Schizophonic is the debutstudio album by pop singer Geri Halliwell. The album was released after her split from popular girl group the Spice Girls. The term schizophonic is a portmanteau of the Greek words schizo and phonic, and also seemingly a play on the word "schizophrenic" and the musical term "schizophonia". This was the first solo album released by a Spice Girl. It produced four singles, all of which saw commercial success in the UK—"Mi Chico Latino", "Lift Me Up" and "Bag It Up" reached number one, while the first single "Look at Me" peaked at number two.
Background
On 31 May 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls due to depression and differences between the group. Her former group mates eventually continued the Spiceworld Tour without her. Halliwell then started developing her debut album, asking Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson who had already produced songs for the Spice Girls, for help. However, the four remaining girls from the Spice Girls said that if they worked with Halliwell, they could not work with them again. Eventually, the duo decided to work with the singer. The next year, she launched her solo career and released her debut album Schizophonic.
Promotion
The album's release was promoted with a documentary, Geri, which was directed by Molly Dineen and screened by Channel 4 on 5 May 1999, following Halliwell's life after her departure from the Spice Girls.
Commercial reception
In the United Kingdom, Schizophonic debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, with sales of 35,000 copies. It sold 483,853 in total, being certified two-times Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for shipments of 600,000 copies. In Canada, the album debuted and peaked at number 15. With strong long-term sales the album was certified Platinum with just over 100,000 copies shipped. In the United States, the album faced moderate success, selling 40,000 copies in its first week debuting and peaking at number 42 on the Billboard 200, the strongest Spice Girls solo showing on the chart. It shipped 500,000 copies and received a Gold certification in the country by the Recording Industry Association of America. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Schizophonic has sold 181,000 copies there as of July 2007. The album was also certified Gold in Australia and Spain with shipments of over 35,000 and 50,000 copies, respectively. However, the album only reached number 85 in Japan, selling 3,190 copies.
Singles
Three of the four singles from the album went to number one in the United Kingdom, while the debut single made number two. The lead single was "Look at Me", produced by Absolute and Phil Bucknall. "Look at Me" was followed by three number one singles in the UK Singles Chart; "Mi Chico Latino", "Lift Me Up", and "Bag It Up".
Album covers
Schizophonic was released with two different covers, representing an angel, and a devil ; both covers are the same edition of the album. On the first "O" on Schizophonic, there is an angelhalo on the white cover and horns on the red cover. On the back cover, the song titles are written in both red and white, relating the theme of the song to one of the personalities. The booklet of the album features both covers on all editions, and the lyrics of the songs are included on the side that they are marked on the back cover.
Track listing
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Schizophonic.
