Pictures
Studio album by
Katie Melua
Released1 October 2007 (UK)
Recorded2006–07
Genre
Length44:44
LabelDramatico
ProducerMike Batt
Katie Melua chronology
Piece by Piece
(2005) 		Pictures
(2007) 		The Katie Melua Collection
(2008)
Singles from Pictures
  1. "If You Were A Sailboat"
    Released: 24 September 2007
  2. "Mary Pickford"
    Released: 26 November 2007
  3. "If the Lights Go Out"
    Released: 25 February 2008
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Digital Spy[2]
BBC Music(mixed)[3]
The Guardian[4]
Virgin Media[5]

Pictures is the third album by British-Georgian jazz and blues singer Katie Melua, and was released on 1 October 2007. It was released in the USA on 5 May 2009 with a different album cover.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mary Pickford"Mike Batt3:12
2."It's All in My Head"
4:03
3."If the Lights Go Out"Batt3:14
4."What I Miss About You"
3:48
5."Spellbound"Melua3:00
6."What It Says on the Tin"Batt3:44
7."Scary Films"Batt4:02
8."Perfect Circle"
  • Molly McQueen
  • Melua
4:01
9."Ghost Town"
  • Batt
  • Melua
3:31
10."If You Were a Sailboat"Batt4:02
11."Dirty Dice"
  • McEwan
  • Melua
3:39
12."In My Secret Life"
4:23

Variants

The iTunes release includes a bonus track, "Under the Cherry Moon".

The Japanese release also contains extra tracks, "When You Taught Me How to Dance" and "Closest Thing to Crazy (acoustic version)".

In the United States, the Target store release had four extra live tracks:

  1. "The Closest Thing to Crazy"
  2. "Nine Million Bicycles"
  3. "Piece by Piece"
  4. "Thank You, Stars"

iTunes early release

On 2 September 2007, iTunes began selling Pictures in many of its locations, including the UK and Australian stores in error, a month before its official release date. Initially, it was unclear if it was in error. However, moderators on Melua's forums had deleted any posts relating to the discussion of the release, and the "tell a friend" link on the UK iTunes Store stated the album would be available on 29 September, suggesting that it should not have been available. Melua's official website also made no mention of an early iTunes release.

By 3 September 2007 the album was unavailable in the iTunes Store, with an error message stating the album would be available on 29 September. The album peaked at number 3 in the UK iTunes vocal-genre chart.

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number two with 53,878 copies sold in its first week.[6]

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[29] Gold 10,000*
Belgium (BEA)[30] Gold 15,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[31] Platinum 30,000^
France (SNEP)[32] Platinum 100,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[33] Platinum 200,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[34] Platinum 70,000^
Portugal (AFP)[35] Gold 10,000^
Sweden (GLF)[36] Gold 20,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[37] 2× Platinum 60,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Platinum 300,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[39] Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Mason, Stewart. Pictures at AllMusic
  2. ^ Levine, Nick (2007-10-02). "Katie Melua: 'Pictures'". Digitalspy.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  3. ^ "Music - Review of Katie Melua - Pictures". BBC. 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  4. ^ Clarke, Betty (28 September 2007). "CD: Katie Melua, Pictures". The Guardian. London.
  5. ^ "Music". Virgin Media. 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  6. ^ "Music Week". Archived from the original on 2014-01-11. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  7. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 184.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "finnishcharts.com - Katie Melua - Pictures". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  9. ^ a b c "Katie Melua - Pictures - Music Charts". acharts.us. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  10. ^ ケイティ・メルアけいてぃめるあ (2007-10-01). "ピクチャーズ | ケイティ・メルア | ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  11. ^ "Official Retail Sales Chart - sales for the period 15.10.2007 - 21.10.2007". OLiS. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
  12. ^ "The Official Charts Company - Katie Melua - Pictures". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  13. ^ "Pictures - Katie Melua | Billboard.com". billboard.com. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  14. ^ Steffen Hung. "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 2015-02-08. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  15. ^ Steffen Hung. "Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  16. ^ "Ultratop Belgian Charts". Ultratop.be. Archived from the original on 2014-10-24. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  17. ^ Steffen Hung. "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  18. ^ "Billboard.BIZ". 2009-02-25. Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2016-07-29.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ^ "Disque en France". Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
  20. ^ "www.sverigetopplistan.se - Årslista Album - År 2007". Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  21. ^ Steffen Hung. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2007". Swisscharts.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-16. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  22. ^ Chartwatch Annual Chart Booklets: Year 2007 Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  23. ^ "Ultratop Belgian Charts". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  24. ^ "Ultratop Belgian Charts". Ultratop.be. Archived from the original on 2012-01-05. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  25. ^ Steffen Hung. "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 2011-09-17. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  26. ^ "Billboard.BIZ". Archived from the original on 2012-10-04. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  27. ^ Steffen Hung. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2008". Swisscharts.com. Archived from the original on 2010-02-13. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  28. ^ Chartwatch Annual Chart Booklets: Year 2008 Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  29. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Katie Melua – Pictures" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  30. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2007". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
  31. ^ "Danish album certifications – Katie Melua – Pictures". IFPI Danmark. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2008 to obtain certification.
  32. ^ "French album certifications – Katie Melua – Pictures" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  33. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Katie Melua; 'Pictures')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  34. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Katie Melua – Pictures" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved October 15, 2021. Enter Pictures in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  35. ^ "Portuguese album certifications – Katie Melua – Pictures" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 2009-05-11.
  36. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2008" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17.
  37. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Pictures')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  38. ^ "British album certifications – Katie Melua – Pictures". British Phonographic Industry.
  39. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2007". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
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