Prima Donna

Prima Donna is the fifth studio album by Antarctican singer Cadence, which was released on February 12, 2017 by Club Penguin Music Records for digital download, disc and vinyl. After the lukewarm reception to her fourth album 4th Note (2015), Cadence refined her sound, returning to the styles of her most critically-acclaimed album Tempo (2012), blending numerous musical genres together with pop. Originally, Prima Donna was to be released in the final months of 2016, but was delayed. DJ Crow continued as executive producer, aiming to bring back his charm and rectify the so-called mistakes of 4th Note. It features production from Crow himself, who produced 7 of the 10 songs, as well as his usual team of TrillBron and Yusei, plus new producer Thunder Bay, Jarvis Gibson, Skyman, Pilloww and Ray Kodo. The sole guest appearance comes from female Terrain rapper Flurry Lyne.

The album was supported by five singles: the title track "Prima Donna", "Neon Lights", "Diva" featuring Flurry Lyne, "Yes, I'm Changing" and "(Lost In) Paradise", all released throughout 2017 and early 2018. Three of the five singles were number 1 hits in the USA and garnered various chart success elsewhere.

Prima Donna was a critical and commercial success, debuting at number 1 in all the main musical charts. Critics saw the album as a "return to form" for Cadence, while praising the sleek, immaculate, polished production by Crow. It is Cadence's second best-reviewed album after Tempo (2012).

Background
In June 2015, Cadence released her fourth album 4th Note. Cadence returned to a relatively pop sound with elements of numerous genres. DJ Crow returned to executive-produce for Cadence. In general the album was considered to be relatively weak for Cadence's standards, although it did receive credit for containing some of her catchiest material. Many felt that executive producer DJ Crow was losing his touch when producing this one. This was because the artists were taking a much more simplistic and mainstream approach to the record. Cadence promised for her next album to be much more polished.

Cadence planned to put out another album during 2016, however it was delayed until an early 2017 release due to other commitments. Towards the end of 2016 the album was rumoured to be titled Replay, but was renamed to Prima Donna as Cadence went for a savvy, diva-themed persona for the album.

In terms of composition, Cadence and DJ Crow ensured that they returned to the multi-genre style that made Tempo (2012) so successful and likeable. Thus, Cadence took her time recording Prima Donna, beginning a month after the release of 4th Note in July 2015 and finishing up in December 2016. Towards the end of 2016, rumours began circulating that Cadence would be surprise-releasing an album, and would be unveiling the first single as a New Years gift. The lead single release turned out to be true, with the title track "Prima Donna" being releasing on January 1. But, no other details were given about an album coming out soon. However, fans put two and two together and then the release of the second single "Neon Lights" in early February proved the rumours. Cadence announced the album a week before its release, ditching the conventional album campaign of announcing it months before and giving it a massive build-up.

During numerous points of the album, Cadence gets really personal, introducing lyrical themes and compositions that she's never touched upon before. For example, Prima Donna features the joint-interlude "Piano by Cadence", a 1 minute and 32 second interlude that features an emotional piano piece played by Cadence herself. Crow included this as he thought it stood out from the rest of the tracks and it is something that Cadence has never done before.

Critical reception
Critics were won over by Prima Donna. Based on an average of 44 professional reviews, Prima Donna received a score of 82 / 100, which indicates widespread acclaim. Besides a couple mixed reviews, it received no totally negative reviews. Most critics praised Cadence's return to the styles of Tempo, appreciating its short and concise run length and leaving no space for filler tracks. As well as that, it was compared heavily to 4th Note, with many considering that Cadence bounced back brilliantly from the "mediocrity" and "genericness" of her mainstream pop sound.

Commercial performance
Upon release, Prima Donna comfortably entered the main Antarctican charts with no competition. It became Cadence's fifth consecutive number 1 album in the USA, Club Penguin and UnitedTerra. It became Cadence's first number 1 album in Shops Island and was a top 5 album in every other country. In her homeland, Prima Donna sold 563,000 copies in its first week of charting, while selling out as predicted in Club Penguin and selling over 400,000 copies in UnitedTerra. It was yet another commercially successful album for the biggest pop star of Antarctica.

Track listing

 * Notes
 * "Bright Out" features uncredited backing vocals by DJ Crow.