Rocktrospectiva: The Chaming Simple Pop On "Everybody Knows" Turns 35

Released on 23 April 1990, "Everybody Knows" was the debut album by English dance-pop singer Sonia, released in April 1990. The album was predominantly written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and includes the UK and Irish number one single "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" and the UK top 20 hits "Can't Forget You", "Listen to Your Heart", "Counting Every Minute", and "End of the World". At the time of release, Sonia became the first female UK artist to achieve five top 20 hit singles from one album.

Back in the days when Stock, Aitken and Waterman (SAW) were ruling the charts in the mid to late 80s writing hits for Kylie, Jason Donovan, Donna Summer and many more. Sonia was the newest name to be added to this list when she recorded and released a classic pop track called "You'll Never Stop Me From Loving You" in June 1989.

Comparisons were made inmediately to Kylie straight away, which is fair comment production wise; You'll Never Stop could easily have fit on Kylie's 1989 album Enjoy Yourself. The difference was Sonia's soulful pop powerhouse vocal which really gets going as we hit the chorus.  Lyrically the entire album it deals with love and is actually a bit stalkerish. The song itself is classic SAW and is very much of it's time with that familiar drum loop used in so many of their tracks, but what helped it climb all the way to Number 1 on the UK's Official Chart was Sonia's instant likability.  

Sonia was an eighteen year old girl who never seemed to stop smiling and was very clean cut.  It's no wonder the Kylie comparisons came, although at the same time Kylie was starting to subtly move away from the cutesy look so Sonia felt like a natural successor especially having the SAW team behind her.

Unfortunately, the follow up track "Can't Forget You", peaked at 17, it was still unmistakably a SAW production, however the track was slightly more downbeat and mellow than it's predecessor.  The track was written specifically for Sonia after she had a chat with Mike Stock about her relationships.  It's a mid-tempo bop with another great middle 8. For her third single, Sonia released the uplifting "Listen To Your Heart " aand it gave her a second Top 10 hit when it peaked in January 1990 at Number 10. 

The four single gave an even dancier Sonia as SAW added hints of New Jack Swing on "Counting Every Minute" reached number 16 on the UK Official Charts and built anticipation for the debut album, which now contained four Top 20 hits. Sonia's debut album with her smiley face appearing not once, but five times on the cover; three of those pics with her wearing floppy hats, it was unashamedly pop and Sonia was the new girl-next-door with bags of energy and a powerful singing voice.  

The then standard 10 tracks, six were written by SAW, three were written by SAW studios extended family members Phil Harding, Ian Curnow and Bill Clift and the remaining track was a cover version, the album opened with the hit "You'll Never Stop Me From Loving You", with the likes as "Listen To Your Heart", and "Someone Like You" had a certain ABBA sound but with dance beats, "Counting Every Minute" and "Can't Forget You" are standard SAW but a certain Steps sound-a-like is hearing on "Now That I'm Without You", and certain slashes of Lonnie Gordon's "Happening All Over Again" sound, "Can't Help The Way That I Feel" leans slightly in to House sounds mixed with classic 80s tinkles.  

The penultimate track on the album is the final Harding/Curnow/Clift track "Climb To The Top Of The Mountain."  Featuring the ‘woo jack' in the background as featured in Counting Every Minute which appeared in several tracks in the late 80s and early 90s.  This was a positive track, where Sonia wants to shout from the top of a mountain about how great her relationship is – a nice contrast to some of the more downbeat lyrics elsewhere on the album. The album finished with the fifth and final single from "Everybody Knows" was a cover of the  1960's ballad End Of The World which went to Number 2 in the US and 18 in the UK for Skeeter Davis.  It gave Sonia a chance to showcase her voice and that's exactly what she does as she gives a subtle, yet emotional vocal telling the tale of the aftermath of a break up.  It reached Number 18 on the Official Charts in the summer of 1990 and was a great way to end the album.

The critics were mixed because the medias noted that as a Stock, Aitken & Waterman production, the album "style will come as no surprise - persistent, bubbling dance grooves topped off by the ultimate girl-next-door voice", and added that "every track is a potential single". with the pop sound at its most simple and all the more engagingly harmless".

 

Everybody Knows Track List:  

1. You'll Never Stop Me Loving You

2.  Everybody Knows

3. Listen To Your Heart

4. Someone Like You

5. Counting Every Minute

6. Can't Forget You

7. Now I'm Without You

8. Can't Help The Way That I Feel

9. Climb To The Top Of A Mountain

10. End Of The World

Rocktrospectiva: El Dinámico "Everyboy Knows" Cumple 30 Años

Lanzado un 23 de abril de 1990, "Everybody Knows" fue el disco disco de la Británica Sonia, producido por Stock, Aitken, Waterman "The Hit Factory", del disco se lanzaron cinco singles los cuales tuvieron mucho éxito en el Reino Unido, tan así, que en aquel entonces la cantante llegó a ser la primera artista en aquel país en lograr cinco top 20 de un solo álbum. 

La historia de Sonia comienza hace 30 años, cuando a sus 19 años, la oríunda de Liverpool comenzaría su breve pero exitosa carrera tras acercarse a Pete Waterman cuando grababa su programa radial en Liverpool para que la contratara, eso le parecío a Waterman demasiado pretencioso pero le pidio que cantara en directo en su show radial, al final pues este quedó algo impresionado y decidío darle una oportunidad. En aquel entonces (SAW) dominaba los charts gracias a sus temas tipo bubblegum pop, con letras cursis e inocentonas pero que tenían algo encantador y bailables a la vez, y que en las voeces de Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley o Donna Summer se convirtieron en hits mundiales, entonces Sonia fue la siguiente artista en formar parte del catalogo SAW.

Rompiendo el mito que el tema "You'll Never Stop Me From Loving You", que se decía que iba a ser para Kylie Minogue, este fue escrito especialmente para Sonia y lanzado en Junio de 1989, con un video bonito y sencillo y que alegró mis tardes y noches de viernes por aquel entonces antes de salir al parque para pasarla con mis amigos. El tema se volvío un hit absoluto, por lo que las comparaciones con Kylie comenzaron a salir, ya que este tema bien hubiera podido haber entrado en el disco de Kylie "Enjoy Yourself" de 1989, pero la diferencia radicaba en que la voz de Sonia, una mezcla entre soul y powerhouse pop en especial cuando llegaba a las coros, algo tipicamente SAW si escuchan todos sus clásicos. El tema fue No. 1 entonces automaticamente era la sucesora de Kylie quien por aquel entonces trataba de quitarse ese look de niña buena cosa que Sonia tenía al natural y ahora era potenciado por SAW. 

El siguiente fue "Can't Forget You" que surgío luego de una platica entre Sonia y Mike Stock acerca de sus relaciones, tenía el toque SAW aunque este era más meloso y downbeat, pero no fue lo mismo que el primero y llegó al No. 17, entonces se preparó el camino para el siguiente single "Listen To Your Heart" un mes y medio después llegando al No. 10, mejoró pero no logro igualar lo mismo que el primer tema, y con un video en donde ella salía bailando junto a unos trajes que parecian estar colgados en un armario y que me recuerdan a un anuncio de detergente que salío en 1991, luego se vinieron los dos singles finales que a mi criterio ya no tenian el sabor ni la fuerza, sin embargo lograron meterse en el top 20, "Counting Every Minute" tenía pinceladas del "New Jack Swing" que por aquel entonces también estaba muy de moda, mezclado con el bubblegum pop, el tema llegó al No. 16 superó al segundo single pero cayó en comparación al 3ero. Finalmente se lanzó el disco con su tradicional sonrisa apareciendo un total de cinco veces en la portada y luciendo sus escandolosos sombreros, y ya más adelante se lanzó el cover de la balada de Skeeter Davis de los 60's llamado "End Of The World", con una interpretación mucho más emocional que narraba la historia tras una ruptura amorosa pero que solo le alcanzó llegar al No. 18 por lo que fue el peor rankeado de los cinco singles y en el disco era el que cerraba el set. 

El disco fue producido por SAW y de los diez temas, seis fueron escritos por SAW, en donde la mayoría de las letras del disco eran sobre como lidiar con el amor y sus desventuras, con Sonia viendo como lidiar con su corazón roto, aunque hay que reconocer que el disco vuelve a traer viejas y encantadoras memorias de esa epoca de adolescente en donde todo parecía más simple y divertido y que vino a darle mucho valor y sabor a ese período entre finales de los 80's y principios de los 90s, llego tantos acontecimientos políticos y sociales.

Everybody Knows Track List:

1. You'll Never Stop Me Loving You 

2. Everybody Knows

3. Listen To Your Heart

4. Someone Like You

5. Counting Every Minute

6. Can't Forget You

7. Now I'm Without You

8. Can't Help The Way That I Feel

9. Climb To The Top Of A Mountain

10. End OF The World