BZ20
Studio album by
Boyzone
Released22 November 2013 (2013-11-22)
GenrePop, pop rock
Length37:26
LabelRhino
ProducerBrian Rawling, Paul Meehan, Matt Furmidge, Lee McCutcheon
Boyzone chronology
Brother
(2010) 		BZ20
(2013) 		Love Me for a Reason – The Collection
(2014)
Singles from BZ20
  1. "Love Will Save the Day"
    Released: 8 November 2013
  2. "Light Up the Night"
    Released: 10 February 2014

BZ20 is the fifth studio album by Irish boy band Boyzone, released on 22 November 2013 by Rhino Records. It was mainly produced by Brian Rawling, Paul Meehan, and Matt Furmidge.[1][2] As of October 2014, the album had sold 250,000 copies worldwide.[3]

Background

Boyzone's fifth album was originally going to be released in late 2010, but it was shelved due to Ronan Keating's commitments on The X Factor Australia.[4] Due to the success of their previous album Brother (2010), Boyzone decided to celebrate 20 years since they began with a new studio album and tour. It was announced on 24 September 2013 that the brand new album would be released on 25 November 2013, and it became available to pre-order from Amazon. In September 2013, it was announced that Boyzone were recording their new studio album BZ20 at Metrophonic with Brian Rawling producing it.[5] The band signed a new four-album recording deal with Warner Music to release BZ20 on 22 November 2013 through the Rhino label.[6][7]

In a statement, Boyzone said: "We're incredibly proud to announce the release of our new studio album BZ20 and our new home at Warner Music. It seems crazy that 20 years have passed since we first got together but we are as excited now with the new album as we were back then. Bring on the next 20 years!"[8]

It was also revealed that Boyzone will be making a programme discussing the album called Boyzone at 20, featuring clips of the band since their beginning in 1993 on ITV due for broadcast end of November 2013.[9]

The artwork of the album was revealed on Twitter and Facebook and fans were encouraged to tweet a link and gradually the image started to be seen.[10]

Singles

"Love Will Save the Day" was released as the album's lead single on 8 November 2013. On 22 October 2013 the video for the song was released.[11] The song was written by Jez Ashurst and Viktoria Hansen, and it was produced by Paul Meehan, Matt Furmidge, and Brian Rawling. It was first performed on the Australian The X Factor and given its first airplay in the United Kingdom on BBC Radio 2 in October 2013.[1] "Love Will Save the Day" debuted at number 42 in Ireland, becoming the band's lowest-charting single to date. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 39, becoming their second-lowest charting single.

"Light Up the Night" was released as the album's second and final single in February 2014.[12]

Promotion

The album is supported by the BZ20 Tour. On 9 November 2013, Boyzone performed the song on The Jonathan Ross Show. On 22 November they performed on The Paul O'Grady Show. Further TV appearances include Loose Women and Lorraine. Boyzone sang live on The Terry Wogan Show on BBC Radio 2 on 17 November two songs from the album - "Love Will Save the Day" and "Everything I Own".[13] On 20 November 2013, Boyzone exclusively streamed their brand new album on Digital Spy. Boyzone performed the song 'Everything I Own' on BBC1 during Sport Relief and ITV Surprise Surprise during March 2014.[14] The album has sold 250,000 copies worldwide including 200,000 copies in the UK and 10,000 copies in Germany.[15]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Renowned for Sound[16]

David Callaghan of RenownedForSound said that "Boyzone are one form of music group that never seems to age and that they have a legacy not many other artists or groups combined could try and reach. Going on, he said that Ronan Keating, arguably their most notable member, starts us off with the cheesy yet powerful ballad Love Will Save the Day, and you can picture every girl, woman and grandmother have a tear in their eye and a melted heart in their hands. Everything I Own, Centre of Gravity and Heaven Is, continues the notion of soppy sweetness and screaming women from afar. Of course I can’t take anything away from Boyzone, this is what they’ve built their success on and for the most part it’s worked, so I congratulate each and every one of them. To take a look at the titles of all eleven tracks on the album, you know before you listen exactly what you’re going to get, if you didn’t know by now. BZ20 is a solid album, Boyzone do sound as good as ever. They don’t appear to of sold out and cashed in on a novelty album, like many other boy bands have done time and again. They stay consistent, sound very strong and coherent musically, and have produced and album that will keep everyone happy."[16]

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 30,466 copies. As of December 2014, it has sold 199,854 copies in the UK.[17]

Track listing

BZ20 – Standard version[19]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Love Will Save the Day" (lead vocals: Keating)Jez Ashurst, Viktoria HansenBrian Rawling, Paul Meehan, Matt Furmidge3:12
2."Who We Are" (lead vocals: Keating)Andreas Moe, Andy Brown, Albin Nedler, Kristoffer FogelmarkRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:10
3."Everything I Own" (lead vocals: Graham, Keating)David Ashworth GatesRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:13
4."Centre of Gravity" (lead vocals: Keating)Daniel Neil McDougall, Ben EarleRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:40
5."Heaven Is" (lead vocals: Keating)Don Mescall, Andy Hill, Fernando PestanaRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:30
6."If We Try" (lead vocals: Graham)Michael Graham, Lee McCutcheon, Mark ReadMcCutcheon3:10
7."Nobody Knows" (lead vocals: Keating)Joe Rich, Don DuBoseRawling, Meehan, Furmidge4:12
8."Best Night of Our Lives" (lead vocals: Keating)Ronan Keating, Anthony Egizii, David MusumeciRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:02
9."Light Up the Night" (lead vocals: Keating)Josh Kear, Ed HillRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:14
10."Rise" (lead vocals: Keating)Mescall, Danny OrtonRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:12
11."The Hour Before Christmas" (lead vocals: Keating)Mescall, Rob WellsRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:51
BZ20 – Deluxe version[20]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Love Will Save the Day" (lead vocals: Keating)Jez Ashurst, Viktoria HansenBrian Rawling, Paul Meehan, Matt Furmidge3:12
2."Who We Are" (lead vocals: Keating)Andreas Moe, Andy Brown, Albin Nedler, Kristoffer FogelmarkRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:10
3."Everything I Own" (lead vocals: Graham, Keating)David Ashworth GatesRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:13
4."Centre of Gravity" (lead vocals: Keating)Daniel Neil McDougall, Ben EarleRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:40
5."Heaven Is" (lead vocals: Keating)Don Mescall, Andy Hill, Fernando PestanaRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:30
6."If We Try" (lead vocals: Graham)Michael Graham, Lee McCutcheon, Mark ReadMcCutcheon3:10
7."Nobody Knows" (lead vocals: Keating)Joe Rich, Don DuBoseRawling, Meehan, Furmidge4:12
8."Best Night of Our Lives" (lead vocals: Keating)Ronan Keating, Anthony Egizii, David MusumeciRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:02
9."Light Up the Night" (lead vocals: Keating)Josh Kear, Ed HillRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:14
10."You Will Be Mine" (lead vocals: Graham)Ben Adams, Graham, Shelly McErlaineRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:25
11."Rise" (lead vocals: Keating)Mescall, Danny OrtonRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:13
12."Rust" (lead vocals: Keating, Lynch)Patrick Mascall, Paul Barry, KeatingRawling, Meehan, Furmidge4:38
13."The Hour Before Christmas" (lead vocals: Keating)Mescall, Rob WellsRawling, Meehan, Furmidge3:49

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[21]

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Gold 200,000[30]

References

  1. ^ a b Lydia Smith (11 October 2013). "Boyzone announce Love Will Save The Day as the new single from upcoming album BZ20". Mirror. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  2. ^ "BZ20 (Deluxe Edition) | Boyzone – Télécharger et écouter l'album" (in French). Qobuz. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Boyzone to release new Motown album". TV3. 7 October 2014. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  4. ^ "New Boyzone album shelved". Digital Spy. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  5. ^ "BZ20 - a New Home & a New Album". Boyzone Network. 25 September 2013. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  6. ^ "BZ20: Amazon". Amazon UK. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Boyzone fancy their chances as a festival act!". Daily Star.
  8. ^ "Boyzone announce new album 'BZ20', sign record deal". Digital Spy.
  9. ^ "Boyzone to reunite for special performance". Daily News and Analysis. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  10. ^ "Boyzone BZ20". Boyzone BZ20. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Boyzone - Love Will Save The Day (Official Video)". 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2019 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ "Boyzone Debut Latest Single 'Light Up The Night' From BZ20 Album, Marking 20th Anniversary". HuffPost. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  13. ^ "BBC Radio 2 - Weekend Wogan, With Ellie Goulding and Boyzone". BBC.
  14. ^ Jenn Selby (22 March 2014). "Sport Relief 2014: Shane Lynch's beard gets more attention than the whole of Boyzone during live performance". The Independent. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  15. ^ "Boyzone stream new album 'BZ20' on Digital Spy - listen". Digital Spy.
  16. ^ a b "Renowned for Sound - Album Review: Boyzone – BZ20". Renowned for Sound. 20 November 2013.
  17. ^ Jones, Alan (1 December 2014). "Official Charts analysis: Olly Murs becomes second X Factor graduate to score three No.1s". Music Week. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  18. ^ "BZ20: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon UK. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  19. ^ "iTunes - Music - BZ20 by Boyzone". iTunes Store.
  20. ^ "iTunes - Music - BZ20 (Deluxe Edition) by Boyzone". iTunes Store. 22 November 2013.
  21. ^ "BZ20 - Boyzone". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  22. ^ "Chartifacts". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – Boyzone – BZ20" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  24. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  25. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 48, 2013". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  26. ^ December 2013/40/ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  27. ^ ":: 가온차트와 함께하세요 ::". Gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  28. ^ "Western Weekly Top 20, Week 49, 2013" (in Chinese). G-Music.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  29. ^ November 2013/7502/ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  30. ^ Jones, Alan (1 December 2014). "Official Charts analysis: Olly Murs becomes second X Factor graduate to score three No.1s". Music Week. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  31. ^ "British album certifications – Boyzone – BZ 20". British Phonographic Industry.
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