Brand New Day is the sixth solo studio album by English musician Sting, released by A&M Records on 27 September 1999. Promoted heavily by the success of the album's second single, "Desert Rose" (featuring popular Algerian Raï singer Cheb Mami), the album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 and sold over 3.5 million copies in the United States. Upon its release, Brand New Day was a critical and commercial success, and was hailed as a commercial comeback for Sting.
The album earned Sting a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and his third Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the title track.
Background Originally, Sting's usual producer Hugh Padgham was to produce the album, but Sting decided to co-produce the album with Kipper, and Padgham was not required. The album was recorded in various studios around Europe.
The (6:36) full version of "The End of the Game" was included on the single for "Brand New Day" and the DTS and DVD-Audio releases of the album. The music video for the title track is a parody of bleach commercials, and advertises "Brand new 'Day Ultra'" brand. The song "Brand New Day" features Stevie Wonder on harmonica.
On September 27, 2024, an Expanded Edition was released as part of the 25th anniversary. The version contains remixes, live versions and the songs "Windmills of Your Mind" as well as a full length version of "The End of the Game".
Track listing
Personnel Sting – lead vocals, backing vocals, bass guitar, Roland VG-8 guitar synthesizer Kipper – keyboards, drum programming Jason Rebello – acoustic piano, clavinet Don Blackman – Hammond organ David Hartley – Hammond organ, string arrangements and conductor (3, 6) Dominic Miller – guitars B. J. Cole – pedal steel guitar Vinnie Colaiuta – drums Manu Katché – drums Mino Cinelu – percussion Ettamri Mustapha – darbouka Branford Marsalis – clarinet Chris Botti – trumpet Kathryn Tickell – Northumbrian pipes, fiddle Stevie Wonder – harmonica (10) Farhat Bouallagui – string arrangements, conductor and leader (2) Isobel Griffiths – orchestral contractor (2, 3, 6) Gavyn Wright – string leader (3, 6) Moulay Ahmed – strings (2, 3, 6) Kouider Berkan – strings (2, 3, 6) Salem Bnouni – strings (2, 3, 6) Sameh Catalan – strings (2, 3, 6) Cheb Mami – vocals (2) Sté Strausz' – French rap (5) James Taylor – vocals (8) Tawatha Agee – backing vocals Dennis Collins – backing vocals Joe Mendes – backing vocals Janice Pendarvis – backing vocals, vocal contractor Pamela Quinlan – backing vocals Althea Rodgers – backing vocals Marlon Saunders – backing vocals Vaneese Thomas – backing vocals Darryl Tookes – backing vocals Ken Williams – backing vocals Gary Cook – Roland VG8 Programmer, Sound Creator
Production Sting – producer Kipper – producer Neil Dorfsman – engineer Simon Osborne – engineer, mixing Geoff Foster – strings engineer (2, 3, 6) Etienne Colin – assistant engineer Nicholas Duport – assistant engineer Andrew Fellus – assistant engineer Brian Garten – assistant engineer Ricky Graham – assistant engineer Ben Kape – assistant engineer Stephanie Levy-B – assistant engineer Peter "Hopps" Lorimer – assistant engineer Aya Takemura – assistant engineer Chris Blair – mastering Abbey Road Studios (London, UK) – mastering location Joe Mama-Nitzberg – art direction Jodi Peckman – art direction Richard Frankel – package design Olaf Heine – photography Carter Smith – photography
Accolades Grammy Awards
| style="width:35px; text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|2000 ||rowspan=2| Brand New Day || Best Pop Vocal Album || |- |Best Male Pop Vocal Performance||
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1999–2000) Peakposition Danish Albums (Hitlisten) 7Estonian Albums (Eesti Top 10)3 European Albums (Music & Media) 1 Greek Albums (IFPI) 2 Japanese Albums (Oricon) 7 Portuguese Albums (AFP) 1 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 5
Year-end charts Chart (1999) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 56 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 83 French Albums (SNEP)32 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)46 Japanese Albums (Oricon)188 UK Albums (OCC)150 US Billboard 200199Chart (2000)Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)32 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)74Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) 38 European Albums (Music & Media) 16 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)28 Italian Albums (FIMI) 23 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)55 UK Albums (OCC)55 US Billboard 20028
Certifications and sales
References