Life for Rent is the second studio album by the British singer-songwriter Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid 2002.^[1] It was certified 7× Platinum by the BPI;^[2] and sold over 12 millions copies worldwide, making it the fourth best selling album worldwide of 2003. The album became the seventh best-selling album of the 2000s on UK, making Dido the only singer to have two albums in the Top 10 list.

Composition[link]

Life for Rent's first track and lead single "White Flag" begins with a lone synth-chord reminiscent of Sinéad O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U".^[3] In the song, the protagonist is unwilling to give up, even if they know it’s over.^[4] It features "multi-layered" sound, delicate piano outro, and strings.^[4] In battle, a white flag signals surrender. By stating there will be "No white flag," she indicates she will not give up on the relationship. The second track "Stoned" has a dance vibe, bringing to mind David Bowie circa Outside (1995).^[5] The title track, "Life for Rent", has emotional gravity and graceful melody.^[3] The song opens with an acoustic guitar, keeping the guitar in and giving the tune a hip-hop beat. "Nothing I have is truly mine" she repeats at the conclusion.^[5] "Mary's in India" is a song about infidelity-Dido displays her sisterly devotion to a friend by shagging her boyfriend while she's off travelling-as a result, instead of pondering the story and the issues it raises, it makes you find your mind wandering.^[6] The fifth track "See You When You're 40" is a somber and melodic ballad with a touch of symphonic air, featuring "quasi" trip-hop beat.^[5] 'And I've seen, tonight, what I'd been warned about / I'm gonna leave, tonight, before I change my mind,' she sings.^[5]

The sixth track "Don't Leave Home" sounds like she's picking herself up again although she speaks of shutting the blinds and closing the door.^[5] but she revealed that it's about drug addiction. But the "narrator" of the song is the drug. Like a controlling lover, the drug takes over the user's life until he doesn't even want to leave home. "Who Makes You Feel" is a trip-pop, soulful and tender track.^[5] "Sand in My Shoes" talks about not having time, while the bridge get a bit dance-house.^[5] "Do You Have a Little Time" features lush strings and hip-hop back-beats.^[3] "This Land of Mine" is a reflective piece that according to PopMatters, "could have Travis or Coldplay recording it with big grins on their faces. Simplistic and sparse, the song sounds just a bit like Olivia Newton-John in the early seventies, according to them.^[5] "See the Sun" sees Dido swoops in as savior for a broken heart, classified as a "mini-anthem that has all the right items in their proper places."^[3][5]

Singles[link]

"White Flag", was released as the lead single from the album. The song was well-received by critics who reviewed the album. It became a major worldwide hit, reaching number one in Australia and Europe.^[7] It peaked at number two in the United Kingdom, being held off the top spot by The Black Eyed Peas' "Where Is the Love?", and became her highest-charting single to date there.^[8] At year-end UK charts, the song peaked at number 12.^[9] It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became her second Top 20 on the chart.^[10] It reached number two on the U.S Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks, and stayed on the chart for 66 weeks.^[10] The song references a past relationship with Bob Page. In an interview with British newspaper The Sun, Dido said "the song is an apology to Page for breaking his heart. 'It was a big decision not to get married...'".^[11] The video featured the TV actor David Boreanaz. The song ranked on Blender's list "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" at number 317.^[12] "Life for Rent" was released as the second single from the album. It peaked within the top ten in the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart.^[13][14][15] The music video featured Dido singing in several rooms, and was directed by Sophie Muller.^[16]

"Don't Leave Home", was released as the third single, and was a track written by Dido and her brother. The main theme of the song is the use of drugs, where the drugs "sing" to the consumer: "When I've been here for just one day / You'll already miss me if I go away / So close the blinds and shut the door / You won't need other friends anymore".^[17] The song debuted and peaked at number 25 in the UK.^[18] The track "Stoned" was remixed and issued as the B-side to the single, but soon became a club hit and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Songs.^[19] "Sand in My Shoes" was released as the fourth and last single from the album. It became an American club hit reaching number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.^[19] It debuted and peaked at number 29 in the UK.^[20]

Critical response[link]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[21]
BBC	(mixed) [22]
Blender	[23]
Robert Christgau	[24]
entertainment.ie	[25]
Entertainment Weekly	(B) [26]
The Guardian	[6]
PopMatters	(positive) [5]
Rolling Stone	[27]
Slant Magazine	[3]

According to review aggregator Metacritic, the album has received generally positive reviews, scoring 69 out of 100 points based on 12 reviews.^[28] Jason MacNeil, from PopMatters, gave a very positive review, finishing with: "this record seems to outweigh the previous album in terms of quality and depth".^[5] Alexis Petridis wrote "It would be nice to report that Dido's second album is strong enough to reveal her detractors as snobs, who hate the notion that her music appeals to 'ordinary' people ... Sadly, it proves a little more complicated than that".^[6] MSN Music critic Robert Christgau gave a "Choice-cut symbol", which represents "a good song on an album that isn't worth your time or money",^[29] selecting "Mary's in India" as the only "good song" on the album.^[24] Barry Walters, of Rolling Stone, declared "Like No Angel ... isn't groundbreaking, but it has its own kind of integrity.^[27] "Life for Rent doesn't offer anything that drastically different from Dido's debut album [No Angel], ... she's unassuming and gentle, but her songs are so melodic and atmospheric they easily work their way into the subconscious" was the review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, from Allmusic.^[21] Andrew Lynch, from entertainment.ie noted: "Life For Rent is no masterpiece, but it has the same kind of sweet, unassuming, girl-next-door charm that made its predecessor such a smash hit".^[25] Derryck Strachan, BBC Music reviewer wrote " ... she treads a fine line between credibility and popularity ... But, she hasn't put a foot wrong with this album. On the positive side that means more well-crafted folk-pop tunes, on the negative side she hasn't moved forward", also said "Although Dido played a significant part in older brother Rollo's band, ... Faithless, it would be misleading to say that the groups success brought her fame".^[22]

Commercial success[link]

Life for Rent is the fastest selling album by a female artist, passing five million sales mark in just two weeks. It sold 102,500 on the first day, and 400,351 in the first week.^[30] According to the IFPI, it was the fourth best selling album worldwide of 2003.^[31] Also, according to the BPI, Life for Rent was the best selling album of 2003 in United Kingdom;^[9] and the seventh best selling album between 2000 and 2009 in the country.^[32] The album spent ten weeks at the top of the UK albums chart.^[33] It remained on the chart for 54 weeks.^[34][35] Also, spent 18 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the European Top 100 Albums chart.^[36] In the United States, Life for Rent debuted and peaked at number four. By October 2003, the album had sold over a million and half copies.^[36] In Australia the album debuted at number one on the ARIA albums chart, was one of the biggest selling albums of 2003 and went on to be certified six times platinum for sales of over 420,000.^[37] With this, Dido matched the huge success of her previous effort, No Angel. Dido's "Life for Rent Tour" was taken around the world in 2004.^[36] The album was nominated for "Best British Album" at the 2004 BRIT Awards along with Daniel Bedingfield's Gotta Get Thru This, Blur's Think Tank and The Coral's Magic and Medicine, but they were all beaten by The Darkness's Permission to Land. "White Flag" was awarded the 2004 Ivor Novello Award in the category "International Hit of the Year". Also, in same year, Life for Rent earned Dido's first Grammy nomination, at the 46th Grammy Awards, in the category "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for the song "White Flag".

Track listing[link]

Album credits[link]

Personnel[link]

• Dido Armstrong - vocals
• Pauline Taylor - background vocals
• Rusty Anderson - guitar
• Dave Randall - guitar
• Rick Nowels - guitar, keyboards
• Adam Zimmon - acoustic guitar
• Paul Herman - acoustic guitar
• Aubrey Nunn - bass
• Sister Bliss - keyboards, piano
• Mark Bates - harmonium, keyboards, percussion
• Carlos Paucar - percussion
• Mako Sakamoto - drums
• Andy Treacy - drums

Production[link]

• Producers - D. Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, R. Nowels
• Programmers - D. Armstrong, Sister Bliss, DJ Pnut, Steve Sidelynk

Charts and certification[link]

See also[link]

• List of number-one albums from the 2000s (UK)
• Live at Brixton Academy (Dido album)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dido official website
• Life For Rent at Dido.com

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2009)

Harald Schmidt
Harald Schmidt
Born	(1957-08-18) August 18, 1957 (age 54) Neu-Ulm, West Germany
Occupation	talk show host, comedian and television producer
Website
Sat.1 Official Site

Harald Franz Schmidt (born August 18, 1957 in Neu-Ulm, Bavaria) is a German actor, writer, comedian and television entertainer best known as host of two popular German late-night shows.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

As son of refugees who fled from South Moravia (now Czech Republic) in 1945, Schmidt spent his youth in Swabian Nürtingen, where he went to grammar school. Due to his strict Catholic upbringing he devoted time to the Roman Catholic church, serving as choirmaster and playing the organ.

At the age of 21, Schmidt went to Stuttgart to attend drama school for three years. After that, he gained on-stage experience at Städtische Bühne (Municipal Stage) in Augsburg. His first role was that of the 2nd Mamaluke in Lessing's Nathan the Wise. In 1984, Harald Schmidt became a text writer for the cabaret Kom(m)ödchen in Düsseldorf and in 1986, was honoured as "Best Newcomer cabaret artist" and toured through Germany with his own show.

Television[link]

Before long, TV noticed the talented young comedian and in 1988 Schmidt began to host his first TV show, MAZ ab. This was followed by shows like Psst! and Schmidteinander, but the biggest boost to his career occurred in 1992, when he started hosting the popular Saturday night show, Verstehen Sie Spaß? (a variation of Candid Camera). Schmidt was awarded Germany's most important TV award, "Adolf-Grimme-Preis", which would be followed by many others. Just one year later, he was honoured as the "Entertainer of the year" and awarded the famous Bambi award and the Golden Camera.

In 1995, Schmidt changed from the publicly funded TV station ARD to the privately owned channel Sat.1 and started the late night talk and variety show, Die Harald Schmidt Show. From 30 June 2003 the show was broadcast five days a week, including Monday evening. On the 8th December 2003, Schmidt suddenly announced the end of the show, following a change of management of Sat.1. The last show was aired on the 23rd December 2003.

Harald Schmidt and Manuel Andrack live in Karlsruhe

"Creative break" and show relaunch[link]

In 2004, Schmidt toured through Germany with a live comedy show, featuring his former late night show sidekick Manuel Andrack. On December 23 of the same year, the new show Harald Schmidt began featuring Andrack, back on ARD, where Schmidt had begun his television career 16 years earlier.

In October 2005, his daughter Amelie was born.

Harald Schmidt resides in Cologne with his partner Ellen Hantsch, a school teacher, and five children, the eldest being from a former relationship. Little is known about the children and their two mothers as Schmidt shields them from the public. In interviews he hardly talks about them.

Shows[link]

[edit] Harald Schmidt Show (Sat.1)

Schmidt is host of the German late night show comparable to Late Night with Conan O'Brien or Late Night with David Letterman, which has now begun a second run after a year-long "creative break". The original show, named Die Harald Schmidt Show and shown on German television network Sat.1, featured stand-up comedy as well as famous national and international guests.

In its later years, the show became a critics' favourite due to Schmidt's "intellectual" sense of humour. For example, he hosted one show completely in French. On another occasion, the screen was blacked for half of the show making it into a "radio broadcast". Another time, he disproved a critic who had written that it is impossible to spend several minutes on TV just cracking nuts.

[edit] Harald Schmidt (ARD)

Schmidt began a second run with a new show on publicly funded ARD, this time without "celebrity" interviews and with even more discussion of current events in a rather freely associative manner. As the German entertainer Thomas Gottschalk recently quipped, Schmidt will always attract the student and intellectual crowd, Gottschalk himself will take care of the rest.

On his first show after the break Schmidt appeared with long hair and a fluffy full beard (which looked kind of grey-white-blond-yellowish and reminiscent of Ernest Hemingway and made it to the newspaper headlines the next morning) making fun of his long absence from the public. Although he claimed right on: "I swear, I shaved this morning!". After summer break in 2005 the "celebrity guest" segment was reintroduced.

[edit] Schmidt & Pocher (ARD)

Late in 2007, Manuel Andrack was replaced by Comedian Oliver Pocher, who had a more active part than his predecessor, and some other elements changed as well. The broadcast's title was changed to "Schmidt & Pocher", trying to attract a younger audience. Oliver Pocher was less educated and "less intellectual", a fact that caused some criticism among Harald Schmidt's core audience and broadsheet newspaper comments in Germany.

[edit] Harald Schmidt (Das Erste)

As of 2011, Schmidt hosts a live show for Das Erste each week.

[edit] Return to Sat. 1 as Harald Schmidt Show again

On September 15, 2011 Schmidt returned to his former network Sat.1 picking up is former show name of Die Harald Schmidt Show again. Sat.1 cancelled the show after one season due to low viewer levels.^[1]

[edit] Harald Schmidt Show (Sky Deutschland)

Starting September 11, 2012 new episodes will be shown on Sky Hits HD and Sky Atlantic HD, two channels of the German Pay-TV network Sky Deutschland.^[2]

Concept/crew[link]

The self-proclaimed hypochondriac became popular for his cynical jokes, cruel remarks and wry intellectual wit. (Even though he is obsessed with health he was able to lampoon this weak spot in a self ironic TV commercial for a medicine curing colds.) Schmidt models himself after people like Johnny Carson and Conan O'Brien, but adds few factors and qualities to his show himself.

He engaged in long, seemingly boring conversations with his "supervising producer" Manuel Andrack (known as "chief dramatic adviser"), who sat at a desk next to Schmidt's, and, like Letterman, also included his staff in the show, for instance, his band leader Helmut Zerlett and his cue card girl Suzana Novinscak (both omitted in the new show). After a few new shows, Schmidt celebrated the return of French woman Nathalie Licard. Previously Schmidt's reporter in the old show, she sat on a stool, opposite Manuel Andrack, in front of the band. On occasion, she was involved in the goings-on (like dressing up as Eliza Doolittle in front of the audience, helping Schmidt to bring people from the audience who were chosen to form an impromptu choir etc.). It has been announced on the 28th of March 2012 that the "Harald Schmidt Show" will end on the 3rd of May 2012 on SAT1.

Criticism[link]

Especially during the first years of Die Harald Schmidt Show, Schmidt was sometimes criticised for making fun of minorities like foreigners or gays. He also did some Adolf Hitler imitations in his show (in one of these he as Hitler warned young people not to vote for racist and nationalistic parties). However, especially Schmidts more unorthodox and politically incorrect jokes have garnered the show a reputation as cult television and his supporters accused critics of being incapable of understanding satire.

Awards[link]

Awards include three German Television Awards, the viewers choice award Bambi, the Grimme Award, the Golden Camera and the Golden Lion as best showmaster.

Related meme[link]

A picture of Schmidt, with a beard and long hair, holding up his index finger, is the basis of an Internet meme known as "fgsfds."

References[link]

External links[link]

• Die Harald Schmidt Show (old site)
• Harald Schmidt at the Internet Movie Database
• Schmidt's new Show (SAT.1)