Scream If You Wanna Go Faster


Scream If You Wanna Go Faster is the second studio album by British pop singer Geri Halliwell. It was released by EMI Records on 14 May 2001 and yielded the UK number-one single "It's Raining Men", was also used on the Bridget Jones's Diary film soundtrack. The song was released as the lead single from the album. The single became a major hit worldwide, it peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and peaked in the top 10 in over 27 countries, becoming Halliwell's biggest hit to date. The song won her the International Song of the Year award at the 2002 NRJ Music Awards.
The singles that followed, "Scream If You Wanna Go Faster" and "Calling", reached number eight and number seven in the United Kingdom, respectively. Halliwell released a special French edition of "Calling", titled "Au Nom de L'amour". In 2002, Halliwell was once again nominated at the BRIT Awards, this time for Best British Female Solo Artist and Best British Single for "It's Raining Men".

Background

The album includes a cover version of The Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men", which became Halliwell's fourth UK number-one hit single. The title track, "Scream If You Wanna Go Faster" is Halliwell's most rock-based song to date, and was inspired by her listening to Led Zeppelin the previous summer as encouraged by close friend, Robbie Williams. Halliwell commented about the album: "There's deeper meaning underneath if you care and choose to look. Some of it is deep as a puddle, some of it is a bottomless pit, like a well".

Singles

"It's Raining Men" was released on April 30, 2001 as the first single from Geri Halliwell's second solo album and was also used on the Bridget Jones's Diary film soundtrack. Halliwell's version received positive reviews by music critics, experienced international success and hit the top ten in over two dozen countries around the world, going to number one in several of them. However, in the United Kingdom, "It's Raining Men" debuted at number-one on the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for two weeks. It became Halliwell's fourth consecutive number-one single in the UK, selling 155,000 units in its first week and 80,000 in its second week. Overall the single went on to sell 449,000 copies in Britain alone, becoming the 13th best seller of 2001 and Halliwell's most successful single worldwide.
The song was successful outside the United Kingdom. In Flemish Belgium, the song stayed at number one for four weeks and was the best-selling single of 2001. The single reached number one in France for five weeks and sold over 812,000 copies, receiving a Diamond certification from the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. With this song, Geri Halliwell won the International Song of the Year award at the 2002 NRJ Music Awards in France. The cover was also a major success in Walloon Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Poland, and Switzerland.
The music video was inspired by the 1980 film Fame and by the 1982 film Flashdance for the video.
"Scream If You Wanna Go Faster" was released on 30 July 2001 as the second single from the album. It received positive reviews by music critics, who complimented the singer's new style. The music video was directed by Jim Canty and Jake-Sebastian Wynne. To promote the single, Halliwell performed the song on Top of the Pops, Party in the Park, Musica Sí and Popkomm.
The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 8, which became the lowest-charting single of Halliwell's career at the time. The single sold 27,458 copies in its first week, but ended up only selling about 80,192 copies in the United Kingdom.
The accompanying music video for "Scream If You Wanna Go Faster" was directed by Jim Canty and Jake-Sebastian Wynne. Halliwell plays two characters in the video. She said, "It's kind of like Lara Croft meets Blondie. The Lara Croft character, she represents spirit and soul, a little more organic, more playful. Then the character on stage, she's a lot more aggressive and sexual and represents ego." The video generated controversy as the two-women theme was very similar to former bandmate Victoria Beckham's single "Not Such an Innocent Girl".
"Calling" was released as the third and final single from Halliwell's second album. Just like Halliwell's previous single, the success for the song was limited. In certain regions, the song was released in a French version, called "Au Nom De L'Amour". The song was praised for both lyrics and production.
"Calling" charted at number seven on the UK Singles Chart when released on 26 November 2001 with 28,000 sales in its first week. Altogether, the single sold 70,515 copies and it became the 192nd best seller single of 2001 in the United Kingdom.
The black and white music video was directed by Pierluca DeCario. It shows Geri, dressed with a black sweater and barefoot, singing the song while lying in a meadow and standing and walking in front of concrete walls.

Chart performance

The album reached a peak position of number five on the UK Albums Chart. With first-week sales of 35,000 copies and total sales of 155,000, it became the 127th best selling album of 2001 in the United Kingdom. Sales in the United Kingdom ensured Gold status. It eventually received an American release digitally via the iTunes Store on 30 October 2007.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Scream If You Wanna Go Faster.

B-sides

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales