Right Now (Atomic Kitten album)


Right Now is the debut studio album by English girl group Atomic Kitten released on 23 October 2000 featuring original member Kerry Katona. Following the departure of Katona the album was re-released on 6 August 2001 featuring vocals from Jenny Frost with additional new tracks featured on the album. The first release of the album originally peaked at number 39, putting the group at risk of being dropped by the record label; the second release peaked at number 1. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark members and Atomic Kitten founders, Andy McCluskey and Stuart Kershaw, were among the album's principal songwriters.

Background

When Kerry Katona left the band she was replaced by Jenny Frost. At the same time "Whole Again" was climbing up the charts, so it was decided to shoot a new video. After the success of "Whole Again", the album was remastered and re-released with Jenny Frost. The album therefore made two appearances in the charts, with the first appearance being a moderate success and the second appearance going to number one with 47,000 copies sold in its first week of release. During every subsequently released single, the album re-entered the top 40 and even re-entered during the 2002 tour.
There are three versions of the album: the rare original Japanese release, the original which peaked at number thirty-nine, and the re-issue which topped the UK Albums Chart.
Atomic Kitten embarked on an Asian tour early on in their career and the album was first released in Japan, where they had first number one hit with "Cradle". Due to this Asian success, Atomic Kitten rush-released the album there. Right Now was subsequently released in the United Kingdom on 23 October 2000 with a slightly modified track listing, but at first there were no plans to focus on the worldwide market. After the success of "Whole Again", the album and single were released globally except for the United States and it was decided to release the newly recorded cover song, "Eternal Flame", as well and make an additional single for the European, Australian, South African and New Zealand audiences, "You Are". A combination of their next album Feels So Good and Right Now was later released for the American audience and titled Atomic Kitten.
One of the early ideas for Atomic Kitten was that of an animated pop band influenced by Japanese anime and manga. That is why many songs on the original version of Right Now are highly pop-oriented. Due to the success of "Whole Again", the re-issue of Right Now contained a more mature pop sound, as Atomic Kitten were leaving their old bubblegum pop sound behind. Instead, ballads and mid-tempo based songs like "Eternal Flame", "Tomorrow and Tonight" and "You Are" were included on the album.

Chart performance

The original version of the album debuted at number thirty-nine, dropping to seventy-four in its second week. It spent a total of four weeks on the chart. It was re-issued due to the success of "Whole Again", where it topped the charts. It stayed in the top 100 for thirty-seven weeks. It was eventually certified double platinum. In Switzerland, the album debuted at number twenty-six. However, it wasn't until fourteen weeks later that the album reached its peak position of number four. This was around the time of the release of "Eternal Flame". It was certified gold. The album was also peaked at number four and was certified gold in Denmark. The album also reached the top ten in Germany, Austria, Belgium, and the Republic of Ireland. In New Zealand the album was certified platinum in and it peaked at number twelve, managing to spend twenty-five weeks on the chart. In Australia, the album peaked at number eighty-six, something the group was not expecting after "Whole Again" was certified double platinum. The album peaked at sixty-one in France.

Editions

There are three versions of the album: the original Japanese edition, the original UK edition, and the re-issue.
The original Japanese edition was released first and features rare versions of various tracks. The album features an exclusive song entitled "Real Life", the final mix version of "Holiday", a rare remix of "Cradle", the demo version of "I Want Your Love" titled "All the Right Things", the original version of "Whole Again" featuring Kerry Katona speaking all of the verses in the song, and an exclusive remix of "Right Now".
The original UK edition features a different track listing. Replacing "Holiday" and "Real Life" are "Get Real", "Turn Me On" and lead single "Follow Me". Also included are new mixes of "I Want Your Love", "Cradle", and "Whole Again" that went to No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart when released as a single. The Japanese edition was re-released to be more like the UK edition and featured a bonus cover of "Daydream Believer".
Due to the fact "Whole Again" was such a success and that Kerry Katona was no longer in the group, a re-issue was released in the UK featuring a new track order and re-recordings of songs to incorporate replacement Jenny Frost. Songs which featured a solo for Kerry, such as "Right Now" and "Whole Again" were re-recorded. "Do What You Want", a song that prominently features the vocals of Kerry Katona, is not included on the re-issue while "See Ya" and "I Want Your Love" were not re-recorded and were relegated to bonus tracks at the end of the album. "Do What You Want" and the placement of "See Ya" and "I Want Your Love" on the main album were replaced by new songs "Tomorrow & Tonight", "You Are" and, lead single for the re-issue, "Eternal Flame". "Eternal Flame" would become another big hit for the group, becoming their second No. 1. "Bye Now" was also re-recorded with a new arrangement and newly added lines and vocals from Jenny Frost.
The UK re-issue is the only edition available through digital outlets like iTunes. However, this edition replaces the ballad-like album version of "Eternal Flame" with the commercial mid-tempo single version.

Track listing

;Notes:
1 Features vocals by Jenny Frost
2 Features vocals by Kerry Katona

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history