Freedom Child

Freedom Child is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band The Script. It was released via Columbia Records[2] and Sony Music on 1 September 2017.[3][4][5]

For the opera, see Freedom Child (opera). For the album Freedom's Child, see Billy Joe Shaver.

Freedom Child
Studio album by The Script
Released	1 September 2017
Recorded	2016–17
Genre	Pop rock pop R&B dance[1]
Length	48:56
Label	Columbia Sony
The Script chronology
No Sound Without Silence (2014) Freedom Child (2017) Acoustic Sessions (2018)
Singles from Freedom Child
"Rain" Released: 14 July 2017 "Arms Open" Released: 13 November 2017

Background

Speaking about how pop music has turned out since The Script went on a hiatus after their last album No Sound Without Silence, Danny O’Donoghue said "If you take a listen to radio now, there aren’t too many bands - guitar, bass, drums, vocals. Everyone has some kind of production element." The album was announced as members of the band took time out with their families in Ireland after four studio albums since 2008.[3]

"Rain" was released as the first single from the album and their first new song since 2014.[3][6][7][8]

Explaining how the album title was decided, O'Donoghue said "It came from Mark's side... His seven-year-old came up to him one day and asked, 'Dad, what's terrorism?'" The album title was inspired by its song of the same name, which addresses terrorism and the need for harmony.[9] He also mentioned how the album covers many topics.[10]

"Divided States of America", a song on the album was explained by O’Donoghue, who said "We were in America when Trump's inauguration was happening, and you couldn’t walk down the street without seeing how divided America was. The guy selling cigarettes could be a Democrat and the guy he's selling them to could be a Trump supporter."[11][12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
The Daily Californian	1/5[14]
The Irish Times	[15]
The Last Mixed Tape	2/10[16]
London Evening Standard	[17]
The Observer	[18]
Raidió Teilifís Éireann	[19]

Freedom Child received mixed to negative reviews from critics upon release.

Matt Collar of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, stating that the album "is a vibrant, immediately engaging effort that finds them nicely balancing their various influences, from slick dance-pop to kinetic R&B and thoughtful, crowd-pleasing anthems." Eleanor of Live Arena also gave the album a positive review but with no score, stating that "the group's confident new sound, that strays away from the rock feel we're used to, strikes listeners with positivity and strength. It's worth a listen."[20] Taelor Connell of The O'Colly, gave another positive review with no score, stating that "The Script's new sound combined with their strong message strike listeners with force."[21]

The album has had several negative reviews, however. These include Lauren Murphy of The Irish Times, who stated that "it's too long, but more importantly, it's emotionally hollow." Rick Pearson of London Evening Standard also gave the album a negative review, and said that "Truly, the road to musical hell is paved with good intentions." Another negative review came from Grace Weissend of The Observer, who said that "with no real breakout song and an album that altogether disappoints, it's unlikely that The Script will be adding this record to their hall of fame." Stephen White of The Last Mixed Tape gave the album a score of 2 out of 10, calling the album "an advert that will top the charts".[22]

Track listing

Freedom Child

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"No Man Is an Island"	Mark Sheehan Camille Purcell Daniel O'Donoghue James "Jimbo" Barton	The Script Jimbo OzGo	3:49
2.	"Rain"	O'Donoghue Purcell Sheehan Barton	The Script Jimbo Andrew Frampton Max Farrar	3:29
3.	"Arms Open"	Sheehan Adam Messinger O'Donoghue Nasri Atweh	The Messengers	4:00
4.	"Rock the World"	Sheehan O'Donoghue Andrew Frampton Steve Kipner Barton	The Script Jimbo Frampton Kipner	3:10
5.	"Mad Love"	Sheehan Frampton O'Donoghue Kipner	The Script Frampton Kipner Farrar^[a]	3:25
6.	"Deliverance"	Sheehan Oscar Görres O'Donoghue James Alan Ghaleb	OzGo	3:31
7.	"Divided States of America"	Sheehan O'Donoghue Barton	The Script Jimbo Frampton^[c]	4:04
8.	"Wonders"	Sheehan Toby Gad O'Donoghue	Gad Frampton Farrar	4:18
9.	"Love Not Lovers"	Sheehan Frampton O'Donoghue Kipner	The Script Frampton Farrar Kipner	3:44
10.	"Eden"	Sheehan O'Donoghue Gad Clarence Coffee Jr.	The Script Jimbo Gad Frampton	3:29
11.	"Make Up"	Sheehan O'Donoghue Barton	The Script Jimbo Frampton	3:26
12.	"Written in the Scars"	Sheehan Frampton O'Donoghue Max Farrar Kipner	Frampton Farrar Kipner	3:47
13.	"Awakening"	Sheehan O'Donoghue	The Script Jimbo	0:47
14.	"Freedom Child"	Sheehan O'Donoghue Barton	The Script Jimbo Frampton	3:57
Total length:				48:56

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer.
• ^{^[c]} signifies a vocal producer.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2017) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] 5 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[24] 61 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 13 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 40 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27] 62 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[28] 91 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[29] 26 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[30] 3 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[31] 31 French Albums (SNEP)[32] 140 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[33] 43 Irish Albums (IRMA)[34] 1 Italian Albums (FIMI)[35] 35 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[36] 17 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[37] 6 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[38] 19 Scottish Albums (OCC)[39] 1 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[40] 37 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[41] 27 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 10 UK Albums (OCC)[43] 1 US Billboard 200[44] 58

Year-end charts Chart (2017) Position Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[45] 95 UK Albums (OCC)[46] 83

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[47]	Gold	100,000
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Katie, Baillie (21 July 2017). "The Script announce new album Freedom Child and tour: 'We wanted to revamp and reboot the sound'". Metro. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
2. "The Script announce big Blackpool date – four years since Lights no-show". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
3. McCabe, Kathy (16 August 2017). "The Script delivers music with a message on new Freedom Child album | Herald Sun". Herald Sun. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
4. "The Script Announce Dublin Show". 98FM. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
5. "The Script Announce New Album "Freedom Child": Tracklist + Cover Art!". Directlyrics. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
6. "The Script return after a domesticated break!". RTÉ.ie. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
7. Adejobi, Alicia (28 July 2017). "The Script warn 'traditional bands are in danger' as group return with trendy album Freedom Child". International Business Times. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
8. Jones, Craig (15 August 2017). "The Script release new music ahead of special Bridlington gig". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
9. Ahmad, Tufayel (21 July 2017). "The Script: "Musicians aren't standing up over terrorism. Where the hell is Bono? Jay-Z? Beyoncé?"". Newsweek. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
10. Rob, Copsey (21 July 2017). "The Script announce new album: "It covers terrorism, heartbreak, euphoria"". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
11. Shilpa, Ganatra (29 July 2017). "The Script: 'Find a band who sing as honestly as us. I dare you'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
12. "The Script Announce Tour and New Album Details ::The Script News ::antiMusic.com". www.antimusic.com. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
13. Collar, Matt. "Freedom Child - The Script". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
14. Pasha, Imad. "The Script's 'Freedom Child' is shackled by bland attempts at EDM, millennial references". The Daily Californian. Imad Pasha. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
15. Murphy, Lauren. "The Script review: The boys go a bit Bono-lite". The Irish Times. Lauren Murphy. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
16. White, Stephen. "Review: The Script - Freedom Child". The Last Mixed Tape. Stephen White. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
17. Pearson, Rick. "The Script, Freedom Child - review: 'Well-meaning but full of chugging guitars and lyrical guff'". London Evening Standard. Rick Pearson. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
18. Weissend, Grace. "The Script deals in disappointing cliche on 'Freedom Child'". The Observer. Grace Weissend. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
19. Corr, Alan. "The Script: Freedom Child - time for a rewrite". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Alan Corr. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
20. "The Script release their genre-mixing album "Freedom Child"". Live Arena. Eleanor. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
21. Connell, Taelor. "Review: 'Freedom Child' delievers The Script's new sound". The O'Colly. Taelor Connell. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
22. White, Stephen (1 September 2017). "Review | The Script – Freedom Child". the Last Mixed Tape.
23. "Australiancharts.com – The Script – Freedom Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
24. "Austriancharts.at – The Script – Freedom Child" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
25. "Ultratop.be – The Script – Freedom Child" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
26. "Ultratop.be – The Script – Freedom Child" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
27. "The Script Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
28. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201737 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
29. "Danishcharts.dk – The Script – Freedom Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
30. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Script – Freedom Child" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
31. "The Script: Freedom Child" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
32. "Lescharts.com – The Script – Freedom Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
33. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Script – Freedom Child" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
34. "Irish-charts.com – Discography The Script". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
35. "Italiancharts.com – The Script – Freedom Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
36. "Charts.nz – The Script – Freedom Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
37. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Script – Freedom Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
38. "Portuguesecharts.com – The Script – Freedom Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
39. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
40. "Spanishcharts.com – The Script – Freedom Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
41. "Swedishcharts.com – The Script – Freedom Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
42. "Swisscharts.com – The Script – Freedom Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
43. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
44. "The Script Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
45. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2017". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
46. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2017". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
47. "British album certifications – The Script – Freedom Child". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 April 2018. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Freedom Child in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.