Original Me

Original Me
Studio album by Cascada
Released	June 17, 2011 (2011-06-17)
Recorded	2009–2011; Plazmatek Studio, (Cologne, Germany)
Genre	Dance-pop, electropop, R&B
Length	37:53
Label	Zooland, Universal
Producer	Manuel "Manian" Reuter, Yann "Yanou" Peifer
Cascada chronology
Evacuate the Dancefloor (2009) Original Me (2011)
Singles from Original Me
"Pyromania" Released: March 19, 2010 "Night Nurse" Released: November 7, 2010 "San Francisco" Released: June 6, 2011 "Au Revoir" Released: September 23, 2011

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Original Me is the fourth studio album from German eurodance group Cascada, first released on June 17, 2011. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2009 to 2011 at Plazmatek Studio, Yanou Studio 1. The entire album, like their previous albums, was produced by the two disc jockeys from Cascada, Yanou and DJ Manian. The album’s genre follows in the footsteps of the preceding album, Evacuate the Dancefloor , completely shifting away from the uptempo eurodance, containing electropop songs that draw influences of urban contemporary and pop music. Musically, the album is composed of electro-infused dance tracks with thick euro synths, cymbal crashing beats and europop lyrics. Lyrically, the album, like the preceding albums, is composed of songs about love, dancing and relationships.

The album was released as a two disc set. The first disc features the eleven original songs for the album. The second set is a greatest hits compilation CD, featuring every single Cascada has released internationally. Critical reception of the album overall has been mixed, with many critics praising the new sound and lyrics. The album currently stands as a commercial failure for Cascada, failing to chart or peak in the top twenty in countries were their previous studio albums sold well.

There was a total of three singles released from the album and one promotional song. "Pyromania" was the first song released from the album, first released on March 19, 2010. At the time, it was not confirmed to be part of an album. “Night Nurse” was released as a promotional single on November 7, 2010. “San Francisco” was set as the album’s first single, released on May 1, 2011. It peaked in the top 15 in the Netherlands, Austria and Germany.

Production and composition

The album was produced over a two year time period at Plazmatek Studios in Germany. Every song on the album was produced by the two disc jockeys of Cascada, DJ Manian and Yanou. Like the previous albums by the recording group, album features songwriting cedits from other writers including Tony Cornelissen, Allan Eshuijs, Jonathan Kinnear, James Kinnear and Andres Ballinas. New writers on the album include Mimoza Blinsson, Alfred Tuohey, Nina Peifer, Max Persson, and Salar Gorgees. Some of the production wa aided by writers on the album like Alfred Tuohey and Andres Ballinas.

For this album, Cascada decided to experiment with a new release strategy, planning to produce and release different singles and then attempting to bind them all into an album. A new single "Pyromania" was released in 2010. When interviewed about the new music coming out, lead singer Natalie Horler described their current music as going in a "slightly more pop direction".^[2] She still classifies it as dance music as it has combine their "clubby electronic pop" sound, with less beat per minute.^[3] A second single, "Night Nurse", was the released along with a music video featuring Natalie in full body paint of various colors in many scenes. This song never got a commercial release but was featured on a compilation CD in the UK. All of the singles released before the album's release date were came out six months apart, with "Pyromania" released in March, "Night Nurse" released in November and "San Francisco" released in June.

The album is comprised heavily of electropop music with influences drawing from europop, eurodance, contemporary R&B, rock, soul and hip hop. It follows in the sound of the previous album, Evacuate the Dancefloor, taking away the bell-synth sound and thump of the drum machine and synthesizers used in the eurodance music they used to produce. The production features more cymbal crashing beats, modern robotic synthesizers and a male voice in the bridge of nearly every song that is heavily Auto-Tuned. Other instruments featured in the production of this album include piano loops, guitars and synth strings. On two of the songs, “Unspoken” and “Independence Day”, Zimbabwean-German rapper Carlprit was featured, rapping throughout the first and second verse while Horler sang the chorus.

Songs

“San Francisco” is a song written as a tribute to the city San Francisco in California, like the hit singles “Empire State of Mind” by American rapper Jay-Z and California Gurls by American pop recording artist Katy Perry. The song was has been most notably compared to “California Gurls” in sound, noting the similar floaty synth hook and grinding beats.^[4] The second track, “Au revoir,” is an electropop song with influences of glam schlager^[4] about how some men put up a front and how it does not phase Horler. “Stalker” is about an infatuation with another person that has left the other partner wanting to be around that one person all day, every day. The song is an electro infused dance cut that features the use of fizzing synthesizers and a drum machine with drums and a piano loop starting off the song. “Night Nurse” is an electropop song that has the recycled beat of “Pyromania” but has an ominous undertone and excessively Auto-Tuned male vocals.^[4] The song alludes to a love affair while featuring references to medicine, remedies and chemistry. “Pyromania” is the fourth track on the album and is written about a love for fire. It features a robotic sound,^[4] aided by the Auto-Tuned male vocals and the Lady Gaga electro-style,^[4] and a “pyro-pyro” hook.

The third song, “Unspoken”, features German rapper Carlprit and is about a mutual attraction between two lovers and their synchronicity with each other. The title track is an electropop song about conformity and the modern standard of beauty. The song features the use of Auto-Tune on Horler’s vocals along with bleeping synth effects reminiscent of 1980’s electro music. The eighth track from the album, “Sinner On the Dancefloor,” is written about a love affair on the dance floor and features the of pin-sharp beats produced by the drum machine, thick eurodance synthesizers, and the Auto-Tune effects on unknown male vocals on the song. “Enemy” is a slinky eurodisco^[4] song about a relationship at a standstill. “Hungover” is an obligatory pop ballad^[4] with urban influences that resembles the sound of American musician Ryan Tedder’s musical work. The sixth track on the album, “Independence Day”, is a pop song that is influences by rock^[4] and hip hop.^[4] It features the vocals of German rapper Carlprit and is about a relationship underfire. It is expected to be released in the UK on the 11th of October.

Singles

• "Pyromania" was released as the album's first single in Germany on March 19, 2010 by Zooland Records. It was Composed as an electropop song, which features Natalie Horler singing the whole song with guest male vocals speaking the "Pyro-pyro" hook.

• "San Francisco" was released as the album's lead single on June 3, 2011.^[5] The song had originally premiered on their official YouTube account in the song's music video on April 28, 2011.^[6] The video features Horler with a group of people all dressed as modern-day hippies out on a night in San Francisco for a party, ending with them having a party on a rooftop.^[7] "San Francisco" has been met with generally positive review from critics, though it has been constantly compared to Katy Perry's 2010 hit "California Gurls", with allegations that Cascada "ripped-off" Perry in the song.^[7][8][9] The song has been commercially successful despite these claims, proving to be Cascada's most successful single since "Evacuate the Dancefloor" in Austria where the song has achieved a current peak of number 14^[10] and has also managed to reach number 13 in Germany^[11] and 11 in the Netherlands.^[10] It was later released in the U.S

• "Au Revoir" is the 3rd overall single from the album. It will be the first single from the album in France. The music video premiered on Clubland TV. It features Natalie and many dancers dressed in a masquerade theme, and they dance all throughout the video. It was released in the UK on the 11th October but failed to chart on the top 100 due to no promotion or airplay. It was later released in Germany and the U.S.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"San Francisco"	Yann Peifer, Manuel Reuter, Tony Cornelissen	Manuel "Manian" Reuter, Yann "Yanou" Peifer	3:46
2.	"Au Revoir"	Peifer, Reuter, Allan Eshuijs	Reuter, Peifer	3:08
3.	"Unspoken"	Peifer, Reuter, Jonathan Kinnear, James Kinnear, Rudi Schwamborn	Reuter, Peifer	3:26
4.	"Pyromania"	Peifer, Reuter, Eshuijs	Reuter, Peifer	3:30
5.	"Enemy"	Peifer, Reuter, Steve Robson	Reuter, Peifer	3:30
6.	"Independence Day"	Peifer, Reuter, Andres Ballinas, Schwamborn	Reuter, Peifer, Andres Ballinas*	3:51
7.	"Stalker"	Peifer, Reuter, Eshuijs, Mimoza Blinsson, Alfred Tuohey	Reuter, Peifer, Alfred Tuohey	3:32
8.	"Night Nurse"	Peifer, Reuter, Cornelissen	Reuter, Peifer	3:23
9.	"Sinner on the Dancefloor"	Peifer, Reuter, Ballinas	Reuter, Peifer	2:56
10.	"Original Me"	Peifer, Reuter, Cornelissen, Nina Peifer	Reuter, Peifer	3:09
11.	"Hungover"	Peifer, Reuter, Jonathan Kinnear, James Kinnear, Max Persson, Salar Gorgees	Reuter, Peifer	3:48

Disc 2: Greatest Hits
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Everytime We Touch"	Peter Risavy, Maggie Reilly, Stuart MacKillop	Manuel "Manian" Reuter, Yann "Yanou" Peifer	3:19
2.	"What Hurts The Most"	Steve Robson, Jeffrey Steele	Reuter, Peifer	3:39
3.	"Evacuate the Dancefloor"	Peifer, Reuter, Allan Eshuijs	Reuter, Peifer	3:25
4.	"Truly Madly Deeply"	Daniel Jones, Darren Hayes	Reuter, Peifer	2:55
5.	"What Do You Want from Me?"	Peifer, Reuter, Tony Cornelissen	Reuter, Peifer	2:47
6.	"Bad Boy"	Peifer, Reuter	Reuter, Peifer	3:13
7.	"How Do You Do"	Per Gessle	Reuter, Peifer	3:17
8.	"A Neverending Dream"	Alexander Kaiser, Matthias Uhle	Reuter, Peifer	3:24
9.	"Fever"	Peifer, Reuter, Ballinas	Reuter, Peifer	3:19
10.	"Wouldn't It Be Good"	Nik Kershaw	Reuter, Peifer	3:29
11.	"Dangerous"	Peifer, Reuter, Cornelissen	Reuter, Peifer	2:58
12.	"Because the Night"	Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith	Reuter, Peifer	3:26
13.	"Faded"	Matthew Gerrard, Jessica Origliasso, Lisa Origliasso, Robbie Nevil	Reuter, Peifer	2:48
14.	"Perfect Day"	Peifer, Reuter, Eshuijs	Reuter, Peifer	3:42
15.	"Last Christmas"	George Michael	Reuter, Peifer	3:52

iTunes bonus track[12]
No.	Title	Length
16.	"Cascada Megamix" ("San Francisco", "Au Revoir", "Night Nurse", "Pyromania", "Unspoken", "Stalker", "Original Me", "Sinner on the Dancefloor", "Enemy", "Hungover", "Independence Day")	5:38

• (*) denotes co-producer

Chart Performance

The album peaked 46 in Austria, 44 in Switzerland and 24 in the UK becoming the bands lowest chart position in those countries. The album peaked 41 in their home country, Germany, becoming their second lowest charting album there.

Charts

Charts (2011)	Peak position
Austrian Albums Chart[13]	46
German Albums Chart[14]	41
Polish Album Chart[15]	38
Swiss Albums Chart[13]	44
Scottish Albums Chart	17
UK Albums Chart[16]	24
UK Dance Albums Chart[17]	2

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Netherlands[18]	June 17, 2011	CD, digital download	Zooland Records, Universal Music
United Kingdom	June 19, 2011		All Around the World
Germany[19]	June 24, 2011		Zooland Records, Universal Music
Spain	June 20, 2011
Canada	July 5, 2011
Australia[20]	July 8, 2011

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/original-me-r2213319/review
2. ^ http://www.4music.com/news/interviews/139/Cascada-drop-by-for-a-chat
3. ^ http://www.4music.com/news/interviews/139/Cascada-drop-by-for-a-chat
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} "Original Me - Cascada". AllMusic. 2011-06-17. http://www.allmusic.com/album/original-me-r2213319/review. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
5. ^ "San Francisco (2-Track): Cascada". Amazon.com. Amazon.com, inc. http://www.amazon.de/dp/B004YMYPZQ/ref=nosim?tag=universaldome-21. Retrieved 2011-06-18. 
6. ^ "CASCADA - San Francisco (Official Video HD)". YouTube. 2011-04-28. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arf4TNMUyJI. Retrieved 2011-06-18. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Cheung, Nadine (2011-05-09). "CASCADA RELEASES ‘SAN FRANCISCO’ VIDEO, CHANNELS (COPIES) KATY PERRY". PopCrush. http://popcrush.com/cascada-san-francisco-video-channels-copies-katy-perry/. Retrieved 2011-06-18. 
8. ^ Gayles, Contessa (2011-06-02). "Did Cascada Rip Off Katy Perry's 'California Gurls' ?". AOL Music. AOL, inc. http://blog.music.aol.com/2011/06/02/cascada-san-francisco-katy-perry-california-gurls/. Retrieved 2011-06-18. 
9. ^ Exton, Emily (2011-05-09). "Watch Cascada's "San Francisco" and Try Not to Think of "California Gurls"". Popdust. Popdust, inc. http://popdust.com/2011/05/09/cascada-san-francisco-katy-perry-california-gurls/. Retrieved 2011-06-18. 
10. ^ ^{a b} "Cascada - San Francisco". italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. http://italiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Cascada&titel=San+Francisco&cat=s. Retrieved 2011-06-18. 
11. ^ "German Top 40". German Top 40. Top40-Charts.com. http://top40-charts.com/chart.php?cid=12. Retrieved 2011-06-18. 
12. ^ "Original Me (International Version) by Cascada - Download Original Me (International Version) on iTunes". iTunes Store. http://itunes.apple.com/dk/album/original-me-international/id442514800. Retrieved 14 July 2011. 
13. ^ ^{a b} "Cascada - Original Me - hitparade.ch" (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Hung Medien. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Cascada&titel=Original+Me&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-07-14. 
14. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Cascada / Longplay" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Cascada/?type=longplay. Retrieved 2011-07-14. 
15. ^ [1] Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry
16. ^ "Archive Chart". UK Albums Chart. The Official Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/2011-07-02/. Retrieved 2011-07-14. 
17. ^ "Archive Chart". UK Albums Chart. The Official Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/19/2011-07-02/. Retrieved 2011-07-14. 
18. ^ "bol.com | Original Me, Cascada" (in Dutch). bol.com. http://www.bol.com/nl/p/muziek/original-me/1000004011424535/index.html. Retrieved 14 July 2011. 
19. ^ http://www.amazon.de/Original-Me-Cascada/dp/B0051KFX7O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=gateway&qid=1306671719&sr=8-1-spell
20. ^ "Original Me | Music , Music Genres, Dance : JB HI-FI". JB Hi-Fi. https://www.jbhifionline.com.au/music/dance/original-me/651300. Retrieved 14 July 2011. 

External links

• Official Cascada Site
• Cascada on Myspace