Bolstered by the global success of lead single "
I'm Outta Love", the album reached the top two and top five of the majority of the countries in Europe and Oceania, including Australia, Germany and the UK (all number two), also topping the charts in New Zealand and Norway. Anastacia embarked on a promotional album tour that visited multiple countries, while three more singles were being released: title track "
Not That Kind", "
Cowboys & Kisses" and "
Made for Lovin' You". The album eventually sold over five million copies worldwide.[6][7]
Background
In 1998, Anastacia was unemployed after being fired from a
Los Angeles beauty salon for "being too loud."[8] Disappointed after years of bad luck in the music industry,[8] she was considering switching to a career in
child psychology,[8] when Lisa Braude, who later became her manager, encouraged her to join the
MTV talent show The Cut (1998), hosted by rapper
Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes.[8] Anastacia made her way to be one of the ten finalists, performing her own composition entitled "
Not That Kind". While the season was won by a male-female rap duo, Anastacia attracted the interest of record labels after appearing on the shows, having impressed singers
Elton John and
Michael Jackson as well as the show's judges
David Foster and
Faith Evans. In March 1999, she signed a contract with
Daylight Records, a custom label of
Sony Music Entertainment's
Epic Records and began work on her debut album.[9]
Promotion
"
I'm Outta Love" was released as the album's lead single on February 29, 2000.[10] It received acclaim from music critics, many of whom praised its production and Anastacia's vocal performance.[11] A commercial success, it became the biggest-selling song of 2000 in both Australia and New Zealand and reached the top ten on most charts in appeared on.[12][13] In the United States, the song peaked at number 92 on the US
Billboard Hot 100 and spent three weeks on the chart only, though it fared better on Billboard's
component charts, reaching number two on the
Hot Dance Club Play chart.[14] The song's music video, directed by
Nigel Dick, was filmed on location at the
Park Plaza Hotel in
Los Angeles.[15]
Title track "Not That Kind," originally performed by Anastacia on the
MTV talent show The Cut in 1998,[16] was released as the album's second single on October 2, 2000.[17] The song received positive reviews from critics, with many praising its
1980sfunk elements.[18] It became a top hit in Italy, Scotland, and Spain and reached the top 20 on several further charts but failed to chart in the US.[19][14] In France, the "Not That Kind" was awarded a silver certification in 2003.[20] Directed by
Marc Webb, the music video for "Not That Kind" was shot in
New York City and opens with Anastacia singing the song in a club.
The
country-flavoured
soft rock tune "
Cowboys & Kisses" was issued as the album third single on January 22, 2001.[21] It earned a mixed reception from music critics,[22] and became a moderate commercial success, peaking at number 17 on the
Scottish Singles Chart, while also reaching the top thirty in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom as well as the top forty in Italy and Switzerland.[23] Anastacia reateamed with Nigel Dick for the music video for "Cowboys & Kisses" which was filmed at the
Camarillo Airport in January 2001 and depicts her as a
cowgirl.[24]
"
Made for Lovin' You" was released as the album's fourth and final single on June 25, 2001.[25] The uptempo track received positive reviews,[22] and reached number five on the
Dutch Top 40 Tipparade.[26] It also peaked at number 27 on both the
Scottish Singles Chart and the
UK Singles Chart.[27] The music video for "Made for Lovin' You" consists of several live performances, particularly a montage with scenes from her appearance at the
Rock am Ring music festival in Germany in 2001.
Tricia Boey from
MTV Asia praised Anastacia for her voice which she described as "a blue-eyed-soul version of
Tina Turner or
Chaka Khan" but felt the material on Not That Kind was "unworthy of it". She called it a "collection of songs that relies on tried and tested pop tactics. But hey, this kind of material is fashionable these days and so this disc may very likely go on to sell billions of records. Too bad they couldn't have matched that stunning voice to more interesting material."[22] Similarly, Russell Baillie from The New Zealand Herald wrote: "While her accompanying multi-producer debut is quite a showcase for the white New Yorker's [...] black, soul-scorch of a voice, it's not anything special in the song department. It doesn't lack for variety, though, managing almost-earthy retro soul-funk, a big rock ballad, too much overblown diva stuff and points in between. No doubt it will prove quite the career-starter, but musically it shows that maybe
Mariah divided by
Macy doesn't necessarily go."[31]
AllMusic editor William Ruhlmann rated the album four out of five stars. He noted that "
Macy Gray demonstrated that a broad audience may respond to an older style if the singer herself is distinguished enough. Anastacia doesn't have the kind of unique timbre that Gray does – in fact, the minute she opens her mouth she starts reminding you of other singers, especially
Aretha Franklin – but she is clearly a big talent, and that should count for something."[18] Chris Lorraine, writing for Blender, found that "Anastacia's understated vocals give even the clichés of "Black Roses" some plain-spoken credibility. Her throaty voice evokes the anonymous disco-inflected divas of the late '70s, particularly on the
Chic-ish "I'm Outta Love." But if Anastacia's alto should prove too conventional for megastardom, her debut suggests there are many more
syllables yet to be sung.[28]
^Promis, Jose F.
"Freak of Nature – Anastacia". AllMusic. Retrieved February 23, 2018. ...continues with the late-'80s bombastic funk/soul/pop revival ushered in by her debut, Not That Kind...
^"Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1339. February 25, 2000. pp. 71, 77.
^Not That Kind (US edition liner notes). Anastacia.
Epic Records. 2001. EPC 497412 2.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)