Eoghan Quigg is the only studio album by Northern Irish pop singer Eoghan Quigg, released on 6 April 2009, and their only release by their label RCA Records Quigg who finished third in the fifth series of the UK television talent show The X Factor, was the first of the finalists from that series to release a studio album. The record predominantly features cover versions of songs that Quigg performed on The X Factor, and one original song, "28,000 Friends".
On its release, the album was described by multiple critics as the worst ever recorded.[1] Its commercial failure led to Quigg being dropped by RCA Records.[2]
Background
After finishing third in The X Factor in 2008, Quigg was signed by record label RCA Records. Quigg began work on the album in London in early 2009, and was given a week to record it.[3] The album was recorded at Sphere Studios in Battersea and released on 6 April 2009 in the UK.[4] Quigg described the album's musical direction as drawing inspiration from Busted,[5] and two songs from the album were written by ex-Busted band members, "Year 3000" being written by James Bourne and Charlie Simpson, and "28,000 Friends" by Bourne.
Eoghan Quigg was widely panned by music critics.[14][15] Simon Darnell of MK News wrote: "If I told you this album was dreadful, not only would I be doing a huge disservice to the word dreadful, in fact I'd almost be praising the quality of the music... this set of songs is so mind-numbingly, spirit-crushingly dismal."[16] Jon O'Brien of AllMusic described the album as "bad karaoke", with deficient production values failing to hide Quigg's "limited ability" and "bum notes".[6] Nick Levine of Digital Spy called it "amateurish as well as utterly redundant".[8] One track singled out for criticism by multiple reviewers was the cover of Take That's "Never Forget",[6][8][11] the vocal performance on which was described by Levine as "positively wince-inducing".[8]Gigwise placed the record at number one in their "The 20 Worst Albums of 2009" in December of that year.[17]
The album has been called the worst ever made.[1] A Popjustice reviewer predicted that it would garner a lasting legacy as such, having been "recorded so cheaply and with such little regard for the art of pop that the final product simply does not count as music."[18]Peter Robinson of The Guardian called it "the worst album in the history of recorded sound" and an "album so bad that it would count as a new low for popular culture were it possible to class as either culture... or popular".[19]
Commercial performance
The album was initially a commercial success in Ireland where it debuted at no 1 on the Irish Albums Chart, knocking Lady Gaga's The Fame off the top spot. The album dropped from no 2 in its second week to no 20 in its third week and spent a total of eight weeks on the chart,[20] but failed to sell enough for a Gold certification, rendering the album a failure. In the UK the album peaked at no 14,[21] and exited the Top 100 after three weeks. The album had first-week sales of 16,362.[14]
Pointing to the record's lacklustre chart performance in the UK, Gail Walker of the Belfast Telegraph predicted that the public "may have seen the last of Eoghan Quigg".[1] His album considered a failure, Quigg was dropped by RCA Records.[2]
^ abcWalker, Gail (21 April 2009). "Don't you worry Eoghan, it hasn't all gone pop just yet". Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. His [Quigg] eponymous debut album, released a couple of weeks ago, has been met with universal hoots of derision. Indeed, with the album charting at a disappointing 14 in the UK (No 1 in Ireland though), it is confidently predicted that we may have seen the last of Eoghan Quigg...it is widely described as the worst album ever.
^Cullen, Jason (May 2009). "New Albums: Eoghan Quigg – Eoghan Quigg". Q. Bauer Media Group. [A]nother vacuous, completely unnecessary record from a pop 'star' whose name we'll be struggling to remember by the end of the year.
^ ab"Charts Analysis: Doves defeated by a whisker". Music Week: 24. 18 April 2009. The subject of some savage critical maulings, Eoghan Quigg's self-titled debut album arrives at number 14 on sales of 16,362 copies.