Life for Rent

Infobox Album
Name = Life for Rent
Type = Album
Artist = Dido


Released = 30 September 2003
Recorded = The Ark, The Church, Cubejam and Wessex Studios
Genre = Pop, trip hop
Length = 54:02
Label = Cheeky
Producer = Dido Armstrong
Rollo
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A5ukvikmsbb69 link]
* "The Guardian" Rating|3|5 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0%2C11712%2C1049504%2C00.html 09/2003]
* "Rolling Stone" Rating|3|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/dido/albums/album/300029/review/5945146/life_for_rent link]
Last album = "No Angel"
(1999)
This album = "Life for Rent"
(2003)
Next album = "Safe Trip Home"
(2008)

"Life for Rent" is the second album by Dido, released in 2003 (see 2003 in music).

Song backgrounds

* "White Flag" – about a past relationship. Dido "regretted writing it" to begin with because of the further problems it caused with that person, but now enjoys performing the song.
* "Life for Rent" – written to reflect how she saw her life at the time.
* "Mary's in India" – a joke for childhood best friend Mary who now lives in India, originally not intended to be on the album.
* "See You When You're 40" – about a past boyfriend who "wanted to be different more than anything in the world."
* "Don't Leave Home" – written about the difficulties of drug addiction and made as a demo during the creation of her previous album.

Reception

Critical

"Life for Rent" was nominated for "Best British Album" at the 2004 BRIT Awards along with Daniel Bedingfield's "Gotta Get Thru This", Blur's "Think Tank" and The Coral's "Magic and Medicine", but they were all beaten by The Darkness's "Permission to Land"."White Flag" was awarded the 2004 Ivor Novello Award in the category "International Hit of the Year".

Commercial

"Life for Rent" spent ten weeks at the top of the UK albums chart. [http://www.theofficialcharts.com/all_the_no1_albums.php?show=6 - Official UK Charts Company] It remained in the chart for 52 weeks. [British Hit Singles & Albums (Edition 18), published by Guinness World Records] The Life for Rent Tour was taken around the world in 2004.

In Australia the album debuted at number one on the ARIA albums chart, was one of the biggest selling albums of 2003 and went on to be certified six times platinum for sales of over 420,000. With this, Dido was able to match the huge success of her previous effort, "No Angel".

It is the fastest selling album by a female artist and passed the five million mark worldwide. It sold one million in 50 days, on the way there it sold 102,500 on day one and 400,351 in the first week on its way to the record. [British Hit Singles & Albums (Edition 17), published by Guinness World Records]

Track listing

#"White Flag" (Dido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, Rick Nowels) – 4:01
#"Stoned" (D. Armstrong, R. Armstrong, Lester Mendez) – 5:55
#"Life for Rent" (D. Armstrong, R. Armstrong) – 3:41
#"Mary's in India" (D. Armstrong, R. Armstrong) – 3:42
#"See You When You're 40" (D. Armstrong, R. Armstrong, Aubrey Nunn) – 5:20
#"Don't Leave Home" (D. Armstrong, R. Armstrong) – 3:46
#"Who Makes You Feel" (D. Armstrong, R. Armstrong, John Harrison) – 4:21
#"Sand in My Shoes" (D. Armstrong, Nowels) – 5:00
#"Do You Have a Little Time" (D. Armstrong, Bates, Nowels) – 3:55
#"This Land Is Mine" (D. Armstrong, R. Armstrong, Nowels) – 3:46
#"See the Sun" (D. Armstrong) – 10:36
#* "See the Sun" runs for 5:04, it is followed by 2:01 of silence and then the hidden track "Closer" - 3:29

Singles

#White Flag: September 1st 2003
#Stoned: October 2003
#Life For Rent: December 1st 2001
#Don't Leave Home: April 12th 2004
#Sand In My Shoes: September 13th 2004

Charts and certification

succession box
before = "Absolution" by Muse
"Guilty" by Blue
"Friday's Child" by Will Young
"Friday's Child" by Will Young
title = UK number one album
years = October 11 2003 – November 7 2003
November 22 2003 – November 28 2003
December 20 2003 – January 9 2004
January 17 2004 – January 30 2004
after = "" by R.E.M.
"Number Ones" by Michael Jackson
"Friday's Child" by Will Young
"Call Off the Search" by Katie Meluasuccession box
before = "The Official Fiction" by Something for Kate
title = Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
years = October 6 2003 – October 19 2003
after = "Just As I Am" by Guy Sebastiansuccession box
before = "Sacred Love" by Sting
"Talkie Walkie" by Air
title = European Albums Chart number-one album
years = October 18 2003 – February 14 2004
February 21 2004 – February 28 2004
after = "Talkie Walkie" by Air
"Feels Like Home" by Norah Jones

ingles

* "White Flag" was the first track from the album to be played on the radio, and became a major worldwide hit, reaching number-one in Australia and Europe. [cite web | author=Paul Sexton | title=Black Eyed Peas, Muse Lead U.K. Charts | publisher=Billboard magazine | year=September 29, 2003 | url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1988573 | accessdate=2008-08-27] It peaked at No. 2 in the United Kingdom, being held off the top spot by the Black Eyed Peas' "Where Is the Love?," and became her highest-charting single to date there. [cite web | author=Paul Sexton | title=Black Eyed Peas, Muse Lead U.K. Charts | publisher=Billboard magazine | year=September 15, 2003 | url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1979540 | accessdate=2008-08-27] The video for "White Flag" featured "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" star David Boreanaz.

* The track "Stoned" was remixed and issued as an American club single at around the same time "White Flag" was climbing the pop and adult contemporary charts. "Stoned" became a club hit, though it failed to catch on with dance radio.

* "Life for Rent" was the second single from the album, it peaked within the top ten in the UK Singles Chart at No. 8.

* The third and fourth singles, "Don't Leave Home" and "Sand In My Shoes," respectively, did not fare as well as "White Flag" everywhere, though the latter became a club hit reaching number-one on Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Club Play chart.cite web | title=Billboard charts | publisher=All Music Guide | year=2004 | url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fbfoxq95ldte~T51 | accessdate=2008-08-27]

References

External links

* [http://www.didomusic.com/ Dido] — official website.