Battleground (album)

Battleground is the second studio album by British-Irish boy band The Wanted. It was released on 4 November 2011 through Island Records.

Battleground
Studio album by The Wanted
Released	4 November 2011
Recorded	January–September 2011
Genre	Dance-pop synth-pop
Length	43:32
Label	Island
Producer	Steve Mac Harry Sommerdahl Fabian Torsson Jack McManus Paro Tortuga Xenomania Tricky Stewart Mike Green Guy Chambers Chris Young Eliot Kennedy Andrew Frampton Phat Fabe James Jayawardena Ash Howes
The Wanted chronology
The Wanted (2010) Battleground (2011) The Wanted EP (2012)
Singles from Battleground
"Gold Forever" Released: 13 March 2011 "Glad You Came" Released: 10 July 2011 "Lightning" Released: 16 October 2011 "Warzone" Released: 26 December 2011

Background

In January 2011, the group began work on their second studio album with previous songwriter and producer Steve Mac. In February 2011, it was revealed the group would be releasing the official Comic Relief single for 2011. In April 2011, the group embarked on their first headline tour, playing 16 dates in 12 different UK cities. The tour was in support of their debut album The Wanted but whilst on tour, the group previewed the song, "Lightning" from their new album. The track was co-written by the band and Ed Drewett. Max George confirmed on 28 September that the album was complete and the following day, Nathan Sykes confirmed the album would be released with the title Battleground.

In March 2012, Billboard reported that Battleground was "slated to arrive stateside this fall" as the band's second US release, after their debut EP.[1] This did not happen, however, and instead their first album to be released in the US will be their third overall album, Word of Mouth.

Singles

"Gold Forever" was released as the lead single from the album on 13 March 2011. It was also the official Comic Relief single for 2011. The track debuted at number three in the UK, number two in Scotland and number 13 in Ireland. It is currently their third most successful single, spending a total of eight weeks on the UK top 75. It was also released as the third single from the group's debut US album, The Wanted: The EP.

"Glad You Came" was released on 10 July 2011 as the second single. It became their second UK number one and first number one in Ireland, where it spent five weeks at the summit. The track is also their first to be successful on an international basis, charting at number 20 in both Australia and New Zealand, number 12 in the Netherlands and also reached number one on the Canadian Hot 100. The song is also a commercial success in the United States, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as of 29 March 2012. It is currently their most successful single in the UK.[2] It was also released as the second single from The Wanted: The EP.

"Lightning" was released on 16 October 2011 as the third single. It reached number two in the UK and Scotland and number five in Ireland. In Australia, the track has peaked at number 79. The track is currently their third most successful single.[2] "Warzone" was confirmed as the album's fourth single in early November. It was released on 26 December 2011.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
4Music	[4]
BBC Music	positive[5]
Digital Spy	[6]
OK!	[7]
Virgin Media	[8]
Media Essentials	[9]

The album received mostly favourable reviews from music critics. Jon O'Brien wrote for AllMusic that "Battleground, is disappointingly a little more pedestrian than its predecessor", writing that "Battleground should still consolidate their position as heirs to the boy band throne, but with the likes of One Direction now snapping at their heels, they'll have to rediscover their inventive streak in the future if they are to ever take the crown."[3] Nick Levine wrote for BBC that the album is "a solid pop platter that's not lacking in personality – even if the latter does manifest itself in a smattering of lyrics clunkier than testing day at the seat belt factory."[5] Robert Copsey wrote for Digital Spy that "Though the end result shows that they may have taken the battle of the boybands a touch too seriously, much to their credit they come out the other side largely unscathed."[6] David Griffiths wrote for 4Music that "it's an album which wisely leaves the listener wanting more and suggests that this is a band with a very bright future."[4] Matthew Horton wrote a mixed review for Virgin Media that "It's a curiously bloodless affair though, with none of the boys yet to establish an identity, and too much sails past without leaving an impression."[8]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 4 in Ireland, becoming their first top ten album in the country.[10] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 5.[11] It sold 47,530 copies in its first week. Although debuting at one position lower than their debut album, its sales were 22.91% copies higher.[12] The album has since been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[13]

Tour

The Wanted embarked on their first arena tour across the UK and Ireland in February and March 2012 to promote the album.

Date	City	Country	Venue
The Code Tour:
15 February 2012	Nottingham	England	Capital FM Arena
17 February 2012	Manchester		Manchester Evening News Arena
18 February 2012	Sheffield		Motorpoint Arena
20 February 2012	Brighton		Brighton Centre
23 February 2012	Cardiff	Wales	Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
24 February 2012	Liverpool	England	Echo Arena Liverpool
25 February 2012	Newcastle		Metro Radio Arena
27 February 2012	Glasgow	Scotland	S.E.C.C
28 February 2012	Aberdeen		A.E.C.C
1 March 2012	Birmingham	England	LG Arena
2 March 2012	Bournemouth		Bournemouth International Centre
3 March 2012	London		The O2 Arena
5 March 2012	Brighton		Brighton Centre
6 March 2012	Bournemouth		Bournemouth International Centre
8 March 2012	Belfast	Northern Ireland	Odyssey Arena
9 March 2012	Dublin	Ireland	The O2

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Glad You Came"	Steve Mac Wayne Hector Ed Drewett	Mac	3:18
2.	"Lightning"	Mac Hector Drewett	Mac	3:26
3.	"Warzone"	Jack MacManus Harry Sommerdahl Max George Nathan Sykes	Sommerdahl	3:09
4.	"Invincible"	McManus Sommerdahl George Sykes Kaneswarren	Sommerdahl	3:38
5.	"Last to Know"	Heather Bright Pär Westerlund Joakim Olovsson Björn Olovsson	Paro Tortuga	3:34
6.	"I'll Be Your Strength"	Brian Higgins Uzoechi Emenike Matt Gray Cleary Owen Parker Miranda Cooper Jay McGuiness Sykes Toby Scott	Xenomania	3:25
7.	"Rocket"	Diane Warren	Tricky Stewart Mike Green	3:15
8.	"I Want It All"	Guy Chambers Siva Kaneswaran Daniel Kaneswaran	Chambers	3:21
9.	"The Weekend"	Tom Parker Sykes Chris Young	Young	3:08
10.	"Lie to Me"	Parker Eliot Kennedy Nina Woodford	Kennedy	3:44
11.	"Gold Forever"	Mac Hector Claude Kelly	Mac	3:58

Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"Dagger"	S. Kaneswaran Sykes Andrew Frampton	Frampton	3:49
13.	"Rock Your Body"	George Sykes S. Kaneswaran Parker McGuiness Young	Young	3:54
14.	"Turn It Off"	Jay McGuiness S. Kaneswaran Sommerdahl Brittany Burton	Sommerdahl Phat Fabe	3:33
15.	"Where I Belong"	S. Kaneswaran Kennedy James Jayawardena	Kennedy Jayawardena Ash Howes	4:07

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2011–12) Peak position French Albums (SNEP)[14] 129 Irish Albums (IRMA)[10] 4 Scottish Albums (OCC)[15] 5 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[14] 56 UK Albums (OCC)[11] 5

Year-end charts Chart (2011) Position UK Albums (OCC)[16] 51 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Ireland (IRMA)[17] Gold 7,500^^ Mexico (AMPROFON)[18] Gold 30,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Platinum 300,000^^ ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Ireland[20]	4 November 2011	CD digital download	Island
Hong Kong[21]	7 November 2011
United Kingdom[22]
Brazil[23]	22 November 2011		Universal

References

1. One Direction & The Wanted: The Billboard Cover Story | Billboard.com Billboard. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
2. "The Wanted's Official Top 10 Biggest Selling Singles Revealed". Official Charts Company. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
3. "The Wanted - Battleground - Review - Allmusic". Allmusic. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
4. "News: The Wanted - Battleground - 'The Wanted continue to break the boyband mould on their latest album'". 4music. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 18 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
5. "BBC - Music - Review of The Wanted - Battleground". BBC. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
6. "The Wanted: 'Battleground' - Album review - Music Review - Digital Spy". Digital Spy. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
7. "Review: The Wanted, Battleground". OK! Magazine. 1 November 2011. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
8. "The Wanted - Battleground - Virgin Media". Virgin Media. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
9. "Review: The Wanted - Battleground". Media Essentials. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019.
10. "Chart Track". Irish Albums Chart. GfK. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
11. "Archive Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
12. Jones, Alan (14 November 2011). "UK Album Chart Analysis: Susan Boyle LP sells 73k units". Music Week. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
13. "British certifications – Wanted". British Phonographic Industry. Type Wanted in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
14. The Wanted - Battleground - swisscharts.com Archived 19 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
15. Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company
16. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2011". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
17. "The Irish Charts - 2012 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association.
18. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type Wanted in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Battleground in the box under TÍTULO
19. "British album certifications – Wanted – Battleground". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Battleground in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
20. "iTunes - Music - Battleground by The Wanted". iTunes. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
21. "Wanted / Battleground - Hmv Hong Kong". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
22. "iTunes - Music - Battleground by The Wanted". iTunes. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
23. "BATTLEGROUND". Livraria Cultura. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2015.