Contrast (Conor Maynard album)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Contrast
Maynard stands side-on to the camera against a white background. He wears a black leather jacket over a blue hoodie, and is pointing his index finger upwards. Across the centre of screen is the name "Conor Maynard", and the title "Contrast".
Studio album by
Conor Maynard
Released30 July 2012
Recorded2011–2012
StudioEaling Music Studio[1]
(West London, England)
Genre
Length41:25
Stargate
  • Benny Blanco
  • The Invisible Men
  • Midi Mafia
  • Crada
  • Lucas Secon
  • Quiz & Larossi
  • Eagle Eye
  • The Arcade
  • Parker & James
  • DetoNate
  • Rami Afuni
    • Conor Maynard chronology
    Contrast
    (2012)     		Covers
    (2016)
    Singles from Contrast
    1. "Can't Say No"
      Released: 2 March 2012
    2. "Vegas Girl"
      Released: 22 July 2012
    3. "Turn Around"
      Released: 11 October 2012
    4. "Animal"
      Released: 20 January 2013

    Contrast is the debut

    Stargate, Benny Blanco, Midi Mafia, Crada, Lucas Secon, Quiz & Larossi, and Eagle Eye, among others, and features guest appearances from American recording artists Ne-Yo and Pharrell Williams, as well as British singer Rita Ora
    .

    Contrast was recorded between 2011 and 2012 and its album's music consists of

    UK Singles Chart at number 2. The second single "Vegas Girl" was released the same day as Contrast, entering at number 4. Another two singles were released after the album release. The album peaked at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart
    , and charted in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy and United States.

    Background

    On 20 May 2006, Maynard signed up to online video-sharing website

    Chris Brown ("Crawl"), Taio Cruz ("Dynamite"), Rihanna ("Only Girl (In the World)"). Maynard was brought to label attention when American singer/songwriter Ne-Yo watched a cover version of his track "Beautiful Monster" – who contacted the musician soon afterwards, and Ne-Yo became Maynard's mentor.[8]

    In November 2011, Maynard received a nomination for MTV's Brand New for 2012 award, competing alongside Delilah, Michael Kiwanuka, Lana Del Rey and Lianne La Havas.[9] It was announced on 31 January 2012 that Maynard had been crowned winner of the award, having received approximately 48% of the public vote.[10]

    Maynard had signed to Parlophone in 2010.[11] He released the music video for his debut single "Can't Say No" on 1 March 2012,[12] which by September 2012 had already surpassed fourteen million views. The single was met with positive reviews, with Lewis Corner (of Digital Spy) describing it as "playful, fun and immediately leaves you wanting another go",[13] whilst others compared Maynard to Canadian singer Justin Bieber; both vocally and career-wise. However, Conor disputes this claim, saying "I'm not like Justin Bieber", and although insisting his music has a more mature R&B flavour to it than Bieber's,[14] acknowledged that they both gained popularity from being young and from being found through YouTube.[15]

    Singles

    "Can't Say No" was released on 2 March 2012 as the first single from the album. It was produced by The Invisible Men and The Arcade, and written by The Invisible Men, Sophie Stern, Jon Mills, Joe Dyer, Kurtis McKenzie and Maynard. "Vegas Girl" was released on 20 July 2012 as the second single from the album. "Turn Around" was confirmed as the third single to be released from the album. The music video premiered on 10 September 2012 and was released on 8 October 2012.[16]

    "

    Wiley.[citation needed
    ]

    Critical reception

    Professional ratings
    Aggregate scores
    SourceRating
    London Evening Standard
    		(Positive)[4]
    NME7/10[21]
    Rolling Stone[3]
    The Scotsman(Positive)[22]

    Contrast received generally positive reviews from music critics. At

    weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67 based on 11 reviews.[17] Lewis Corner of Digital Spy criticized Maynard's lyrics for being "mismatch with his boy-next-door persona", ultimately stating the songs feel "like a by-product of his mentors rather than an expression of his teenage self." Corner also commented that the album's sound is more like Justin Timberlake as opposed to Justin Bieber, a common comparison for Maynard, specifically referring to the tracks "Can't Say No" and "Animal".[18]

    The Guardian, however, noted that the "British Justin Bieber" label fits Maynard as the album "follows the Bieber template of fitting a breathy teenage voice to cleancut urban pop."[19] Nick Levine of BBC Music felt the album has "class" and complimented it for being a "credible collection of electronic RnB tracks." Levine also states Justin Timberlake's influence on Maynard, specifically referring to the song "Glass Girl" as being an "attempt to rewrite JT's Cry Me a River for the dubstep generation."[2]

    Track listing

    Contrast track listing
    No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
    1."
    Pharrell Williams
    		4:31
    12."Just in Case"
    		Eagle Eye3:17
    Total length:41:25
    Japanese bonus tracks[23]
    No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
    13."Headphones" (featuring Anth)
    • Maynard
    • Abrahams
    • Astasio
    • Shave
    • Nilsson
    • Rami Afuni
    • Anthony Melo
    • The Invisible Men
    • Rami Afuni
    		3:19
    14."Drowning"
    • Christian Kalla
    • Christopher Jackson
    		Crada3:18
    iTunes bonus tracks
    No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
    13."Headphones" (featuring Anth)
    • The Invisible Men
    • Afuni
    		3:19
    14."Drowning"
    • Christian Kalla
    • Jackson
    		Crada3:18
    15."Can't Say No" (music video)  3:14
    16."Vegas Girl" (music video)  3:39
    17."Conorcles: The Journey So Far" (video)  7:23
    Wiley
    )
    • Maynard
    • The Invisible Men
    • Stern
    • McKenzie
    • Dyer
    • Mills
    • The Invisible Men
    • The Arcade
    		3:25

    Charts

    Chart performance for Contrast
    Chart (2012–2013) Peak
    position
    Australian Albums Chart[25] 48
    Austrian Albums Chart[26] 72
    Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[27] 34
    Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[28] 173
    Canadian Albums Chart[29] 10
    Danish Albums Chart[30]
    		 37
    Dutch Albums Chart[31]
    		 73
    German Albums Chart[32] 69
    Irish Albums Chart[33] 10
    Italian Albums Chart[34]
    		 15
    Japanese Albums Chart[35] 130
    New Zealand Albums Chart[36]
    		 27
    Scottish Albums Chart[37] 3
    Swiss Albums Chart[38]
    		 40
    UK Albums Chart[39] 1
    US Billboard 200[40] 34

    Release history

    Release history and formats for Contrast
    Country Release date Format Label
    Germany[41] 27 July 2012 CD, Digital download EMI
    Poland[42] 30 July 2012
    United Kingdom[43][44] Parlophone
    Philippines[45] 3 August 2012 PolyEast (EMI)
    Italy[46] 18 September 2012 Capitol
    Australia[47] 21 September 2012 EMI
    Brazil[48] 10 October 2012
    Japan[49] 24 October 2012 EMI/SoundTown
    United States[50] 8 January 2013 Capitol

    See also

    References

    1. ^ "Ealing Music Studio: About". Archived from the original on 4 October 2013.
    2. ^ a b c "Review of Conor Maynard - Contrast". BBC Music. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
    3. ^ a b "Conor Maynard - Contrast (Capitol Records): Review". Rolling Stone. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
    4. ^
      London Evening Standard. Archived from the original
      on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
    5. ^ a b "Conor Maynard: 'Contrast' - Album review". AllMusic.
    6. ^ a b Leedham, Robert. "Review of Conor Maynard - Contrast". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
    7. ^ "YouTube User: skillzaisherebooya". YouTube. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
    8. ^ "The Student Magazine Interview Conor Maynard". The Student Magazine. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
    9. ^ "Lana Del Rey and Delilah makes MTV's Brand New for 2012 list". Digital Spy. 2 December 2011.
    10. ^ "Connor Maynard voted 'Brand New' for 2012". MTV. 31 January 2012.
    11. ^ "Conor Maynard on finding fame, Ne-Yo and 'Mayniacs'".
    12. ^ "Conor Maynard – 'Can't Say No' – Music Video". YouTube. 1 March 2012.
    13. ^ "Conor Maynard – 'Can't Say No' – Single Review". Digital Spy. 3 March 2012.
    14. ^ Conor Maynard interview by Pete Lewis 'Blues & Soul' January 2012
    15. ^ "Conor Maynard, "I'm not like Justin Bieber"". Digital Spy. 12 March 2012.
    16. ^ Conor Maynard, Ne-Yo unveil 'Turn Around' music video - Music News - Digital Spy
    17. ^ a b Contrast by Conor Maynard, retrieved 23 November 2018
    18. ^ a b "Conor Maynard: 'Contrast' - Album review". Digital Spy. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
    19. ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline (26 July 2012). "Conor Maynard: Contrast – review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
    20. ^ Montgomery, Hugh (29 July 2012). "Album: Conor Maynard, Contract (Parlophone)". The Independent. London. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
    21. ^ Dando, Kristian. "Conor Maynard - 'Contrasts': A confident strut of a debut from the 'British Bieber'". NME. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
    22. ^ Sheperd, Fiona. "Album review: Contrast by Conor Maynard". The Scotsman. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
    23. ^ Conor Maynard Conor Maynard (CD)
    24. ^ Conor Maynard - Contrast - Only at Target : Target
    25. ^ "Conor Maynard - 'Contrast' Australian Charts". australian-charts.com/.
    26. ^ "Conor Maynard - Contrast". austriancharts.at/.
    27. ^ "Conor Maynard - Contrast". ultratop.be/nl/.
    28. ^ "Conor Maynard - Contrast". ultratop.be/fr/.
    29. ^ https://www.billboard.com/artist/conor-maynard/chart-history/cna
    30. ^ "Conor Maynard - Contrast". danishcharts.dk/.
    31. ^ "Conor Maynard - Contrast". dutchcharts.nl/.
    32. ^ "Conor Maynard - Contrast". .charts.de/. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
    33. ^ "Irish Albums Chart > Archive > Week Ending: 2 August 2012". GFK. 2 August 2012. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
    34. FIMI. 23 September 2012. Archived from the original
      on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
    35. ^ "コナー・メイナード/コナー・メイナード". Oricon. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
    36. ^ "Conor Maynard - 'Contrast' New Zealand Charts". charts.nz/.
    37. ^ "Archive Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
    38. ^ "Conor Maynard - Contrast". hitparade.ch/.
    39. ^ "Archive Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
    40. ^ https://www.billboard.com/artist/conor-maynard/chart-history/
    41. ^ "Contrast (CD) Conor Maynard". Weltbild (Germany). Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
    42. ^ "Contrast - Maynard Conor za 43,99 zł". Empik. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
    43. ^ "Conor Maynard: Contrast (2012): CD". HMV Group (UK). Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
    44. ^ "iTunes - Music - Contrast by Conor Maynard". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 25 August 2012.
    45. ^ "CONOR MAYNARD "CONTRAST" W/ FREEBIES ON AUG 3 AT ASTRO THE BLOCK!". Facebook. Astroplus' profile. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
    46. ^ "Contrast, disco (CD) di Maynard, Conor 0000000000000". La Feltrinelli. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
    47. ^ "Contrast - Australian Release". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
    48. ^ "disco (CD): Contrast: Conor Maynard". Saraiva.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
    49. ^ "Conor Maynard - Debut Album "Conor Maynard~CONTRAST~"". EMI Music Japan Inc. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
    50. ^ "Amazon.com: Contrast: Conor Maynard: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
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