Stay Alive is the sixth studio album by Filipina singer Nina, released in the Philippines on November 19, 2011 by Universal Records. After a long recording hiatus, Nina started working on a new album with her new label during the second half of 2010. She described the album's sound as "sexy-soul," and stated that they wanted to show the "other side" [the dancer] of her by means of a dance album. The album covers a wide range of genres, consisting of upbeat house, dance songs, but still possessing Nina's distinctive mellow sound. Aside from keeping a close watch to the production and song arrangement, the singer also contributed to the album art when she designed the packaging together with her brother King. She described the new look as "different, slightly futuristic and edgy."
The album had a star-studded production. In August 2011, it was revealed that American singer-songwriter Keith Martin and Filipino R&B musician Jay R worked together on the upbeat title track "Staying Alive". Jazz singer and Nina's co-Sessionista Richard Poon wrote the acoustic ballad "I Don't Want to Fight", while R&B singer Amber Davis wrote the electropop-dance cuts "Only with You" and "I Came to Dance". Nina also wrote a song for the album together with Martin. The song was entitled "You Should Know". As she made sure to include an inspirational song about "following your dreams," a Jude Gitamondoc-penned power ballad, later revealed to be entitled "Believe in the Dream", was included in the album's final track list.
Stay Alive was a universal acclaim, being well-received by critics and fans alike. The Philippine Star tagged Nina as the "new dance diva," and predicted that the album "may set new trends in Filipino music." Philippine Entertainment Portal praised both the singer and the album, saying that the album is "a testament to Nina's evolution as an artist" and "distinctly Nina." PhilCharts.com commented "quite a risky move, commercial wise, but the product is solid [...] The album shows the potential of Nina to grow more as an artist." Stay Alive is supposed to be the first of her two-album recording deal with Universal. However, in February 2012, Nina revealed that her contract with the label has already expired. She also expressed her disappointment regarding the album's promotion, and how the label took no action for it. The album was later released on digital download through iTunes and Amazon.com MP3 Download with a slightly altered cover.
The album was accompanied by three official singles. "Dance" was initially released in August 2011, but was immediately pulled out of the airwaves after the album's release date was pushed back. On October 6, 2011, the song was commercially released, and was later followed by a critically acclaimed music video. The video for "Dance" features Nina in Gaga-ish costumes, doing choreographed moves at the same time. She performed the song live in Happy Yipee Yehey! and Party Pilipinas, where she also launched the album. On January 30, 2012, "However Much Love" was released as the album's second single to boost up album sales. It also served as a radio-only Valentine single, since no video was recorded for the song. It became a commercial success, becoming Nina's first chart-topper since 2008. "Believe in the Dream" was released in April 2012 as the third official single from the album, accompanied by an official lyric video.
Background and development
Before production for the album began, Nina was in a long recording hiatus. The last album that she recorded, Nina Sings the Hits of Diane Warren, was released in 2008. Her 2009 album Renditions of the Soul is only a collection of her performances on the Wave 89.1 radio show of the same title, and her 2010 album is only a compilation of her greatest hits. On August 7, 2010, she performed on Pilipinas Win na Win as a guest together with Erik Santos. During the show, she revealed that she was working on a new album, and added that it will be released early in 2011 due to heavy preparation. In November 2010 after her Think Pink concert at Cebu City, she openly talked about the album she was working on, and stated that her new sound is going to be "sexy-soul." She also shared ideas on the content of the album, and added that it will hopefully be released in mid-January. Before 2010 ended, her brother King revealed via Pinoy Exchange that Nina was planning to include Sabel'''s theme song "Hagkan" on the album as a bonus track. He also stated that Richard Poon wrote a song for the album entitled "I Don't Want to Fight". However, the album was pushed back to a February release. It was mid-February and there was still no update on the album's release. In an interview for the February 2011 issue of Woman Today magazine, Nina stated that the album's release was, again, pushed back to June 2011 due to the fact that she and her new label wanted the album to be perfect.Woman Today (February 2011), upcoming album's release date On February 22, 2011, she posted on Twitter a photo of her, recording a new song in the studio. On February 28, she posted another photo in the studio with the tweet "getting ready for recording. :)...SO much love<3 [sic]."
In an interview after her arrival from Pattaya International Music Festival in Thailand, Nina mentioned working on her first album under Universal, stating "Expect few pleasant surprises from this new album of mine. We’re working very hard to make this project truly groundbreaking." On April 15, 2011, she wrote a Pattaya Music Fest article on The Philippine Star where she also talked about the album, saying "Late last year, I moved to my new record label Universal Records and I consider it one of the biggest blessings in my career. In a few months, my latest album will be released, and it will showcase a new, yet familiar Nina, which I hope everyone will appreciate." In May, the label's head Kathleen Dy-Go stated that Nina has not yet finished recording the album, which may result the release date to be pushed back to July or August. On May 31, Nina confirmed that "Hagkan" will be included in the album. On July 15, she confirmed that the album will be released by the end of month, and that they were just finishing up three songs. She further stated that her commitment to the album was the reason behind her constant absence in ASAP. On August 5, 2011, Jay R tweeted that he was working on a collaboration song between Nina and Jimmy Muna. On August 16, Nina tweeted her first publicized picture from the album's photo shoot. In September 2011, she confirmed that the album will finally be released by the last week of the month, proudly expressing the time and effort she exerted for it. She also stated that she did not pressure herself during its production, saying that her main goal is to create a different kind of music for her fans and that she does not expect for it to be a huge hit. Despite announcements, the album was not released until November 2011.
Title and cover art Nina was very much involved in the whole process of producing the album that she had to give up several television appearances, which included dropping out of her ASAP group and segment entitled the Sessionistas. She explained "Umalis po ako sa ASAP dahil nagprepare po talaga ako sa album. At nasasabay sa mga out of town and out of the country na shows. [I dropped out of ASAP because I really prepared for the album. And I performed in out of town and out of the country shows.]" She kept a close watch from the album's conceptualization to its songs and arrangement, and even the paper dolls inside the album was her own idea. To be able to do all these things, she had to temporarily disappear in the scene for a while. Production for the album took nearly two years to finish, making people wonder if she had gone out of the music industry for good. In choosing a title for the album, Nina personally decided to call it Stay Alive—coming from the album's second track, "Staying Alive"—to remind the people that she is still very much around, in spite of the hiatus on TV, and the long break from the recording scene. She further explained the origin of the title: "Kasi parang yung iba sinasabi na wala na (ako), pero hindi nila alam na gumagawa lang ako ng album. [Because it's like some people are saying that I'm gone, but they don't know that I'm just recording an album.] So I’m here to say that I’m still here and staying alive." She finds the album "special," considering that she did not only contribute to its contents, but also worked on the album cover and packaging together with her brother King. She described the album's new look as "kakaiba, medyo [different, slightly] futuristic and edgy," and stated "I was really hands-on with it." She also personalized the album with striking images of her in chic and daring outfits, even adding a paper doll version of herself with cute paper clothing cut-outs. The album is presented in a shiny rectangular portrait digipak, containing a booklet, two "Nina Paper Doll" cut-outs and a minus one disc that is encased inside a white record sleeve (available exclusively at Odyssey)—all enclosed in a hard plastic case with white broken line prints, resembling Nina's image in the cover and appearing similar with the Statue of Liberty's superficial details.
Departure from Warner
Nina has been one of the highest-selling acts of Warner Music Philippines since she became part of the label in 2002, with her certified Diamond album Nina Live! (2005). In 2010, she was rumored to have switched to Universal Records. In February 2010, she collaborated with Universal's R&B singer Jay R on the song "Muli" for his album Jay R Sings OPM Love Classics. In May of the same year, she appeared on Kris Aquino's compilation, Blessings of Love, performing Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone" for the album. The album was also released by Universal. On June 30, 2010, she performed the song "Bagong Pilipinas", together with other Universal artists, in the inauguration of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III. It was evident that she has transferred from Warner to Universal, but there was still no confirmation until 2010 ended. On April 15, 2011, she confirmed transferring to Universal, when she wrote an article in The Philippine Star stating "Late last year, I moved to my new record label Universal Records and I consider it one of the biggest blessings in my career." In May 2011, she covered another song for Kris Aquino's album My Heart's Journey. It was "I Want to Know What Love Is", originally recorded by Foreigner. On July 15, 2011, she stated in an interview that she properly asked for permission when she left Warner. She further mentioned how the label took good care of her career, and that their separation ended in good terms. She also described Universal staffs' warm welcome as she transferred, saying "Actually, even though I was new to them, I didn't feel like a newcomer [...] They took care of me during the recording, and also during other shows by Universal."
Composition and critical response