Humanoid (album)

Humanoid is the third German studio album, the second English studio album and the fourth overall studio album by German band Tokio Hotel. Released through Island Records and Cherrytree Records, the album was recorded in both German and English with both versions set for a simultaneous worldwide release bearing the same title, Humanoid. The German version of the album was released on October 2, 2009 in Germany and other European countries, while the English version was released in the United States on October 6, 2009. Unlike their previous English-language album, Scream, Humanoid had no UK release in 2009.[1][2] Humanoid was digitally released on UK iTunes on January 27, 2014.[3]

Humanoid
Studio album by Tokio Hotel
Released	October 2, 2009
Recorded	2008-2009
Genre	Electronic rock pop rock alternative rock industrial rock
Length	45:12 (Standard edition) 58:38 (Deluxe editions)
Language	German English
Label	Cherrytree Island
Producer	Patrick Benzner Dave Roth David Jost Peter Hoffmann The Matrix Bill Kaulitz Tom Kaulitz Kristian Nord
Tokio Hotel chronology
Scream (2007) Humanoid (2009) Humanoid City Live (2010)
Tokio Hotel studio album chronology
Scream (2007) Humanoid (2009) Kings of Suburbia (2014)
Singles from Humanoid (German)
"Automatisch" Released: September 18, 2009 "Lass Uns Laufen" Released: January 22, 2010
Singles from Humanoid (English)
"Automatic" Released: September 22, 2009 "World Behind My Wall" Released: January 8, 2010

The first single, "Automatisch" was released on September 18, 2009, and "Automatic" was released on September 22, 2009 in the US.

The song "Human Connect To Human" was featured in a Verizon Wireless commercial promoting Motorola's Droid phone. "Humanoid" is included on the set list for rhythm game Rock Band 3.

Background

After the North American mini-tours in 2008, the band returned to their studio in Hamburg to record the album. The band worked with many different producers in the process including The Matrix,[4] Guy Chambers and Desmond Child (who worked on an album with the same theme for Scorpions).[5] In total, 25 songs were recorded for the album with originally 13 making the final track listing.[6] But when the track listing for both versions were released, it was found that 12 tracks would be on the standard versions while 16 tracks would be on the deluxe versions.[7][8]

The album title, Humanoid, is a word derived from science fiction which means 'human like'. Producer David Jost had explained the reasoning behind the album title to an interview with MTV:[9]

"This word is pronounced differently in the English and German language but is written the same way in both languages. Bill wanted the new record to have only one name worldwide: Humanoid."

On June 17, 2009, short versions of two of the new English songs, "Dark Side of the Sun" and "Pain of Love", were leaked on the Internet. It was confirmed to be from Tokio Hotel and it would be on the album. On that same day, after the confirmation, every possible video on YouTube containing these two demos had been taken down due to copyright restrictions.[1] Later, in August, three full version songs were leaked, "Love & Death", "Pain of Love" and "Dark Side of the Sun". The songs were then also removed from any media site that the songs were put up on, but now the songs can be found on YouTube or on fan blogs.

On July 21, 2009, Nokia.de told the public that they had signed a deal with Tokio Hotel to become the new face of Nokia. In return, Tokio Hotel got a poster campaign and an unplugged performance which was held on August 27 in Cologne, Germany and tickets were available through a contest. The mini-concert consisted of 6 songs: 5 known hits and the premier of the first single taken from the album, "Automatisch".[10]

On August 9, it was announced that the first single from the album would be "Automatisch" in German and "Automatic" in English. On August 20, MTV Buzzworthy released a video which previewed "Automatic" and Cherrytree Records announced that the English version of the song would be released in the US on September 22.[11][12] The video for the single(s) was released on September 3. Upon the album's artwork being unveiled, MTV News likened its cover to the alternate artwork of Janet Jackson's "Feedback."[13]

On November 5, the band performed the song "World Behind My Wall" at the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards. This is the second single from the album, along with "Lass Uns Laufen".

The Music Video for "Dark Side Of The Sun" was released on their website on June 24, 2010. This is said to be the third single from the album, but there is currently no German version (Sonnensystem) available. The music video is a collaboration of concert videos, clips and footage with, for the first time in all of Tokio Hotel's singles, audio being taken from an actual live performance instead of a studio take.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[14]
Billboard	70/100[15]
Entertainment Weekly	C[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
The Tune	2.6/5 link

Initial critical response to Humanoid was mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 57, based on four reviews.[18]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Humanoid.[19]

Humanoid – Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Komm"	Dave Roth Patrick Benzner David Jost Bill Kaulitz Tom Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Peter Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Kristian Nord (add.)	3:53
2.	"Sonnensystem"	Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:52
3.	"Automatisch"	Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:16
4.	"Lass uns laufen"	Roth Benzner Jost Guy Chambers B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	4:15
5.	"Humanoid"	Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:45
6.	"Für immer jetzt"	Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:37
7.	"Kampf der Liebe"	Roth Benzner Jost Chambers B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:51
8.	"Hunde"	Martin Kierszenbaum Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz Nord	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:41
9.	"Menschen suchen Menschen"	Roth Benzner Jost The Matrix B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	The Matrix Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann Nord (add.)	3:45
10.	"Alien"	Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	2:55
11.	"Geisterfahrer" (featuring Jana Pallaske)	Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	4:29
12.	"Zoom"	Desmond Child Benzner Roth Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:52
Total length:				45:12

Humanoid – Deluxe Edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Träumer"	Roth Benzner Jost The Matrix B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	The Matrix Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann Nord (add.)	3:02
14.	"Hey Du"	Roth Benzner Jost The Matrix B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	The Matrix Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann Nord (add.)	3:02
15.	"That Day"	Roth Benzner Jost The Matrix B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	The Matrix Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann Nord (add.)	3:27
16.	"Screamin'"	Roth Benzner Jost The Matrix Jonathan Davis B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	The Matrix Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann Nord (add.)	3:56
Total length:				58:38

Humanoid – Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Noise"	Dave Roth Patrick Benzner David Jost Bill Kaulitz Tom Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Peter Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Kristian Nord (add.)	3:53
2.	"Darkside of the Sun"	Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:52
3.	"Automatic"	Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:16
4.	"World Behind My Wall"	Roth Benzner Jost Guy Chambers B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	4:15
5.	"Humanoid"	Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:45
6.	"Forever Now"	Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:37
7.	"Pain of Love"	Roth Benzner Jost Chambers B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:51
8.	"Dogs Unleashed"	Martin Kierszenbaum Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz Nord	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:41
9.	"Human Connect to Human"	Roth Benzner Jost The Matrix B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	The Matrix Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann Nord (add.)	3:45
10.	"Hey You"	Roth Benzner Jost The Matrix B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	The Matrix Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann Nord (add.)	3:02
11.	"Love & Death"	Roth Benzner Jost The Matrix B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	The Matrix Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann Nord (add.)	3:02
12.	"Zoom Into Me"	Desmond Child Benzner Roth Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:52
Total length:				45:12

Humanoid – Deluxe Edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Phantomrider"	Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	4:29
14.	"That Day"	Roth Benzner Jost The Matrix B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	The Matrix Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann Nord (add.)	3:27
15.	"Alien"	Roth Benzner Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	2:55
16.	"Screamin'"	Roth Benzner Jost The Matrix Jonathan Davis B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	The Matrix Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann Nord (add.)	3:56
Total length:				58:38

Humanoid – US iTunes Deluxe Edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Attention"	Roth Benzner Jost The Matrix B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	The Matrix Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann Nord (add.)	3:00
18.	"Down on You"	Roth Benzner Jost The Matrix B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	The Matrix Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann Nord (add.)	3:03
19.	"In Your Shadow (I Can Shine)"	Child Benzner Roth Jost B. Kaulitz T. Kaulitz	Benzner Roth Jost Hoffmann B. Kaulitz (co.) T. Kaulitz (co.) Nord (add.)	3:00

Personnel

Performance credits Bill Kaulitz - lead vocals Tom Kaulitz - guitar, piano, backing vocals Georg Listing - bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals Gustav Schäfer - drums, percussion, backing vocals Strings on "Sonnensystem" Violin and viola – Stefan Pintev, Rodrigo Reichel, Dana Matchin Cello – Boris Matchin

Production Executive Producers: Patrick Benzner, Dave Roth, David Jost, Peter Hoffman Co-producers: Bill Kaulitz and Tom Kaulitz Management: David Jost and Benjamin Ebel

Release history

Country	Release date
Germany	October 2, 2009
United States	October 6, 2009
United Kingdom	January 27, 2014

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Argentina Albums Chart[20]	19
Austria Albums Chart[21]	8
Belgium Albums Chart (Flanders)[22]	6
Belgium Albums Chart (Wallonia)[23]	8
Canada Albums Chart[24]	20
Czech Republic Albums Chart[25]	8
Denmark Albums Chart[26]	26
European Top 100[27]	2
Finland Albums Chart[28]	9
France Albums Chart[29]	3
Germany Album Charts[30]	1
Greece Albums Chart[31]
Hungary Albums Chart[32]	33
Italy Albums Chart[33]	2
Malaysia Albums Chart
Mexico Albums Chart[34]	7
Netherlands Albums Chart[35]	6
New Zealand Albums Chart[36]	38
Norway Albums Chart[37]	16
Portugal Albums Chart[38]	2
Russia Albums Chart[39]	9
Slovenia Albums Chart[40]	9
Spain Albums Chart[41]	2
Sweden Albums Chart[42]	8
Switzerland Albums Chart[43]	10
Taiwan Albums Chart
U.S. Billboard 200[44]	35

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[45]	Gold	50,000^*
Italy (FIMI)[46] english version	Gold	30,000^*
Portugal (AFP)[47]	Gold	10,000^^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[48]	Gold	30,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Tokio Hotel's New Album Humanoid Due October 2". Retrieved 2009-07-20.
2. "Tokio Hotel's Album Cover and "Humanoid" Single: Sneak Peek". Retrieved 2009-09-07.
3. "iTunes UK - Music - Humanoid by Tokio Hotel". Retrieved 2014-01-27.
4. "Tokio Hotel Working On 'Dark' Anthems For Next Album". Retrieved 2009-01-28.
5. "Le retour de Tokio Hotel" (in French). Archived from the original on 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
6. "Tokio Hotel's Humanoid Is Finished, After Brotherly Arguments". Retrieved 2009-08-05.
7. "Humanoid (German deluxe): Tokio Hotel: Amazon.de" (in German). Retrieved 2009-09-10.
8. "Humanoid (German standard): Tokio Hotel: Amazon.de" (in German). Retrieved 2009-09-10.
9. "Tokio Hotel's New Album Humanoid Due October 2". Retrieved 2009-07-20.
10. "Nokia Music Store präsentiert Tokio Hotel Humanoid" (in German). Archived from the original on 2009-07-23. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
11. "Tokio Hotel Announce First Single From Humanoid Album". Retrieved 2009-08-10.
12. "Automatic and Automatisch Cover Art". Retrieved 2009-08-22.
13. "Cover Art Prediction For Tokio Hotel's 'Humanoid' Album". MTV News. Anitai, Tamar. 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
14. Monger, James Christopher. "Review: Humanoid". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
15. Mikael Wood (October 5, 2009). "Music Review: Humanoid (2009)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
16. Vozick-Levinson, Simon (September 30, 2009). "Music Review: Humanoid (2009)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
17. Rosen, Jody. "Review: Humanoid". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
18. "Humanoid reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
19. "Humanoid Digital Booklet". Retrieved 2020-04-01.
20. - Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Argentina) Archived April 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
21. - Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Austria)
22. ultrapop.be/nl - Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Belgium (Flanders))
23. ultrapop.be/fr - Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Belgium (Wallonia))
24. -Tokio Hotel-Humanoid (Canada) Archived November 21, 2008, at WebCite
25. -Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Czech Republic) Archived December 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
26. -Tokio Hotel-Humanoid (Denmark) Archived March 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
27. -Tokio Hotel-Humanoid (Europe)
28. Tokio Hotel- Humanoid (Finland)
29. Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (France)
30. - Tokio Hotel- Humanoid (Germany)
31. Tokio Hotel- Humanoid (Greece) Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
32. -Tokio Hotel- Humanoid (Hungary) Archived 2008-12-08 at the Wayback Machine
33. Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Italy)
34. Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Mexico) Archived 2010-11-26 at the Wayback Machine
35. - Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Netherlands)
36. - Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (New Zealand)
37. Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Norway)
38. Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Portugal) Archived July 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
39. Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Russia)
40. Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Slovenia) Archived 2008-12-15 at the Wayback Machine
41. Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Spain)
42. Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Sweden) Archived December 26, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
43. Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (Switzerland)
44. Tokio Hotel - Humanoid (US)
45. "French album certifications – Tokio Hotel – Humanoid" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
46. "Italian album certifications – Tokio Hotel – Humanoid" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved October 2, 2019. Select "2009" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Humanoid" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
47. "Portuguese album certifications – Tokio Hotel – Humanoid" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 2010-03-04. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
48. "Spanish album certifications" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved October 2, 2019. Select Albums under "Chart", enter 2009 in the field "Year". Select 53 in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts".