Winner Stays On

Winner Stays On is the fourth studio album by London-based grime music collective Roll Deep, it was released on 8 November 2010. Three singles have been released from the album, including "Good Times" and "Green Light", which both went to number 1 in the UK, plus the top 30 hit "Take Control", which features Alesha Dixon.

Winner Stays On
Studio album by
Roll Deep
Released8 November 2010
Recorded2009 - 2010
GenreHip hop, grime, dance
LabelRelentless Records/Virgin Records
Roll Deep chronology
Street Anthems
(2009)		 Winner Stays On
(2010)		 X
(2012)
Singles from Winner Stays On
  1. "Good Times"
    Released: 26 April 2010
  2. "Green Light"
    Released: 15 August 2010
  3. "Take Control"
    Released: 1 November 2010

At the time of recording, the collective consisted of DJ Target, Flowdan, Breeze, Danny Weed, DJ Karnage, J2K, Manga, Brazen and Scratchy.[1]

Singles
  • "Good Times" was the first single released from the album, it was released on 26 April 2010. It reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart making it their first number one single in the UK. It also charted at #13 on the Irish Singles Chart. It also became a top ten hit in Slovakia and on the European Hot 100 Singles Chart.[2]
  • "Green Light" was the second single released from the album, it was released on 15 August 2010. It reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart their second number one single in the UK. It also charted at #18 on the Irish Singles Chart and became a top 40 hit in the Netherlands.[2]
  • "Take Control" was the third and final single to be released from the album, it was released on 1 November 2010. It reached a peak of #29 on the UK Singles Chart before falling out of the top 40 the week after. It peaked at #27 in Scotland.[2]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Mirror[3]
NME[4]

The album has received negative to mixed reviews, however the BBC were positive stating that "as an underground group with commercial ambitions, you face a difficult hurdle: how to take an original, boundary-shifting but sometimes unpalatable sound and break it into a mass audience without spoiling the integrity of what you do in the process? It’s a hurdle that Roll Deep faced back in 2005 with the release of their debut album, In at the Deep End. A grime crew forged in the east London neighbourhood of Bow, Roll Deep have seen now-popular names like Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Tinchy Stryder and 1xtra DJ Target rise through its ranks. For …Deep End, though, it turned out that snappy grime numbers like When I’m ‘Ere lacked the commercial appeal of crossover tunes such as The Avenue and Shake a Leg.

Roll Deep, then, have evolved into a curious – albeit not terribly uncommon – thing: a grime crew that doesn’t play grime. Their fourth album, Winner Stays On, is, flagrantly, a pop album, and the good news is that they’re getting better at it. Good Times, which hit number one in the charts back in May, is excellent: a deliberately glitzy celebration of kicking up one’s heels, tales of high-street consumerism and clubbing propelled upwards on ecstatic synth bumps and a yearning chorus courtesy of Jodie Connor. Both Take Control (complete with a vocal from Alesha Dixon) and Green Light, a Calvin Harris-style pop bounce that wraps cheeky mating-game raps around a Green Cross Code-friendly metaphor, stick to a similar formula – and while this is obvious stuff, it’s certainly well-done.

Elsewhere, there are a couple of moments that hark back to Roll Deep's grime genesis. Out the Blue finds Scratchy, Breeze, Brazen and Wiley dropping rhymes over booming sub-bass. And while Team is not exactly lyrically spectacular – it features Wiley’s habitual fall-back of ending every line with the same word – it smashes it through busy, zig-zagging synth and sheer force of numbers. More quality grime would be nice, but Winner Stays On proves Roll Deep are no longer an underground crew trying to make pop: the charts are there for the taking."[5]

Track list
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro" (featuring Carla Marie)Ardom Ali, Jason Black, Matthew Reid, Marc Veira, Ryan Williams, Daniel "Hygrade" Traynor, Carla Maria WilliamsHygrade3:03
2."Good Times" (featuring Jodie Connor)Wiley, Ibrahim Atherly, Ali, Williams, B Preston, David Dawood, Jodie Connor, Charlotte KellyDavid Dawood & Preston3:44
3."What Do They Know" (featuring Eva Simons)Wiley, Ali, Black, Reid, Veira, R Williams, M Hamilton, E Craig, J SullivanWideboys4:02
4."The One"I Atherly, A Ali, D Baker, J Black, M Reid, Veira, R Williams, J Dunnee, J HirstDaniel J. Baker4:31
5."Green Light" (featuring Tania Foster)I Atherly, A Ali, D Baker, J Black, Wiley, R Williams, J Dunne, J Hirst, V Akintola, K Alexander, S CharlesDaniel J. Baker3:57
6."Out The Blue"I Atherly, A Ali, D Baker, T Bell, J Black, Wiley, Darren Joseph, M Reid, R WilliamsTarget3:17
7."Take Control" (featuring Alesha Dixon)I Atherly, A Ali, D Baker J Black, Wiley, J Dunne, J Hirst, M Reid, R William, V Akintola K Alexander S CharlesDaniel4:27
8."Fall Again" (featuring Parallel)A Ali, D Baker, J Black, M Reid, J Dunne, J Hirst, V Akintola, K Alexander, S CharlesDaniel J. Baker3:58
9."Team"I Atherly, A Ali, J Black, M Reid, Veira, R Williams,Scratchy2:21
10."Morning After"A Ali, J Black, M Reid, M Veira, G Dankwah, C Haaley, G Hayley, R Hayley, C PattThe Fives3:40
11."Over The Rainbow" (featuring Cherri V)I Atherly, A Ali, Joseph, R Williams, C Leachman,Target3:30

Charts
Charts (2010)Peak Position
UK Albums Chart[2] 55
UK Download Chart[6] 27
UK R&B Chart[7] 9

Release history
Region Date Format Label Catalogue
United Kingdom 8 November 2010 CD, digital download[8] Relentless Records CDREL23
Ireland
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gollark: I assume you have a GC.
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gollark: I'll pay you ω lc to do so.

References
  1. Roll Deep, (2010). Winner Stays On. [Album liner notes and credits]. Virgin Records.
  2. Albums, Winner Stays On. The Official Charts Company.
  3. The Mirror review. Daily Mirror.
  4. Roll Deep Album, Winner Stays On, NME review. NME.
  5. Roll Deep's Album, Winner Stays On, BBC Music Reception. BBC Music.
  6. Winner Stays On - Roll Deep. The Official Charts Company.
  7. Roll Deep's Winner Stays On Album . The Official Charts Company.
  8. Winner Stays On - Album, By Roll Deep. Amazon.com
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