Call off the Search
Studio album by
Katie Melua
Released3 November 2003
Recorded2003
Genre
Length41:14
LabelDramatico
ProducerMike Batt
Katie Melua chronology
Call off the Search
(2003) 		Piece by Piece
(2005)
Singles from Call off the Search
  1. "The Closest Thing to Crazy"
    Released: 1 December 2003
  2. "Call off the Search"
    Released: 15 March 2004
  3. "Crawling up a Hill"
    Released: 19 July 2004
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Call off the Search is the debut studio album by Georgian-British jazz and blues singer Katie Melua, released in 2003.

Recording and release

British songwriter, producer and arranger Mike Batt signed Melua to his Dramatico recording and management label after she performed at a showcase at the Brit School for the Performing Arts in early 2003. Batt was looking for a young artist capable of "performing jazz and blues in an interesting way". Melua went into the studio soon after with Batt as the producer. She recorded songs written by Batt, John Mayall, Delores J. Silver, herself, Randy Newman, and James Shelton. Melua wrote "Faraway Voice" about singer Eva Cassidy. "Belfast (Penguins and Cats)" refers to Melua's upbringing in Belfast, Northern Ireland: "Penguins" referring to Protestants and "Cats" to Catholics.

Call off the Search was released in the United Kingdom on 3 November 2003. It became a hit, reaching number one on the UK album chart in January 2004 and the top twenty of the Australian album chart in June 2004. It spent 87 weeks in the ARIA Top 100, certified Platinum for shipments of 70,000+. First single "The Closest Thing to Crazy", written by Batt, reached the top five in Ireland, top ten in the UK, top twenty in Norway, and top fifty in Australia. The second single from the album was the title track, "Call Off the Search", which gave Melua her second UK top twenty hit. The third single, a cover of Mayall's "Crawling up a Hill", was released on 18 July as the third single in the UK. In the UK the album sold 1.8 million copies within its first five months of release, making it six times platinum.[2] It spent six weeks at the top of the UK chart.

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, Call off the Search was the 5th best selling album of 2004 with 1,356,962 copies sold,[3] and has sold over 1.9 million copies in the UK as of January 2013.[4]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Call Off the Search"Mike Batt3:24
2."Crawling Up a Hill"John Mayall3:25
3."The Closest Thing to Crazy"Batt4:12
4."My Aphrodisiac Is You"Batt3:34
5."Learnin' the Blues"Delores J. Silver3:23
6."Blame It on the Moon"Batt3:47
7."Belfast (Penguins and Cats)"Katie Melua3:21
8."I Think It's Going to Rain Today"Randy Newman2:30
9."Mockingbird Song"Batt3:06
10."Tiger in the Night"Batt3:07
11."Faraway Voice"Melua3:13
12."Lilac Wine"James Shelton4:11

The Japanese release has the extra track "Deep Purple".

Personnel

Technical

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[32] Platinum 70,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[33] 2× Platinum 80,000^
Germany (BVMI)[34] 2× Platinum 400,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[35] Platinum 80,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[36] Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[37] 3× Platinum 120,000*
South Africa (RISA)[37] Platinum 50,000*
Sweden (GLF)[38] Gold 30,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[39] Platinum 40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] 6× Platinum 1,900,000[4]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[41] 2× Platinum 2,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ Loftus, Johnny. Call Off the Search at AllMusic
  2. ^ BPI figures
  3. ^ Chartwatch Annual Chart Booklets->Year 2003 Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Barstein, Brand (15 January 2013). "The biggest selling Easy Listening albums of the millennium revealed!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
  6. ^ "Ultratop.be – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  7. ^ "Ultratop.be – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search" (in French). Hung Medien.
  8. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
  9. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  10. ^ "Lescharts.com – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
  11. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  12. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Katie Melua". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  13. ^ "R[EItEUET['". ORICON STYLE.
  14. ^ "Charts.nz – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
  15. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
  16. ^ "Katie Melua - Call Off The Search - Music Charts". acharts.us. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  17. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
  18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
  19. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
  20. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  21. ^ "Katie Melua Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  22. ^ "Katie Melua Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.
  23. ^ "The Official UK Albums Chart 2003" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  24. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2004". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  26. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  27. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 2004". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  28. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2004". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  29. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2005". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  30. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  31. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2005". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  32. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  33. ^ "Danish album certifications – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". IFPI Danmark.
  34. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Katie Melua; 'Call Off the Search')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  35. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Katie Melua – Call Of the Search" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Call Of the Search in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  36. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Recorded Music NZ.
  37. ^ a b Sexton, Paul (3 June 2006). "When Katie Comes To Call". Billboard. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  38. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2007" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  39. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Call Off the Search')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  40. ^ "British album certifications – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". British Phonographic Industry.
  41. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2005". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
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