Life (ZOEgirl album)

Life
Studio album by ZOEgirl
Released	November 20, 2001
Label	Sparrow
ZOEgirl chronology
ZOEgirl (2000) Life (2001) ZOEgirl: Limited Edition Single (2002)
Singles from ZOEgirl
"With All of My Heart" Released: October 8, 2001 [1][2] "Here and Now" Released: March 4, 2002 [3][4] "Even If" Released: September 27, 2002 [5] "Plain" Released: November 11, 2002 [6] "Dismissed" Released: March 2003

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Answers.com	[7]
Allmusic	[8]
CCM Magazine	(?)[9]
Cross Rhythms	[10]
Crosswalk.com	A[11]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[12]
The Phantom Tollbooth	[13]

Life, released in 2001, is the second album by the American Christian pop rock band ZOEgirl.

Track listing

All the songs from Life were either written or co-written by at least one ZOEgirl member.^[14]

#	Title	Writers	Time
1.	"With All of My Heart"	Chrissy Conway, Joe Priolo	5:04
2.	"Even If"	Alisa Childers, Conway, Kristin Schweain, Lynn Nichols, Tedd T.	4:24
3.	"Dismissed"	Childers, Conway, Schweain, Nichols, Tasia Tjornhom, Tedd T.	3:20
4.	"Waiting"	Childers, Conway, Schweain, Jesse Katina, Robert Marvin	4:03
5.	"R U Sure About That?"	Childers, Conway, Schweain, Nichols, Tedd T.	4:59
6.	"Ordinary Day"	Childers, Conway, Schweain, Nichols, Tedd T.	4:01
7.	"Plain"	Schweain	4:44
8.	"Nick of Time"	Schweain, Nichols, Tedd T.	4:00
9.	"Forever 17"	Schweain	4:22
10.	"Here and Now"	Childers, Conway, Schweain, Priolo	4:27
11.	"The Truth"	Childers	7:17

Song by song

"With All of My Heart" starts the album with a pumped up pop-worship song.^[15] It obtained the #1 position for 3 weeks on the CHR Charts, and featured in the top 5 on AC radio charts.^[16] It was covered by X.ado.

"Even If" is a euro-style dance track.

"Dismissed" is a dance pop/r&b song. The bold lyrics encourage young ladies to end ("dismiss") unhealthy relationships while also, ZOEgirl sings about not giving in to Satan.

"Waiting" is a slow song, and talks about the God waiting for individuals to come to Him.

"R U Sure About That?" consists of a mix of electronic pop and Spanish guitar; Beethoven's "Für Elise" is plucked out. The song talks about guys, girls, and the truth about life. At the end of the song, a Baroque-styled bridge includes a short "studio talk" and a transition to the next track.

"Ordinary Day" is yet another upbeat song.

"Plain", written solely by Kristin Swinford^[14] to address "her own intense struggles with self-esteem"^[17] is a slow, soft pop song. The lyrics are similar to Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful", as it reminds the listener that they are a precious treasure, no matter what others say. However, while ZOEgirl's song features references to God, Christina's does not. Later, on their final album (Room to Breathe), Kristin writes "Skin Deep" to once again address self-esteem struggles.^[17]

"Nick of Time" is an R&B song.

"Forever 17" is a tender song with piano and strings. The lyrics reflect on the fragility of life, recounting the story of a teenage girl killed by a drunk driver.

"Here and Now" is a teen pop track with electric guitars and drum loops. The lyrics encourage Christians to stand together and live for Jesus with all they have. This music genre becomes more common in ZOEgirl's later works, including Different Kind of FREE and Room to Breathe.

"The Truth", the final track, is written by Alisa Girard^[14]. It is a slowed-down song, reminiscent of "Constantly" from ZOEgirl's debut album. At the very end of the song, the ABCs to salvation can be heard.

Chart performance and critical response

Life received generally favourable reviews. JesusfreakHideout said "From funky dance-pop to heart-wrenching songs, it can't really get much better than this". CCM called the album "a winner". Life peaked at #111 on the Billboard 200, #9 on the Billboard Contemporary Christian Charts and #2 on the Billboard Heatseeker's Chart. Christianity Today says "Life may well be the best Christian teen pop album released to date."

Related products

There are many products related to the Life album.

Real Life

This video was released on VHS and DVD. It featured the music video for "Dismissed", as well as video montages for the songs "I Believe" and "With All of My Heart". There are also interviews with ZOEgirl.

Mix of Life

Main article: Mix of Life

The remix album was released in 2002, featuring remixes from all songs in Life (except "R U Sure About That", "Forever 17" and "The Truth"). It also featured four remixes from songs on the self-titled album

Dismissed

Main article: Dismissed (ZOEgirl)

The single for Dismissed was released in 2002 to stores.

Dance Praise

Main article: Dance Praise

The Original Dance Praise game, released in 2005, featured "Dismissed". Also, the expansion pack Modern Worship featured "Even If".

References

1. ^ Today's Christian Music.
2. ^ CHRI Contemporary Chart. As of December 19, 2001. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
3. ^ Today's Christian Music.
4. ^ Christian Music Lighthouse - ZOEgirl news. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
5. ^ R&R Christian Chart. As of September 27, 2002. Retrieved on October 30, 2011.
6. ^ Tommy2.net » Daily News. As of November 11, 2002. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
7. ^ Answers.com review
8. ^ Allmusic review
9. ^ review
10. ^ Cross Rhythms review
11. ^ review
12. ^ Jesus Freak Hideout review
13. ^ The Phantom Tollbooth review
14. ^ ^{a b c} Life leaflet
15. ^ Russ Breimeier. "Life review". Christian Music Today. http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/reviews/2001/life.html. Retrieved 2008-11-07. 
16. ^ "ZOEgirl fact sheet". EMI Christian Music Group. http://pressroom.emicmg.com/artists/Zoegirl/files/uploads/filedownloads/ZG%20Fact%20Sheet9%5B1%5D.05.doc. Retrieved 2008-11-07. ^{[dead link]}
17. ^ ^{a b} Kristin Schweain. "Kristin Schweain's YouTube Channel". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/user/kristinschweainmusic. Retrieved 2009-08-11.