The Garden (Merril Bainbridge album)

The Garden was commercially successful in Australia and had minor success in New Zealand and the United States. In mid-August 1995, it debuted at number five on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart.^[2] The album dropped off the chart after five months, spending a total of twenty-two weeks on the chart.^[3] The Australian Recording Industry Association awarded the album a double platinum certification for shipping 140,000 copies and became the twenty-seventh highest selling album in Australia for 1995.^[4][5] At the 1996 ARIA Awards, the album was nominated for "Breakthrough Artist – Album" and "Highest Selling Album", but lost to Tu-Plang by Regurgitator and Don't Ask by Tina Arena respectively.^[6] In New Zealand, The Garden debuted at number thirty-four and spent two weeks on the chart.^[7]

"Mouth", the first single, became Bainbridge's most-successful single release, peaking at number-one on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and top five on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[8][9] Written by Bainbridge herself, it is a bubblegum pop song about relationship—"sometimes you feel you're in control and the next thing, you're insecure."^[10] The single was released in October 1994^[11] and failed to chart. When it was re-issued in 1995 it gained success, being certified platinum by ARIA and becoming the fourth highest selling single in Australia for 1995.^[12] The song was nominated for "Best Pop Release", "Breakthrough Artist – Single" and "Single of the Year" at the 1995 ARIA Awards.^[13] The second single "Under the Water" was written by Owen Bolwell and Stanley Paulzen in 1990. It became Bainbridge's second top ten hit in Australia.^[14] The song was nominated for "Highest Selling Single" at the 1996 ARIA Awards, but lost to "Let's Groove" by CDB.^[6] The third and fourth singles, "Power of One" and "Sleeping Dogs", had minor success on the chart peaking at number twenty-one and fifty-five respectively.^[15]

In late 1996, the album was re-released in Australia with a bonus disc containing several music videos and three remixes.