Sing to the Moon

Inspiration

In 2013, during an interview with Blues and Soul magazine, Mvula revealed that the inspiration behind her song "Sing to the Moon" came from a biography of the American jazz singer Adelaide Hall titled Underneath a Harlem Moon: The Harlem to Paris Years of Adelaide Hall written by Iain Cameron Williams.

History

Singles

Several of the album's singles were released before the album came out in March 2013. "She" was released as the lead single from the album on 29 October 2012. It was released both as a standalone single and as part of the She EP which contained three other songs ("Like the Morning Dew", "Can't Live with the World" and "Jump Right Out"). "She" was re-released on 16 August 2013 as an EP containing a new "2013 Edit" of the song and five other remixes.

"Green Garden" was released as the second single from the album on 22 February 2013. The song peaked at number thirty-one on the UK Singles Chart. It has also charted in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands. "That's Alright" was released as the third single in March 2013.

Release

Sing to the Moon was released on 1 March 2013 by RCA Victor. The album debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 18,954 copies. The individual song "Sing to the Moon" was sampled by rapper XXXTentacion and used in his song "Vice City".

National Album Day 2019

Sing to the Moon was chosen by critic Lyle Bignon to represent Sounds of the Midlands for National Album Day, 2019, accompanied by an exhibition staged at various Railway stations across the UK.

Reception

Critical

The album met with a largely positive reception, receiving a perfect score from The Independent, and 3.5/5 from Rolling Stone. AllMusic stated the album is "rooted in decades-old forms of gospel, jazz, R&B, and, most deeply, orchestral pop. Almost all of the material is as serious and as refined as it is majestic, with vocal showcases and hushed-belted-hushed-belted dynamics galore."

Commercial

The album debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 18,954 copies.

In the United States, the album first entered the R&B Albums chart at No. 19 for chart dated May 4, 2013, and it reached No. 8 on the chart a month later. It also peaked at No. 173 on the Billboard 200. The album has sold 32,000 copies in the US as of April 2016.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Orchestral version

August 11, 2014 (CD) August 18, 2014 (LP)

• R&B
• soul
• Neo soul}}

In March 2014, Mvula re-recorded an orchestral version of her debut album Sing to the Moon in collaboration with all 52 members of the Metropole Orchestra. Conducted by Jules Buckley, the orchestral version of Sing to the Moon was recorded over two days and saw its release on 23 June 2014 as a high quality download via Bowers & Wilkins' Society of Sound. The album was released to the public on 11 August 2014.

Track listing

Snarky Puppy version

"Sing to the Moon" was reworked and recorded with Snarky Puppy for the album Family Dinner - Volume 2 released February 12, 2016.

References

References

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4. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51780394 Underneath a Harlem Moon] Worldcat.
5. National Album Day partners with Network Rail to launch Album Exhibition in Stations around the UK (retrieved Feb. 25, 2022):https://www.grapevinebirmingham.com/national-album-day-partners-with-network-rail-to-launch-album-exhibition-in-stations-around-the-uk/ {{Webarchive. link. (22 May 2022)
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