Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Moderators, Registered Joined: 16/04/2011(UTC) Posts: 6,598 Location: Storybrooke Thanks: 4684 times Was thanked: 2517 time(s) in 1482 post(s)
|
Released: December 16th, 2014Recorded: February 2013 - August 2014 Los Angeles, California, New York City, New York, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaGenre(s): Disco-pop, dance-pop, teen pop, bubblegum pop, popLength: [43:16] iTunes Version [49:13]Label: Titanic RecordsProducers: Kourtney Steele, Sunny Monroe, Bianca Moretti, Katriel Comyns, Lucia Vega, Catherine Willis, Alton Hart, Vivian Murray, Neal Rose, Erica Huff, Dylan ShawMade of Steele is the debut studio album by Canadian recording artist Kourtney Steele. It is scheduled to be released through Titanic Records on December 16th, 2014 worldwide. The album was produced by Steele, Sunny Monroe, Bianca Moretti, Lucia Vega, Catherine Willis, Katriel Comyns, Alton Hart, Neal Rose, Erica Huff, Dylan Shaw and Vivian Murry. It features songwriting collaborations with Isabel Merjos, Sunny Monroe, Bianca Moretti, Jennifer Armstrong, Katriel Comyns, and Jacob Estrada. BackgroundOn December 30, 2012, Steele announced the lead single, 'Shut Me Out,' and revealed a sneak peek of the single cover on her official website. The single was released independently days later on January 2, 2013. To promote the single, Steele embarked on a radio promo tour, in which she announced on February 5, 2013. The tour included a total of 20 dates to popular pop radio stations in the US and Canada. It began on February 20, 2013 and ended on March 30, 2013. While on tour, Steele was discovered by The Titans and later signed to Titanic Records on February 16, 2013. Immediately after, she began recording for her debut album, teaming up with hit producers, Neal Rose, Lucia Vega, and Sunny Monroe.
On April 3, 2013, Steele performed on the free concert of Isabel Merjos' "Dancing In The Dark World Tour,' in Bogotá, Colombia at Simón Bolívar Park. Steele performed a snippet of her upcoming single, 'Heart On The Line.' Following up on her debut single, Steele announced the release date for her second single, 'Heart On The Line,' on April 28, 2013, and revealed a sneak peek of the single cover on her website. The song was released on May 3, 2013, and became the first single to be released under her new label.
On May 10, 2013, it was announced that Steele would be joining music sensations, Ellie-Grace Summers and Michelle, on the 'Ellie-Grace Michelle Green Live Tour,' as an supporting act along with Stacey Pilgrim, Aimee Rose, Sammy Griffin, The Train Jumpers, and Taylor Hill. The tour included shows across Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania. It began on June 5, 2013 in London, England and ended on September 14, 2013 in Osaka, Japan. During the tour, Steele announced on August 10, 2013 the release date of her third official single from the album, 'In My Head,' which featured Eilidh Greene, on her official website, along with a sneak peek of the single cover. The single was released on August 25, 2013.
Steele finished touring on the 'Ellie-Grace Michelle Green Live Tour' and continued recording her album for the next couple of months. The album was originally scheduled to be released on December 24, 2013, but Steele decided to push it back as it wasn't quite ready yet. Steele, however, decided to announce her fourth single from the album instead. On December 17, 2013, she announced that she would be teaming up with pop star and good friend, Kato, for a special Christmas duet, teasing the single's cover artwork on her official website. The single was released several days before Christmas on December 22, 2013 through Titanic Records and Tric-Jam Records.
On February 15, 2014, Steele's label mate, Pixie, announced that Steele would be joining her on her 'Imagine World Tour' as a supporting act along with Amy-Jayne and Parish. The show included shows across North America, Europe, South America, Asia and Oceania. The tour kicked off on April 4, 2014 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and ended on October 11, 2014 in Perth, Australia. Steele performed on the North America Leg only before leaving, as it was announced on the official Warped Tour website that she would be joining the line up.
The fifth single, Intention, was announced on March 29, 2014. Steele revealed the single cover and a snippet of the song on her official website. It was released on April 4, 2014.
Steele later joined the 'Warped Tour 2014' along with acts Bath Salts, Radio Vine, SYNCO, Pretty Little Freaks, Edward Barat, Miami, Liyah, Adam Black, Deneil Khan, Penetralia, Jason Smith, Leopard Five, Erica Kobayashi, Juneau, Smash Up!, My Girl Friday, Police Code, Molly's Chamber. The tour began on June 18, 2014 and ended on August 8, 2014.
Soon after, Steele announced on Twitter that she would be joining Hayden Merjos on his 'Sh*t Happens Tour.' The tour has a total of 65 dates and began on August 14, 2014 in Seoul, Korea, Republic Of. Currently Steele is still touring along with Jacob Estrada, Back Avenue, and Kellin Falconer. The tour is scheduled to end on December 5, 2014 in New York, NY. After the release of her debut album, Steele is set to take a break for the holidays before going on her first official headlining tour early 2015.
The sixth single, was announced on November 1, 2014 via Twitter. Steele teased about a special collaboration that would be coming up. A while later she announced that the song would be a duet with pop star, Isabel Merjos, and would be available to download instantly when the album was pre-ordered on iTunes.DevelopmentThe songwriting process for the album began February 2013 and ran through August 2014. The vocals for the album were recorded in various studios in Los Angeles, California, New York City, New York, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. For her debut album, Steele wanted the album to reflect herself. "I wanted to have fun with this album and just show the kind of music that reflects me. Originally I hadn't planned on having that many collaborations, only a couple is what I wanted, but that changed when I kept envisioning certain artists on a track that I wrote or recorded. So I had to go with my instincts and put a few more collaborations on the album then I intended. I feel that all in all it worked out pretty great for the album. It fells complete to me and I'm happy with it." Steele worked with Sunny Monroe, Bianca Moretti, Lucia Vega, Catherine Willis, Katriel Comyns, Alton Hart, Neal Rose, Erica Huff, Dylan Shaw and Vivian Murry on the production of the album. Collaborations include, Isabel Merjos, Jennifer Armstrong, Katriel Comyns, Eilidh Greene, and Jacob Estrada.CompositionMusically, the album contains elements of Disco-pop, dance-pop, teen pop, bubblegum pop, and pop. The album's title, Made Of Steele, was inspired by her last name and the fact that Steele wanted to choose a title that would reflect an overall meaning of the music on the album, saying, "I thought really hard for days about what the album title should be and I finally came up with Made of Steele. The overall message that I want fans to get out of the music on the album is that this is the music that makes up who I am. I love fun pop songs and songs that will make you want to be downright happy, have fun and dance. I'm just a genuine happy person and so in regards to the title it just fits."ThemesThe album artwork was taken by Kathleen Lamb and shows Steele glowing with bright colors to represent the themes of fun and happiness. The album's lyrics touch on topics of love and heartbreak. "Writing about love and heartbreak is the best cause I love those topics. Both are things that people can relate to cause at some point in their lives, everyone has experienced them. They know what it feels like to be in love or to have your heart broken and so I feel that people will like my songs. I know what it's like as well, not heartbreak from a relationship but more so from losing a love one, and with the fun that I'm trying to offer on each song, I think that fans will fall in love with this album just as I have."PromotionPromotion for the album began on February 20, 2013 when Steele embarked on a radio promo tour to promote the lead single, Shut Me Out. Since then Steele has opened as a supported act on several tours including, 'Ellie-Grace Michelle Green Live Tour,' Pixie's 'Imagine World Tour,' the 'Warped Tour,' and currently Hayden Merjos' 'Sh*t Happens Tour' to promote the album. During the week of the album's release, Steele is scheduled to do a series of interviews and perform on several televised events across the United States and Canada to further promote the album. Steele is also scheduled to go on her first headlining tour after the holidays, which is set to begin early 2015.SinglesSteele released a total of 6 singles from Made of Steele.Shut Me Out the lead single, was released on January 2nd, 2013. It was announced as the debut single via her official website. The single debuted at #3 on airplay and #4 on the Digital charts, peaking #1, scoring Steele her first number one single. As of October 2014, the song has sold a total of 1,517,000 units worldwide, her second highest selling single.The second single, was Heart On The Line on May 3rd, 2013. The single was introduced at Isabel Merjos' free concert on her Dancing In The Dark Tour when Steele performed a snippet of the song to her fans. The single debuted at #5 on Airplay and #4 on the Digital charts. As of October 2014, it has sold a total of 1,124,000 units worldwide. color]
In My Head featuring Eilidh Greene, was the third single on August 25th, 2013. It debuted at #2 on Airplay and #3 on the digital charts, selling a total of 1,335,000 units worldwide.
Warmest Feeling featuring Kato, was the fourth single to be released from the album. Steele teamed up with good friend, Kato, to put out a Christmas duet just in time for the holiday. The song was released on December 22, 2013 and was sent to radio and available for digital download. It debuted at #2 on Airplay and #5 on the Digital charts. The song is the only single from the album not to go platinum, selling only 702,000 units worldwide, but is certified gold. The second to last single to be released from the album was Intention. The song was released on April 4, 2014 through Titanic Records. It debuted at #2 on both Airplay and Digital and peaked #1 on the Digital charts. As of October 2014, it has sold a total of 1,795,000 units worldwide, becoming her highest selling single to date.The last single to be released from the album was Space. Steele wrote via twitter that she excited about a special collaboration that was coming up. It was announced later via Twitter on November 1, 2014 that the single would be available for download on iTunes when you pre-ordered the album and that pop star, Isabel, is on the song as well.Track Listing1. Shut Me Out (3:03) 2. Cross My Heart (3:17) 3. Heart On The Line (3:29) 4. You Give and You Take (2:43) 5. In My Head (feat. Eilidh Greene) (4:08) 6. I Want You To Show Me (4:55) 7. Warmest Feeling (w/Kato) (3:18) 8. When You're In Love (3:44) 9. Intention (3:58) 10. Crazy Glue (3:07) 11. Space (w/Isabel) (3:30) 12. If I Had The Chance (feat. Jacob Estrada) (4:04)iTunes Version1. Shut Me Out (3:03) 2. Cross My Heart (3:17) 3. Heart On The Line (3:29) 4. You Give and You Take (2:43) 5. In My Head (feat. Eilidh Greene) (4:08) 6. I Want You To Show Me (4:55) 7. Warmest Feeling (w/Kato) (3:18) 8. When You're In Love (3:44) 9. Intention (3:58) 10. Crazy Glue (3:07) 11. Space (w/Isabel) (3:30) 12. If I Had The Chance (feat. Jacob Estrada) (4:04)Bonus Tracks13. Love Like This Remix (feat. Jennifer Armstrong) (3:10) 14. Nothing To Lose (2:47) PersonnelKourtney Steele – vocals, backing vocals, producer, songwriter Bianca Moretti - producer, songwriter Kato - producer, vocals, songwriter, backing vocals Mark Potter – international marketing Sonny Monroe - songwriter, producer Brendan Sims – management, producer Julia Ross – assistant engineer Jan Page – mixing assistant Daniel Walnut – executive producer Martina Downtown – executive producer Joseph Frankson – executive producer Laurence Vega – executive producer Tanya Stephenson – executive producer Gerald Morgan – engineer Jody Walsh – assistant engineer Javier Russell – co-mixing, engineer Matthew Craig – vocal engineer Terry Moody – backing vocals Marilyn Wheeler – backing vocals Lucia Vega – producer Abel Rowe – additional instruments Cody Pittman – guitar Melanie Richardson – bass Rene Hodges – mixing assistant Valerie Mcdonald – production A&R coordinator Catherine Willis – arranger, instruments, producer, programming, vocal arrangement Joann Drake – mixing Maryann Reese – creative director Johnathan Edwards – marketing Alma Fisher – engineer Inez Mendez – A&R Simon Morris – mix engineer Alton Hart – album producer, backing vocals, vocal producer Pauline Wallace – stylist Wesley Morrison – art direction, creative director, design Vivian Murray – piano, producer, strings Kathleen Lamb – creative director, photography productionThank You'sI personally want to thank everyone that made this album possible. Since the process for the album began, I've had lots of ideas of how I wanted the album to be and I'm so glad that everyone that I worked with allowed and helped me take those ideas and make them come true. Thank you so much to the owners of the beautiful label that I'm signed with, Laurence, Den, Martina, Joey, and Tanya. You guys made my dreams come true when you took a chance on me. I'll never forget that and I can't wait to see where the future takes us. To my lovely fans, I especially want to thank you all cause you inspire me each and every day. I'm always thinking of ways that I can express myself through my music so that I can share with you my love for music. I promise to never take you guys for granted and to always be there for you until the end of time. To all those that I was able to do collaborations with, Izzy, Kato, Eilidh, Jen, Jacob, you guys made it so fun to work with you. I really had the time of my life and I'm so blessed to have each of you in my life. Sunny and Bianca, you two are so amazing at what you do! I always feel like we're creating magic whenever we're writing songs together. I'll never forget those moments and I hope that we can do it again. To my parents, my little sister, and the rest of the Steele clan, I love you guys so much. You've always been there for me, encouraging me to chase my dreams. That means so much to me cause there's nothing better than having love ones that you can count on. To Jase, I love you with all of my heart. I wake up each day with a smile on my face knowing that our hearts beat as one. Soon we'll be husband and wife and I honestly can't wait to spend the rest of my life waking up each morning next to my best friend.- xoxo K |