Brand New Day (Sting album)
1999 studio album by Sting
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Brand New Day is the sixth solo studio album by English musician Sting, released by A&M Records on 27 September 1999. Promoted heavily by the success of the album's second single, "Desert Rose" (featuring popular Algerian Raï singer Cheb Mami), the album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 and sold over 3.5 million copies in the United States. Upon its release, Brand New Day was a critical and commercial success, and hailed as a commercial comeback for Sting.
- Il Palagio, Italy
- Studio Mega, Paris, France
- Right Track, New York City
- Avatar, New York City
- AIR, London
| Brand New Day | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 September 1999[1][2] | |||
| Recorded | June 1998−June 1999[3][4] | |||
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 48:49 | |||
| Label | A&M 0694-90443-2 | |||
| Producer | Sting, Kipper | |||
| Sting chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Brand New Day | ||||
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The album earned Sting a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and his third Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the title track.[5]
Background
Originally, Sting's usual producer Hugh Padgham was to produce the album, but Sting decided to co-produce the album with Kipper, and Padgham was not required. The album was recorded in various studios around Europe.[6]
The (6:36) full version of "The End of the Game" was included on the single for "Brand New Day" and the DTS and DVD-Audio releases of the album. The music video for the title track is a parody of bleach commercials, and advertises "Brand new 'Day Ultra'" brand. The song "Brand New Day" features Stevie Wonder on harmonica.[6]
On September 27, 2024, an Expanded Edition was released as part of the 25th anniversary. The version contains remixes, live versions and the songs "Windmills of your Mind" as well as a full length version of "The End of the Game".
Track listing
All tracks are written by Sting, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Thousand Years" |
| 5:58 |
| 2. | "Desert Rose" (feat. Cheb Mami) |
| 4:45 |
| 3. | "Big Lie, Small World" (feat. David Hartley) | 5:05 | |
| 4. | "After the Rain Has Fallen" | 5:03 | |
| 5. | "Perfect Love...Gone Wrong" (feat. Sté Strausz) | 5:24 | |
| 6. | "Tomorrow We'll See" (feat. David Hartley) | 4:47 | |
| 7. | "Prelude to the End of the Game" | 0:20 | |
| 8. | "Fill Her Up" (feat. James Taylor) | 5:39 | |
| 9. | "Ghost Story" | 5:29 | |
| 10. | "Brand New Day" | 6:19 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Windmills of Your Mind" (bonus track) | 6:48 | |
| 12. | "EPK" (video) | 9:21 |
Personnel
- Sting – lead vocals, backing vocals, bass guitar, Roland VG-8 guitar synthesizer
- Kipper – keyboards, drum programming
- Jason Rebello – acoustic piano, clavinet
- Don Blackman – Hammond organ
- David Hartley – Hammond organ, string arrangements and conductor (3, 6)
- Dominic Miller – guitars
- B. J. Cole – pedal steel guitar
- Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
- Manu Katché – drums
- Mino Cinelu – percussion
- Ettamri Mustapha – darbouka
- Branford Marsalis – clarinet
- Chris Botti – trumpet
- Kathryn Tickell – Northumbrian pipes, fiddle
- Stevie Wonder – harmonica (10)
- Farhat Bouallagui – string arrangements, conductor and leader (2)
- Isobel Griffiths – orchestral contractor (2, 3, 6)
- Gavyn Wright – string leader (3, 6)
- Moulay Ahmed – strings (2, 3, 6)
- Kouider Berkan – strings (2, 3, 6)
- Salem Bnouni – strings (2, 3, 6)
- Sameh Catalan – strings (2, 3, 6)
- Cheb Mami – vocals (2)
- Sté Strausz' – French rap (5)
- James Taylor – vocals (8)
- Tawatha Agee – backing vocals
- Dennis Collins – backing vocals
- Joe Mendes – backing vocals
- Janice Pendarvis – backing vocals, vocal contractor
- Pamela Quinlan – backing vocals
- Althea Rodgers – backing vocals
- Marlon Saunders – backing vocals
- Vaneese Thomas – backing vocals
- Darryl Tookes – backing vocals
- Ken Williams – backing vocals
- Gary Cook – Roland VG8 Programmer, Sound Creator
Production
- Sting – producer
- Kipper – producer
- Neil Dorfsman – engineer
- Simon Osborne – engineer, mixing
- Geoff Foster – strings engineer (2, 3, 6)
- Etienne Colin – assistant engineer
- Nicholas Duport – assistant engineer
- Andrew Fellus – assistant engineer
- Brian Garten – assistant engineer
- Ricky Graham – assistant engineer
- Ben Kape – assistant engineer
- Stephanie Levy-B – assistant engineer
- Peter "Hopps" Lorimer – assistant engineer
- Aya Takemura – assistant engineer
- Chris Blair – mastering
- Abbey Road Studios (London, UK) – mastering location
- Joe Mama-Nitzberg – art direction
- Jodi Peckman – art direction
- Richard Frankel – package design
- Olaf Heine – photography
- Carter Smith – photography
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [7] |
| Chicago Tribune | (Not rated)[8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (B−)[9] |
| Los Angeles Times | [10] |
| The New York Times | Mixed[11] |
| Rolling Stone | [12] |
Accolades
Grammy Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 [13] | Brand New Day | Best Pop Vocal Album | Won |
| Best Male Pop Vocal Performance | Won |
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina (CAPIF)[54] | Gold | 30,000^ |
| Australia (ARIA)[55] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[56] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Belgium (BRMA)[57] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[58] (Expanded Edition) |
Platinum | 40,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[59] | 2× Platinum | 262,000[60] |
| France (SNEP)[61] | 2× Gold | 200,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[62] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
| Hungary (MAHASZ)[63] | Gold | |
| Italy (FIMI)[64] | 3× Platinum | 300,000* |
| Japan (RIAJ)[65] | Platinum | 105,480[43] |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[66] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[67] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[68] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Poland (ZPAV)[69] | Platinum | 100,000* |
| Spain (Promusicae)[70] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[71] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[72] | Platinum | 420,000[44] |
| United States (RIAA)[73] | 3× Platinum | 3,500,000[74] |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[75] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000* |
| Worldwide | — | 7,000,000[76] |
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* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||