Together (Michael Ball and Alfie Boe album)

Together is a collaborative studio album by English singers Michael Ball and Alfie Boe. It was released on 4 November 2016 through Decca Records. The album peaked at number one the UK Albums Chart, becoming Ball's second UK number one album and Boe's first. Together has been certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of 600,000 copies in the UK.

Together
Studio album by Michael Ball and Alfie Boe
Released	4 November 2016 (2016-11-04)
Recorded	2016
Genre	Traditional pop, musical theatre
Length	57:45
Label	Decca
Producer	Nick Patrick
Michael Ball chronology
If Everyone Was Listening (2014) Together (2016) Together Again (2017)
Alfie Boe chronology
Serenata (2014) Together (2016) Together Again (2017)
Singles from Together
"Somewhere" Released: 14 October 2016^[1]

Background

Michael Ball and Alfie Boe first met in 2007 while both starring in Kismet at the London Coliseum. The pair first performed together in the summer of 2007 at two BBC Proms concerts. Together was recorded in New York City and Prague with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.^[2] Ball has said of the album: "We went into the project thinking we can play to our strengths and feel our way a bit, do the songs we love and find a way of re-presenting them. There are songs we’ve both done as solo artists and I much prefer singing them with Alfie. Something sonically happens when we’re both doing what we do. It’s unexpected and really moves me."^[3]

Commercial performance

Together debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart on 11 November 2016, selling 44,860 copies in its first week.^[4] In its fifth week on the chart, the album moved up to number one on the chart dated 16 December 2016, selling 96,643 copies.^[5] Together is Michael Ball's second UK number one album (the first being his 1992 debut album) and Alfie Boe's first.^[5] Together has become a commercial success, having sold over 40,000 copies for five consecutive weeks, the most for any album in 2016.^[6][5] Alfie Boe and Michael Ball are the oldest duo to top the UK Albums Chart, at 43 and 54 years old, respectively.^[5] As of September 2022, the album had sold 672,143 copies in the UK.^[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Les Miserables Suite" (medley of "Bring Him Home", "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables", and "I Dreamed a Dream")	Alain Boublil Herbert Kretzmer Victor Marie Hugo Claude-Michel Schönberg	6:12
2.	"Somewhere"	Leonard Bernstein Stephen Sondheim	3:15
3.	"Music of the Night"	Charles Hart Richard Stilgoe Andrew Lloyd Webber	4:57
4.	"Anthem"	Björn Ulvaeus Tim Rice Benny Andersson	3:25
5.	"Speak Softly Love"	Larry Kusik Nino Rota	3:59
6.	"Tell Me It's Not True"	Willy Russell	4:30
7.	"Incurably Romantic"	Sammy Cahn Jimmy van Heusen	4:19
8.	"Stairway to Paradise"	Buddy DeSylva Ira Gershwin George Gershwin	3:24
9.	"Wonderful World" / "Over the Rainbow"	George Weiss Bob Thiele Harold Arlen E.Y. Harburg	4:01
10.	"For Once in My Life"	Ron Miller Orlando Murden	3:26
11.	"A Thousand Years"	Christina Perri David Hodges	4:12
12.	"When You Wish upon a Star"	Ned Washington Leigh Harline	3:46
13.	"You'll Never Walk Alone"	Oscar Hammerstein II Richard Rodgers	4:15
14.	"I'll Be Home for Christmas"	Kim Gannon Walter Kent Buck Ram	4:01

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2016–17) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[8] 45 Irish Albums (IRMA)^[9] 36 Scottish Albums (OCC)^[10] 1 UK Albums (OCC)^[11] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2016) Position UK Albums (OCC)^[12] 3 Chart (2017) Position UK Albums (OCC)^[13] 46 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)^[15] 2× Platinum 611,330^[14]

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Various	4 November 2016	Digital download CD streaming	Decca Records

References

1. "Somewhere - Michael Ball". Qobuz. 14 October 2016.
2. "Alfie Boe and Michael Ball join forces for album and premiere video for Together". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group.
3. Woodward, Clair (30 October 2016). "Singers Michael Ball and Alfie Boe on new album Together and touring". Daily Express. Northern & Shell.
4. Jones, Alan (11 November 2016). "Official Charts Analysis:Official Charts Analysis: Robbie Williams scores 12th album chart-topper". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
5. Jones, Alan (16 December 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Ball & Boe hit top spot on albums chart". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
6. Jones, Alan (2 December 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Little Mix hold No.1 spot with Glory Days". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
7. Thraves, Lucy (2 September 2022). "Michael Ball & Alfie Boe announce new album Together In Vegas". Music Week. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
8. "Australiancharts.com – Michael Ball & Alfie Boe – Together". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
9. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Michael Ball". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
10. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
11. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
12. White, Jack (30 December 2016). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Albums of 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
13. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2017". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
14. Paine, Andre (3 November 2017). "Ball & Boe beat Stereophonics by just 35 copies in albums chart battle". Music Week. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
15. "British album certifications – Alfie Boe and Michael Ball – Alfie". British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Alfie in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.