The New Classic

The New Classic
Studio album by
Released21 April 2014 (2014-04-21)
Recorded2012–2013
Genre
Length42:03
Label
Producer
Iggy Azalea chronology
TrapGold
(2012)
The New Classic
(2014)
Reclassified
(2014)
Iggy Azalea album chronology
The New Classic
(2014)
In My Defense
(2019)
Singles from The New Classic
  1. "Work"
    Released: 17 March 2013
  2. "Bounce"
    Released: 27 May 2013
  3. "Change Your Life"
    Released: 12 September 2013
  4. "Fancy"
    Released: 17 February 2014
  5. "Black Widow"
    Released: 8 July 2014

The New Classic is the debut studio album by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. It was released on 21 April 2014 by Def Jam Recordings in a joint venture with Grand Hustle Records. Primarily a hip hop album, The New Classic features elements of EDM, dance-pop and trap in its production.[1]

The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 52,000 copies in the United States. The New Classic was the highest-charting female rap album since Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012) and the highest chart entry for a female rapper's debut album since Minaj's Pink Friday (2010) entered at number two. The album also moved up to number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums, making Azalea the first non-American female rapper to reach the summit of these charts.

The album produced five singles. "Work", "Bounce", and "Change Your Life" were released as the first three singles all of which attained commercial success on charts worldwide. The fourth single "Fancy" featuring British singer-songwriter Charli XCX was an international success, reaching the top five in Australia and the United Kingdom, and peaking at number one in New Zealand, the United States and Canada. The fifth single, "Black Widow" featuring British singer Rita Ora peaked at number 4 in the United Kingdom. It became Azalea's highest-charting single as a lead artist on that chart, and also peaked at number 3 in the United States, while receiving mixed reviews from music critics.

The New Classic won the Breakthrough Artist Release at the 2014's ARIA Music Awards and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album at the 2014 American Music Awards.[citation needed] The album also garnered Azalea four Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Fancy" and Best Rap Album at the 57th Grammy Awards. The New Classic was later reissued in a repackaged version, titled Reclassified. To promote the album, Azalea embarked on her first headlining concert tour, entitled The New Classic Tour.[2]

In August 2014, the album was certified Gold in Canada and in November 2014, it was also certified gold in Australia (Azalea's home country). In April 2016, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album was named the second most-streamed album of the year overall in the US, third in the UK and globally on commercial music streaming service Spotify in 2014. On 2 February 2015, it received a Platinum award from Universal Music Colombia. The New Classic also received a Platinum award from Universal Music Brazil, along with its repack Reclassified, on 8 November 2015.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference theguardian1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Ortiz, Edwin (24 February 2014). "Iggy Azalea Announces The New Classic Tour & Dates". Complex. Retrieved 10 August 2023.