Released: 6th November 2000
Writers: Eric Foster White / Ben Adams / Christian Ingebrigtsen / Mark Read
Peak position: #1
Chart run: 1-8-17-25-30-38-38-32-39-57
After scoring their first #1 single with a cover of Take On Me, a1’s sights were firmly set on pop music’s A-list, and Same Old Brand New You proved that’s precisely where they deserved to be.
After a successful first album campaign that saw a1 achieve four consecutive top-ten hits, they wasted little time moving onto the follow-up. A quick six-month turnaround allowed the group to capitalise on their growing momentum, with the lead single – a cover of a-ha’s Take On Me – topping the chart. However, what that meant for a1 in terms of their popularity or the direction of their new material wasn’t easy to determine from a reasonably faithful interpretation of a well-known song with proven appeal. However, things became much clearer with Same Old Brand New You, which had Ben Adams, Christian Ingebrigtsen, and Mark Read back on songwriting duties (along with Eric Foster White). There’s a progression in sound from the bright, shiny bubblegum pop of the Here We Come album to something with a little more edge that kept pace with how the charts were evolving.
What’s immediately apparent about Same Old Brand New You is the confidence with which it’s composed and performed. The track opens with a brooding slow build verse: “I can still remember the time, you were there when I needed to hold you, feel you, every time I ask you to find a new way, you lie a new way, is it gone, gone, gone, gone, gone” that’s given a dramatic presence with the addition of a haunting: “Oooooh” backing. From those first 20 seconds of Same Old Brand New You, there’s a definitive statement of intent of this as a1 with a bigger, bolder vision. Once the beat crashes in, the production adopts a Cheiron-esque bite. The instrumental scratches, bubbles and growls aggressively, while a refrain of: “You’ll change, you’ll never change, you’re never gonna keep your promises” intermittently punctuates the song but is so distorted and chewed-up that the words are barely discernible. Eric Foster White – who also produced Same Old Brand New You – had worked with US acts such as Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson. Thus, it’s not that a1 merely emulated that style (though the track does bear some similarity to Final Heartbreak, which Eric Foster White contributed to Jessica Simpson’s debut album, Sweet Kisses, in 1999); the song is credibly grounded in the same origins.
The group had already established a strong pop sensibility. Not only does that remain present on Same Old Brand New You, if anything, it’s heightened further as a1 convey a moodier attitude than usual. There’s a spiky vitriol they’d never needed on previous singles like Summertime Of Our Lives or Everytime, and that contrast: “You said you’d changed, but I’m afraid, it’s something I won’t live to see; it seems so strange, that sometimes fate, can appear to be so real, and yet turn out to be a fantasy”, plays on the group’s usual demeanour to give the track an edge. Their earnest sincerity is now riddled with vitriol: “Same old lie, one more time, say you’re gonna be, there for me, say you’ll change, change your ways, never gonna keep your promises, (same old game), you know it doesn’t turn me on, (brand new day) you’re singing that same old song, (no more lies), if you don’t wanna find me gone, gone, gone, gone, gone…” to give Same Old Brand New You an engagingly defiant energy.
While the production style of the track doesn’t afford a1 the chance to utilise their talent as musicians, what does emerge is a better sense of how they compose melodies. The punchy chorus: “Another night, another day, what can I say, you’re still the same old brand new you; you break your promises in two, what can I do, when you’re the same old brand new you” is constructed with space for the group to ad-lib around it freely (Mark’s: “You break your promises in two-ooh-ooh” harmony is particularly good). In terms of songwriting and vocal delivery, Same Old Brand New You feels like a step towards the more instrument-driven pop-rock of a1’s third album in 2002. However, for the time being, those qualities are channelled effectively in a more bombastic direction and help elevate the song as a great example of how the group adapted to that sound.
A similar approach is taken for the music video. It’s set in a desert terrain of America (though was actually filmed in Dungeness on the coast of Kent) and portrays a1 as mechanics. Purely from a visual perspective, the visuals look great. The location is convincing as a heat-stricken wasteland due to an orangey-hue filter through which everything is shown, while unsettled, stormy clouds roll across the sky, mirroring the song’s tone. As a mood piece, it represents Same Old Brand New You perfectly. Narratively, a1 are busy repairing a car at their remote garage while a woman sits watching them and smiling while painting her nails as the group look on pensively. However, they’re left irked when a man pulls up in his car, and she walks flirtatiously over to him.
The video ends with two motorbikes speeding off into the distance, presumably competing for the woman’s affection, although the plot thread becomes secondary to a climactic dance sequence. As storm clouds gather, a1 – now dressed in black – perform while rain hammers down on them and forked lightning hits the ground. There’s no subtlety whatsoever; everything is rightly amped up to create a torrid spectacle and succeeds in landing the desired impact. So much so, that it’s probably one of the most memorable images associated with a1.
Same Old Brand New You earned the group their second consecutive #1, although it did so on low sales of 60,500 copies (there are only three other weeks during the year when a single sold less than that to top the chart). Furthermore, a total of 149,000 copies made it the 102nd biggest-seller of 2000 and one of the lowest-selling #1 hits of the year, above only U2’s Beautiful Day (148,000) and Manic Street Preachers’ Masses Against The Classes (142,000). All that aside, it’s never been the case that Same Old Brand New You didn’t deserve to reach #1. Indeed, if any song a1 released up until this point deserved the accolade, it’s this one as a reflection of the group’s ability to adapt to what was happening around them in the charts, and it’s a talent they’d demonstrate again.
A fortnight after Same Old Brand New You, a1 released their second album, ambitiously titled The A List. And yet, they had every reason to feel optimistic: two consecutive #1 hits more than qualified them to be considered a major UK pop act. It debuted at #14 – an improvement over the #20 peak of Here We Come – and despite only spending nine weeks in the top 75, most were during the busy festive period. The A List consequently sold 175,000 copies (the 78th biggest-selling album of 2000), which marked an improvement on their debut. While Same Old Brand New You is ultimately where a1’s run of #1 singles ended, it was followed by several further hits and a Brit Award for Breakthrough British Act (beating nominees including Craig David and Coldplay) in 2001.
It’s somewhat inevitable that with 42 songs reaching #1 in 2000 – a record that still stands to date – some will be better remembered than others. Same Old Brand New You certainly hasn’t been forgotten, but neither is it regarded as a defining hit of the year. Yet, the track generally seems to be invariably well-liked and respected, to such an extent that modest sales do a bit of a disservice. In hindsight, this probably should have been even bigger than it was at the time.
