20 (No Angels album)

Prior to the release, the complete catalogue of No Angels albums re-entered various streaming platforms on 27 November 2020 after BMG acquired the rights from Cheyenne Records.[3] The mostly positive reception of the re-release made the band members develop an Instagram account presenting both professional as well as amateur photos dating back to their early stages as a group.[4] Rumors regarding a possible comeback in 2021 sparked shortly after.[5]

Recording of 20 started with the celebration version of No Angels' 2001 debut single "Daylight in Your Eyes" for which all vocals were recorded separately in January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] While Nadja Benaissa and Jessica Wahls recorded their vocals at producer Christian Geller's studio in Andernach, Lucy Diakovska went into a nearby studio in Bulgaria.[6] Sandy Mölling used the Los Angeles home studio of her boyfriend Nasri Atweh to work with Geller on the song.[6] Additional recording began in Andernach in the first week of March 2021 where Mölling cut several tracks before returning to the United States.[6] On 8 March 2021, Wahls took to Instagram to reveal that she had started work with Geller on a new version of "There Must Be an Angel."[7] During an Instagram live stream, Mölling hinted on the absence of new renditions of material from the albums Destiny and Welcome to the Dance. She explained that the latter album in particular would have been ahead of its time when it was released and would therefore have a more contemporary sound. Furthermore, in contrast to the repertoire from the years 2001 to 2003, the records had already been released with the band's current line-up. Therefore, there would not have been the necessity to re-record the tracks.[8] The master recordings of the whole album were handed in on April 16, 2021, as Geller confirmed via his Instagram the same day.[9]

In addition to sixteen cover versions of their own songs, including two different celebration versions of "Still in Love with You," the band recorded several new tracks for 20.[10] While it was initially announced that five new songs would be included on the album,[10] only four made the track listing.[9] "We Keep the Spirit Alive," co-written by band member Sandy Mölling,[11] is an uptempo power pop and synth-pop song that has been compared with English singer Dua Lipa's "Physical" (2020).[12] The song features several 1980s and disco tropes in its production,[10] making use of a synthwave bassline and a techno beat.[13] Lyrically, "We Keep the Spirit Alive" borrows from several others No Angels songs, with lines such as "awakened by the race of daylight, we cried a river full of joy" often incorporating former song titles.[12] Mölling also co-wrote "Love You for Eternity," a power ballad that alternates between calm verses and hymn-like choruses.[10][12]

"A New Day," a "spherical" high-energy pop track that is built upon a clapping drum pattern,[14] was written by Mölling's husband, Canadian singer-songwriter Nasri Atweh.[11] A song about the hope and trust in better times, it was inspired by the deleterious mental consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns and distancing measures.[15] "Mad Wild," co-written by American-Canadian singer Sophie Simmons, is the only title that was chosen from a selection of around a dozen songs which their record company BMG had proposed for recording, being the favorite individual choice of every No Angels member.[10] A song about a toxic relationship that always ends in bed instead of being ended for the better,[14] it is built upon a bouncing synth bass and a 1980s-style snare sample, blending elements of funk and pop with contemporary R&B sounds.[12][14] Benaissa described "Mad Wild" as a "modern, powerful [...] feel good track."[10]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
CDStarts.de	[34]
laut.de	[12]

Matthias Halbig, writing for RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland, found that most on 20 is typical No Angels fare "with fresh beats and strong vocal recordings, though a handful of songs suggest that the re-docking with the music scene is future-oriented. These new songs – with the exception of the ballad 'Love You for Eternity' – don't stick out much on the lush 20-song list, which speaks for a coherent production in first place."[35] Aida Baghernejad from daily newspaper Die Tageszeitung remarked that with 20 "the basses are fatter, the voices more mature and full, the composition more sophisticated." She felt that "the new songs almost exclusively rely on a feeling of nostalgia [...] and their sound could just as well be from the rest Oeuvre."[36] News agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur noted that new songs such "as 'Mad Wild' or 'We Keep The Spirit Alive' are fresh pop numbers that fit perfectly into today's radio landscape. Sometimes funky, sometimes with an 80s sound. It almost seems like No Angels never left."[37]

Magnus-Vinzenz Franz from laut.de found that "the darker and more mature atmosphere" of the re-recordings on 20 "is a nice alternative to the sometimes wild and stormy originals," but they "just offer very little added value."[12] Of the new material, he particularly emphasized "Mad Wild" with its "bouncing synth bass and '80s snare sample" which he compared to Ariana Grande und Dua Lipa.[12] In his review for t-online.de Sebastian Berning wrote that the production on 20 "is more modern, but the songs are largely preserved." He found that while the four new songs "are good pop goods, "Mad Wild" or the somewhat ABBA-like "We Keep the Spirit Alive" can't get out of the shadows of the big hits."[38] Similarly, Matthias Reichel from CDStarts.de wrote that while "the magic has fallen by the wayside [...] the revised arrangements are not remotely entangled in experiments, so even non-fans [can] recognize them immediately." He felt that the "new songs have a hard time, as expected, but they don't distract. In particular 'We Keep the Spirit Alive,' which incorporates a few harmonies from The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights,' can keep up quite well."[34] In a negative review, Süddeutsche Zeitung journalist Jakob Biazza wrote that 20 "sounds as if you had chosen the pre-set 'Deutschdancepop 2000' for the automatic accompaniment of a medium-priced keyboard and would then have died of boredom and shame with your hands clutching the second inversion of a C major chord."[39]

20 debuted at number one on the German Albums Chart in the week of 11 June 2021.[2] It became No Angels' non-consecutive fourth album to reach the top position on the chart as well as their first number one entry since Pure (2003) nearly two decades before.[2] 20 also became the first chart topper in the country by a girl group in fifteen years, following the December 2006 peak of Temptation by fellow Popstars winners Monrose.[2] In Austria, the album debuted at number two on the Austrian Albums Chart, becoming No Angels' third album to do so.[40] As in Germany, this marked their highest peak since Pure.[40] In Switzerland, 20 debuted at number six on the Swiss Albums Chart.[41] The band's fourth top ten album on the chart, it marked their highest-charting album since the top five peak of Now... Us! (2002).[41]

All tracks produced by Christian Geller.[42]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of 20.[11]