Perfect Day is the second studio album released by German Eurodance act Cascada. The entire album was produced by the act's two DJs, Yanou and DJ Manian with vocals by Natalie Horler. Like its predecessor, the album is comprised heavily of uptempo Eurodance tracks, many of which are cover songs. This album, however, features covers of songs from the early to mid 2000s of the rock and country genres, with the exception of Because the Night (originally released by Patti Smith) which was released in 1978. Two edited tracks, "Endless Summer" and "I Will Believe It" that were previously recorded under the Siria name are also featured. Musically, the album is composed of Eurodance tracks with euphoric trance synths, drum programmings with a tempo over 140 beats per minute, and Europop lyrics. Lyrically, the songs are composed of love, partying and romance.
Critical reception of the album was negative, with many critics disliking the repetitive nature, that all the songs on the album sounded similar, and the lack of character and originality. The album has sold about 3 million copies worldwide. There was a total of five singles released from the album. Unlike their previous album, Perfect Day only had one major hit single worldwide. "What Hurts the Most" peaked in the top ten in six countries, including Austria and France and was certified gold in the United States for sales exceeding over 500,000 downloads. "What Do You Want from Me?" and "Because The Night" peaked in the top sixty in Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom. The last two singles, "Faded" and "Perfect Day", were released in the United States and Canada and failed to garner any chart success.
Release and reception
In the first week of UK sales, Perfect Day sold 50,000 copies,[4] debuting at number 12 on the UK album chart. However, in the second week it sold 100,000 copies, but fell to number 16. It then climbed back up, and peaked at a comfortable #8, before being knocked out of a weeks spot in the top ten. By the end of the year, the album had sold around 239,000 copies, making it the 64th highest selling album in the UK in 2007.[4] The album has currently sold over 3,000,000 copies worldwide.[citation needed] The album was released on March 4, 2008 in the U.S. with a new cover and track listing peaked at a #70 in the U.S Billboard 200.[5]
The album was released in Australia on 15 March 2008.[6] The album has been added to iTunes Italy in January 2008 being the first Cascada album released in Italy, but it was later removed; then on 2 January 2009 it was re-added. On 20 October, the album was due for a UK Platinum Edition re-release but was cancelled. The album was not released in the Netherlands until 7 November 2008. The Dutch version contains the American bonus tracks and the original track listing.
The album received negative reviews from most critics, with Sharon Mawer from Allmusic criticizing its repetitive nature by saying "How could anyone keep up the pace of these songs for a whole track, let alone a complete album, when the pumping beat is relentless and Horler, together with the production, contrives to make every song sound identical?"
