Begin to Hope

Track listing

All songs written by Regina Spektor.

Personnel

• Regina Spektor – piano, vocals, guitar, percussion
• Nick Valensi – guitar on "Better"
• David Kahne – bass on "Better"
• Zhao Gang – erhu on "Field Below"
• Ralph U. Williams – saxophone on "Lady"
• Shawn Pelton – drums on "Fidelity", "Better", "On the Radio", "Hotel Song", "Après Moi" & "That Time"
• Rachel Beth Egenhoefer – album design
• David Kahne – mainstream pop producer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Single success

In 2006, Regina Spektor's first single, "Fidelity", premiered on VH1. Soon after, VH1 included her among "You Oughta Know: Artists on the Rise".

Spektor performed "Fidelity" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in July 2006 and on ABC's Good Morning America in April 2007. She also performed "On The Radio" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in November 2006. She performed the song again on Late Show with David Letterman in April 2007, and on the Australian Rove McManus show in 2007.

"Better" was released to US radio in late July 2007.

Even though it was not released as a single, "Hotel Song" has reached No. 11 in the Irish music download charts and No. 16 in the Irish Top 50 Singles Chart as of May 2007.

"Samson" is a new recording of a song originally released on 2002's Songs. Gwen Stefani used the song for her Season 9 battle between Korin Bukowski and Chase Kerby on The Voice.

"Après Moi" was covered by Peter Gabriel on his 2010 album Scratch My Back.

In popular culture

• The song "Better" appeared in the fourth season of the CBS TV show How I Met Your Mother in an episode titled "Happily Ever After" (2008). It was featured in the 2009 film My Sister's Keeper. A piano version of the song appeared prominently throughout the series finale of The Good Wife in 2016.
• "Hotel Song" was featured in a TV commercial of mobile phone company Vodafone in Ireland, contributing to the song's popularity in the country. The song was also featured in the 2011 Jennifer Westfeldt film Friends with Kids.
• "Music Box" was featured on a JCPenney commercial.
• "Samson" was featured on CSI: NY in the second-season episode "All Access" (2006).
• "Field Below" was on an episode of Criminal Minds.
• "That Time" was featured in the 2008 Martin McDonagh film In Bruges starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.
• "Hero" was featured in the film (500) Days of Summer, along with "Us" from Spektor's previous album, Soviet Kitsch.
• "Fidelity" is one of the songs featured in "Elephant Love Medley", a number in Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

Sales

• In New Zealand, the album was certified Gold for sales of more than 7,500.
• In Australia, the album was certified Gold for sales of more than 35,000.
• In the United States, the album was certified Gold for shipments of over 500,000 copies. Its sales have since surpassed 600,000 according to Nielsen/Soundscan.

References

References

1. "Reviews for Begin To Hope by Regina Spektor". [[Metacritic]].
2. Phares, Heather. "Begin to Hope – Regina Spektor". [[AllMusic]].
3. Phipps, Keith. (June 13, 2006). "Regina Spektor: Begin To Hope". [[The A.V. Club]].
4. Juarez, Vanessa. (June 9, 2006). "Begin to Hope".
5. Sullivan, Caroline. (June 7, 2006). "Regina Spektor, Begin to Hope". [[The Guardian]].
6. (August 2006). "Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope". [[Mojo (magazine).
7. (July 8, 2006). "Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope". [[NME]].
8. Deusner, Stephen M.. (June 12, 2006). "Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope". [[Pitchfork (website).
9. Eliscu, Jenny. (June 12, 2006). "Regina Spektor: Begin To Hope".
10. Hermes, Will. (July 2006). "Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope". [[Spin (magazine).
11. (August 2006). "Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope". [[Uncut (magazine).
12. Block, Melissa. (June 28, 2006). "Stories in Song: Regina Spektor's 'Begin to Hope'". NPR.
13. (December 11, 2006). "The Top 50 Albums of 2006". Rolling Stone.
14. "Cat Power Wins 2007 Shortlist Music Prize". Billboard.com.
15. Neal, Chris. "Regina Spektor [Begin To Hope]." Performing Songwriter 13.94 (2006): 32. Academic Search Complete. Web. September 26, 2016.
16. "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2025. 21. hét". [[Association of Hungarian Record Companies.
17. "Jaaroverzichten 2007". Ultratop.
18. "Årslista Album – År 2007". Sverigetopplistan.
19. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007".
20. Savage, Mark. (September 21, 2016). "Regina Spektor: White lies and sad songs". BBC.
21. "New Music Artists Info on You Oughta Know, Rising New Artists, See Photos & Watch Videos Online". VH1.com.
22. (April 5, 2007). "The Virginian-Pilot Archives". Nl.newsbank.com.
23. "Gold & Platinum – October 10, 2009". RIAA.