales of 16,362.[14]

Pointing to the record's lacklustre chart performance in the UK, Gail Walker of the Belfast Telegraph predicted that the public "may have seen the last of Eoghan Quigg".[1] His album considered a failure, Quigg was dropped by RCA Records.[2]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."28,000 Friends"James Bourne2:59
2."We're All in This Together"Matthew Gerrard / Robbie Nevil; from the High School Musical soundtrack3:52
3."All About You"Tom Fletcher3:05
4."Learn to Fly"Christian Ingebrigtsen / Chris Porter4:08
5."Does Your Mother Know"Benny Andersson / Björn Ulvaeus3:04
6."Home"Michael Bublé / Alan Chang3:40
7."When You Look Me in the Eyes"Raymond Boyd / Kevin Jonas / Joe Jonas / Nicholas Jonas3:53
8."Year 3000"James Bourne / Charlie Simpson / Steve Robson / Matt Willis3:24
9."She's the One"Karl Wallinger4:16
10."Ben"Don Black / Walter Scharf2:32
11."Never Forget"Gary Barlow4:11
12."Imagine" (iTunes Bonus Track)"John Lennon3:22

Charts

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Chart (2009) Peak
position
Sales Certification
UK Albums Chart 14[21] 25,000+
Irish Albums Chart 1[22] 6,000

References

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  1. ^ a b c Walker, Gail (21 April 2009). "Don't you worry Eoghan, it hasn't all gone pop just yet". Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. His [Quigg] eponymous debut album, released a couple of weeks ago, has been met with universal hoots of derision. Indeed, with the album charting at a disappointing 14 in the UK (No 1 in Ireland though), it is confidently predicted that we may have seen the last of Eoghan Quigg...it is widely described as the worst album ever.
  2. ^ a b Coleman, Maureen (13 May 2010). "Eoghan Quigg's early fame 'led bosses to make a quick kill'". Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  3. ^ McElroy, Naomi (12 September 2010). "Eoghan: Just don't make the same mistakes as me; EXCLUSIVE". The Mirror. Archived at The Free Library. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  4. ^ "One To Watch: Eoghan Quigg". femalefirst.co.uk. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  5. ^ McGarry, Gerard (6 April 2009). "Unreality TV interviews Eoghan Quigg". Unreality TV. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ a b c Eoghan Quigg. AllMusic. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  7. ^ Fulton, Rick (14 April 2009). "ALBUMS; singles and albums". Daily Record. The Free Library. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d Eoghan Quigg: 'Eoghan Quigg'. Digital Spy. Retrieved 10-04-2009.
  9. ^ Spellman, Robert (3 April 2009). "Eoghan Quigg's debut reviewed". Express. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  10. ^ "Eoghan Quigg". Music-News.com. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  11. ^ a b Kraines, Talia (16 June 2009). "Eoghan Quigg - Eoghan Quigg". Wayback Machine. Orange. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  12. ^ Cullen, Jason (May 2009). "New Albums: Eoghan Quigg – Eoghan Quigg". Q. Bauer Media Group. [A]nother vacuous, completely unnecessary record from a pop 'star' whose name we'll be struggling to remember by the end of the year.
  13. ^ "Eoghan Quigg - Eoghan Quigg". Star. 7 April 2009. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ a b "Charts Analysis: Doves defeated by a whisker". Music Week: 24. 18 April 2009. The subject of some savage critical maulings, Eoghan Quigg's self-titled debut album arrives at number 14 on sales of 16,362 copies.
  15. ^ McCreary, Matthew (21 April 2009). "Will Eoghan Quigg survive his public flogging?". The Independent. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  16. ^ Darnell, Simon (15 April 2009). "Eoghan Quigg: Eoghan Quigg". MK News. p. 30.
  17. ^ "The 20 Worst Albums of 2009". Gigwise. 16 December 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  18. ^ "The Eoghan Quigg album: it's turned out not to be very good" Popjustice. 6 April 2009
  19. ^ Robinson, Peter (18 April 2009). "Factored out". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  20. ^ Eoghan Quigg Chart Statistics on aCharts.us Retrieved on 06-06-09.
  21. ^ a b "Official Charts: Eoghan Quigg". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  22. ^ "Top 100 Individual Artist Albums". Irish Recorded Music Association. 9 April 2009. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
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