Make It Big

This article is about the album by Wham!. For the song sung by The Beach Boys, see Make It Big (song). For the film, see Make It Big (film).
Make It Big
Studio album by Wham!
Released 23 October 1984
Recorded 1984, in the south of France
Genre Post-disco, blue-eyed soul, pop, New wave
Length 38:02
Label Epic
Columbia (US & Canada)
Producer George Michael
Wham! chronology
Fantastic
(1983)		 Make It Big
(1984)		 Music from the Edge of Heaven
(1986)
Alternative cover
Album cover in North America
Singles from Make It Big
  1. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
    Released: May 1984
  2. "Careless Whisper"
    Released: July 1984
  3. "Freedom"
    Released: August 1984
  4. "Everything She Wants"
    Released: December 1984
  5. "Heartbeat"
    Released: 1985
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauB[2]
Rolling Stone[3]

Make It Big is the second studio album from British pop duo Wham!, released in 1984. In comparison to their earlier work, the duo had more control over the album's production, as George Michael became the sole credited producer, a position he would subsequently hold on all future releases until the group split in 1986. The album was a critical and commercial success, hitting No. 1 in both the UK and the US and spawning four singles, all topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Outside the US "Careless Whisper" was credited as a George Michael solo effort upon its release as a single, while "Everything She Wants" was released as a double A-side with "Last Christmas" which would later appear on the following album Music from the Edge of Heaven.

It was certified 6× Platinum in the US within weeks of the album's tenth anniversary.[4]

Critical reception

Make it Big received positive reviews. Christopher Connelly from Rolling Stone wrote, "George Michael's music is an unabashed rehash of Motown", adding "Make It Big almost flawless pop record, a record that does exactly what it wants to and has a great deal of fun doing it.".[3] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic writes, "They succeeded on a grander scale than they ever could have imagined, conquering the world and elsewhere with this effervescent set of giddy new wave pop-soul, thereby making George Michael a superstar and consigning Andrew Ridgeley to the confines of Trivial Pursuit."[1]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by George Michael, except where indicated

Side one
  1. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" – 3:50
  2. "Everything She Wants" – 5:01
  3. "Heartbeat" – 4:42
  4. "Like a Baby" – 4:12
Side two
  1. "Freedom" – 5:05
  2. "If You Were There" (The Isley Brothers) – 3:38
  3. "Credit Card Baby" – 5:08
  4. "Careless Whisper" (Michael, Andrew Ridgeley) – 6:30

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1984–1985) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report[5] 1
Austrian Albums Chart[6] 4
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[7] 1
Dutch Albums Chart[8] 1
European Top 100 Albums[9] 1
French SNEP Albums Chart[10] 5
Italian Albums Chart[11] 1
Japanese Oricon LPs Chart[12] 1
New Zealand Albums Chart[13] 1
Norwegian Albums Chart[14] 1
Swedish Albums Chart[15] 3
Swiss Albums Chart[16] 1
UK Albums Chart[17] 1
US Billboard 200 [18] 1
US Billboard Top R&B Albums[18] 20
West German Albums Chart[19] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (1984) Position
Australian Albums Chart[5] 55
Canadian Albums Chart[20] 44
French Albums Chart[21] 19
UK Albums Chart[22] 4
Chart (1985) Position
Australian Albums Chart[5] 20
Austrian Albums Chart[23] 13
Canadian Albums Chart[24] 8
Italian Albums Chart[11] 9
Japanese Albums Chart[25] 2
Swiss Albums Chart[26] 14
UK Albums Chart[22] 18
US Billboard 200[27] 4

Decade-end charts

Chart (1980s) Position
Japanese Albums Chart[12] 21
UK Albums Chart[28] 18

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[29] 6× Platinum 600,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[30] Platinum 53,465[30]
France (SNEP)[31] 2× Gold 429,500[32]
Germany (BVMI)[33] Gold 250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[34] Platinum 20,000*
Japan (Oricon Charts) 821,000[12]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[35] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] 4× Platinum 1,200,000^
United States (RIAA)[37] 6× Platinum 6,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  3. 1 2 Rolling Stone review
  4. ↑ RIAA Certification for Make It Big
  5. 1 2 3 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ↑ "austriancharts.at Wham! – Make It Big" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  7. ↑ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2012
  8. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Wham! – Make It Big" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  9. ↑ "Europarade". Hitkrant (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Nationale Hitkrant Productions. 9 (3). 19 January 1985. ISSN 0165-4942.
  10. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 26 February 2012.Note: user must select 'WHAM !' from drop-down
  11. 1 2 "Hit Parade Italia – Gli album più venduti del 1985" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  13. ↑ "charts.org.nz Wham! – Make It Big" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  14. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Wham! – Make It Big" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  15. ↑ "swedishcharts.com Wham! – Make It Big" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  16. ↑ "Wham! – Make It Big – hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  17. ↑ "Wham! > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  18. 1 2 "Allmusic: Make It Big > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  19. ↑ "Album Search: Wham! – Make It Big" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  20. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1984". RPM. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  21. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1984 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  22. 1 2 "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  23. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Jahreshitparade 1985" (ASP) (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  24. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1985". RPM. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  25. ↑ 1985年アルバム年間ヒットチャート "Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1985" Check |url= value (help) (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  26. ↑ "Hitparade.ch – Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1985". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  27. ↑ "Billboard.BIZ – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 1985". billboard.biz. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  28. ↑ "Artist Chart History". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  29. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Wham – Make It Big". Music Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  30. 1 2 "Wham" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  31. ↑ "French album certifications – Wham – Make It Big" (in French). InfoDisc. Select WHAM and click OK
  32. ↑ "Les Albums Double Or". infodisc.fr (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  33. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Wham; 'Make It Big')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  34. ↑ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1985". IFPI Hong Kong.
  35. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  36. ↑ "British album certifications – Wham – Make It Big". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 February 2012. Enter Make It Big in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  37. ↑ "American album certifications – Wham – Make It Big". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 26 February 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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