On Your Radar
On Your Radar is the third studio album by British-Irish girl group The Saturdays. It was released 21 November 2011 under Fascination Records. The album was recorded in London, New York City, Oslo and Stockholm, with Steve Mac, who had been instrumental in the production of the band's previous albums, served as a producer on the album, with additional producers and songwriters also being included in the making of the record, including Lucas Secon, Taio Cruz, Labrinth, Tracklacers, Space Cowboy, Brian Higgins and Lucie Silvas.
On Your Radar was supported by its lead single "Notorious", which was released on 22 May 2011, and peaked at eight on the UK Singles Chart. Two further singles were released; "All Fired Up", which received positive reviews, and "My Heart Takes Over". To promote the album, the group performed on So You Think You Can Dance, with the group also embarking on their third headlining concert tour, the All Fired Up Tour.
Background and development
' EP Headlines! served as a bridge between their 2009 album Wordshaker and their then-upcoming album. The band desired to take risks, with group member Mollie King declared their new sound as "dance floor music" during the recording process." When talking about the album's lead single "Notorious", group member Una Healy said that dance music is massive at the moment so it's a dance track, but it also has something unique behind it. Got this drop-out chorus where it's just the beat and you can only hear our voices – there aren't many tracks like that, so it's a bit different." Where in an interview with group member Vanessa White, she said their new music would be a lot "sexier" and "definitely a different sound" while also saying their sound is more R&B. White also said that the band have "grown as artists" since their first album Chasing Lights.Rochelle Humes, during the Headlines tour in February 2011, confirmed that the band would be working with record producer Labrinth in the hope that he would write and produce a smash hit as he did with English rapper Tinie Tempah. The band also chose to work with Alphabeat and Taio Cruz. Space Cowboy, who co-produced Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" and "Poker Face", was also working on the upcoming album. On Twitter, it was revealed that Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub had been working in the studio with the band and recorded the album track "White Lies". Digital Spy reported that the band were working with Xenomania's Brian Higgins. The group also revealed that they have been in the studio "writing loads", but we're also going to go somewhere quite remote for a week and just work on loads of songs together". The band had written songs in studio and remote environments, and sometimes spent entire days writing lyrics. The group had written eight of the songs recorded as of May 2011. They stressed that they wanted to record as many songs as they could to make sure they give the album the best chance of becoming a commercial success and making it the best album to-date. The band confirmed that this album will be their first to be released globally as they are planning to break the European music market.
Image:Katy Perry performing 2010 crop.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Katy Perry is one of the artists the band took influences from on the album.Chipmunk was later revealed to be working with the band on the album, later revealing that he would feature on a remix of "Notorious". It was also reported that the group had begun working with Miranda Cooper, who had previously worked with Kylie Minogue, MNEK, and Tracklacers. The band stated that a lot of the songs are about love. White said that "All Fired Up" is definitely the "dancingest song" we've ever made and it's the "danciest" track on the album too, but there are lots of different styles on the album. She also said that the band had pretty much finished the album in September 2011.
Artwork and titling
The album cover features the band from shoulders up, with a white and grey background. In an interview with Capital FM about the new album's artwork, the group stated "We can't tell you yet, but we just made the final approval of our album cover. You won't know what to expect because its so different. We are all naked for a start!" The group chose to go naked for the album cover due to "feeling exposed" as having written the majority of the album themselves, stating it will be a lot more personal than the previous three albums. It was confirmed on 29 September 2011 that the album would be titled On Your Radar, a lyric taken from the album's second single "All Fired Up". They also revealed that the artwork for the album would be released a week from 29 September 2011. The album cover was taken by Elisabeth Hoff. The band's logo is designed by a design studio titled Zip, which is featured on the album cover's image above the band.Composition and recording
The album's lead single, "Notorious" is produced by Steve Mac has been described as "Black Eyed Peas-esque" saying their new music sounds like something The Black Eyed Peas or Rihanna would release. The band described the song's lyrics as "playful" with a "drop-out chorus" Wonderland magazine asked the band to describe their new music in five words. They responded with "current", "fun", "naughty", "girly" and "dancy" When Wonderland questioned the band asking if the whole album would be like "Notorious". Vanessa White said that the album was a work in progress. She said they want a massive bunch of songs to pick from and they'll get the best ones from that. Where Una Healy stated, "I think every artist needs to, sort of, reinvent themselves and we don't want any track to sound like it could have been on our previous albums. It's going to be a step up from the last album but we'll keep it The Saturdays-esque." Rochelle Humes said that "Notorious" does not influence the album's sound. She said that there are many different styles on the album, and they have records a fair few ballads. She went on to say that the new album will not have the same kind of feel to the previous albums. The band said that there is not a specific sound that is influencing the band. They said they like to into the studio and pick a beat and they build up the track from that moment on. They went on to say they've not thought about influencing on other artists songs as they want them to be all original. Mollie King said that the band get into twos or threes to write lyrics, she said although the band spend a lot of time together they also still have their five separate lives and yet they have so much to talk about, which means they never run out on lyrics as there are "so many dramas" going on around them, as she said "we're five girls after all". While in an interview with Sugarscape the band confirmed that they want the whole album to be "fresh" and have a completely different sound from their previous albums, so it does not sound like the band are releasing the same type of music. They also said that the music would be "current" meaning they will release music which the public are interested in at the moment. However, they did say there would be some type of their "original sound" on the album as they want to "make everyone welcome" on the album.It was confirmed that the band been recording at Dean Street Studios, London. and Tracklacers studios in Kent. The sound of the album will have a more edgier and dancing sound from the band. However, the band said that whey will still have their pop edge, but "this time around" they have taken the album through a bit of a more dancey route. They also went on to say that they want their music to reflect on their live shows, saying they want their concerts to be like "one big giant party" making the show and their music fun for everyone. They late said that the best night you could have out was at their December tour due to their music being "bigger and better" than before. According to Mollie King on the band's official website the band's influences are coming from Britney Spears' dance-pop style, Adele and John Mayer's pop rock style, where taking a dancier style to Rihanna and Katy Perry's style. The band stated their newest music is "definitely more clubbier" than their previous material. They said that the lyrics has a "lot of man-bashing" singing about how girls are better than boys, then calling themselves feisty on the album. They went on to say that the album sound is not a "typical girlband sound", they also said "the great thing about pop music you get to try lots of different music". The band said that the album tracks which they have recorded so far sounds great and different. They are writing a lot at the moment as they want the album to be bigger and better. "All Fired Up" track was labelled as the band as a "floor filler" "All Fired Up" was explained as think "Ibiza closing party meets Miami poolside rave – the girls continue to blow us away as their signature pop vocals are played over a synth dance beat creating this anthemic dance banger." It was revealed by the band that Travie McCoy would feature a guest rap on the album.
Music and lyrics
The album lead single with the track "Notorious" and the track has been compared to artists Rihanna, The Black Eyed Peas and Kelis, featuring a "drop-out chorus" where it's just the beat and you can only hear our voices – there aren't many tracks like that, so it's a bit different." The second single from the album "All Fired Up" is a dance-pop song and has gathered comparisons to artists Lady Gaga and David Guetta. The Saturdays revealed that they recorded a dance track due to the dance music being "huge at the moment". The band explained "All Fired Up" by saying, "Ibiza closing party meets Miami poolside rave – the girls continue to blow us away as their signature pop vocals are played over a synth dance beat creating this anthemic dance banger." Critics also wrote, "Vanessa demands in a hazy and heavily synthesised fashion on the intro of 'All Fired Up'." "Their fun, girlish vibe and unabashed pop sensibility has been traded for a cookie-cutter electro-pop sound." The album has got more dance tracks on like singles "Notorious" and "All Fired Up" but the band did stress that the whole album is not like that. They went on to say that they've got some classic "The Saturdays's tracks" on the album, and the album will feature a few ballads which the band intended to welcome everyone on the album.According to the band, the lyrics that they have written have taken big inspiration from the relationships they are in and their past relationships. Una Healy said "I dig into the past for inspiration and remember all the bad boyfriends I had and all the crap things they did to me." Emeli Sandé said that she wrote a track for the band which was very dark and a strong ballad. She said that the lyrics are dark and very honest. The band admitted that they had focused on a particular sound after some of their favourite artists released that type of music. Rochelle Humes said that "Someone Like You" by Adele and "She Makes Me Wanna" by JLS and Dev was a big influence in what they wanted their records to sound like. They later confessed that they wished they recorded "Lick Ya Down" by Cover Drive. The band revealed that there are lot of tearjerkers on the album. Madonna was a big inspiration for the album. Jay-Z had a lot of inspiration for the album also.
This All Fired Up is definitely the dancingist song we’ve ever made and it’s the danciest track on the album too but there are lots of different styles on the album. We understand that dance music is very big at the moment and when you’re a pop act you can venture into differ rent genres. We’ve done al sorts in the past, Forever Is Over was pop-rock almost and there are lots of ballads on the new album too.
Recording "The Way You Watch Me" the band heard the track which Travie McCoy sent to them. The band said as soon as they heard the song they fell in love with it, describing the song as "flirty", "fun" and "playful". Mollie King said the song is a "roadtrip" song which people would like to listen to it in a car. Although the band recorded the collaboration with McCoy the band didn't actually meet him. The lyrics of "Faster" have been labelled as "romantic" by the band but with and Uptempo dance beat track. It is a dance with a pop edge. "For Myself" is a track the band co-wrote with Viktoria Hansen, the song is about a turbulent relationship and no matter what you argue a lot. The band said that "White Lies" linked them back to their first studio album, Chasing Lights. "Wish I Didn't Know" is a pop ballad The background of the song is about your ex, who you still love being with someone else. "My Heart Takes Over" is a "sad song" according to the band. They said that the song pulls on your heart strings. "Get Ready, Get Set" was defined by the band as a "feel good uptempo song" The band wrote the song, they said when they were writing the lyrics they were trying to be "steamy" which was "embarrassing" for them. "Do What You Want With Me" was written by Jaz Rogers and Bryn Christopher. Vanessa White said when she first recorded the song "she wasn't feeling it". The song has a lot of different elements and took a long time to get it right. The song also is a Dubstep song and the band said it was the "coolest" song on the album. "Last Call" is Frankie Sandford's favourite song on the album, she explained the song as a "heart melt ballad". The song was written by Charlie Holmes and Lucie Silvas. The song is about love and the band said the lyrics hit you straight away. And the song is the most personal song to everyone, the band and the songwriters. "Move on U" was written by the band themselves and they wanted the lyrics to be "Sexy" and "Flirtatious". They also said that the song is a "little rude". "Move on U" is also an uptempo track and according but it has the sing-along element to it. "Promise Me" is about a boys who promises stuff, but do not stick to their promises. They defined the song as "very party". "I Say Ok" is a Tongue-in-cheek song. The lyrics of the song are quite basic so everyone knows what the song is about. They said the song is the most pop song on the album.