The Script

The Script is the Choice Music Prize-nominated self-titled debut album from Irish band The Script, which was released in the Republic of Ireland on 8 August 2008 and was released in the UK on 11 August 2008. Following success in the Republic of Ireland the album was released elsewhere in Europe in September 2008. The album peaked at #64 on the Billboard 200 on 4 March 2010.

Reception
The album was met with mixed reviews by music critics. Timothy Powell of the BBC stated that the album "reveals a band that is fresh, vital and ferociously good." He went on to say that The Script are now positioned as "next big thing" and that the album entails "hip-hop, pop melodiousness, state-of-the-art production and anthemic rock." His overall summary was that the album is "Intelligent, beautifully crafted and compelling." Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the album 3/5 stars while saying it was often "devastatingly effective" and that "A lot of people are going to hate The Script, a lot of people are going to love The Script." The German WOM magazin monthly went as far as writing: "Eigenständing und originell ist anders. The Script bringen die Misere der Musikindustrie auf den Punkt. (Independent and original [music] is different. The Script point out the music industry's demise.)" The album has mixed reviews in MTV Asia, which has praised "O'Donoghue's vocals are a pleasurably unique aural experience" though it also comments that, as a whole, "the album plays across a flat plane, with no big leaps, but no huge letdowns either."

Chart performance
Following the success of "The Man Who Can't Be Moved," The Script entered the UK Albums Charts at number one with sales of 54,520 copies where it stayed for two weeks. The album spent eight weeks in the top ten and was the twelfth best selling album in the UK of 2008. The album also entered the Irish Album Chart at number one, holding the top spot for five weeks. It had, of January 2009, spent twenty two weeks in the top ten. The Irish office of Sony BMG music presented the group with their first multi platinum award disc for over 600,000 sales of The Script. On Sunday, 18th January 2009, the album went back up to #1 in the UK Album Charts, a whole 5 months since it was first released, mainly because of the £3.95 deal on iTunes.

Singles
Five singles were released from The Script. The first single that released from the album was "We Cry". The song peaked at #13 on the UK Singles Chart. It was followed by the second single, "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", which peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming The Script's highest charting single

In December 2008, The Script released "Breakeven" as their third single from the album. It peaked at #21 on the UK chart. The Script then released "Talk You Down" in 2009, as the fourth single from the album. However, the single failed to reach the success of the album's first three singles, missing the UK Top 40 and only peaking at #47. Breakeven was released in fall 2009 in the United States and The Script performed it live on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on October 14, 2009. Breakeven then went on to peak at 12 in the US where it was also certified platinum for shipment of 1,000,000 copies. Breakeven was also released in Australia where it peaked at number 3 and was certified platinum.

In May 2009, The Script confirmed that a fifth single would be released from the album. "Before the Worst" was released on June 15, 2009 in the UK. It peaked at #96 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the lowest charting single from The Script in the UK. "Before the Worst" was also released in Australia where it peaked at number 10 and has been certified Gold.