Before the Dinosaurs (album)

Before the Dinosaurs is the second studio album by Danish singer-songwriter Aura Dione. The album was released on 4 November 2011 by Universal Music. It was preceded by the lead single, "Geronimo" on 19 September 2011. Upon its release, the album received mixed reviews from most music critics, who compared the singer to Lady Gaga but felt the album was over-produced.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
B.T.	[2]
Berlingske Tidende	[3]
Ekstra Bladet	[4]
Gaffa	[5]
Jyllands-Posten	[6]
Soundvenue	[7]

Before the Dinosaurs
Studio album by Aura Dione
Released	4 November 2011
Genre	Pop Folktronica Progressive Pop[1]
Label	Island Universal Koolmusic
Producer	Kenneth Bager (also exec.) DamiemDamien Robin Grubert David Jost Devrim Karaoğlu Rock Mafia Benjamin Mühlethaler Jochen Naaf Rick Nowels Joachim Persson Thomas Schulz
Aura Dione chronology
Columbine (2008) Before the Dinosaurs (2011) Can't Steal the Music (2017)
Singles from Before the Dinosaurs
"Geronimo" Released: 19 September 2011 "Friends" Released: 2 March 2012 "In Love with the World" Released: 28 May 2012 "Reconnect" Released: October 2012

Singles

"Geronimo" was released as the album's lead single on 19 September 2011. Lyrically, the song is about staying true to yourself and living out your dreams, and is one of Dione's favourite songs on the album. The song was a number one hit in Austria, Denmark and Germany. In Germany, Dione became the first Danish artist to debut at number one.

"Friends" was released as the second single from the album. It was sent for Danish mainstream radio adds on 23 January 2012.^[8] The song features German production team Rock Mafia who co-wrote the song with Dione and David Jost. "Friends" was written to let Dione's friends know how precious they are to her. It peaked at number six in Denmark, becoming Dione's third top 10 hit following "Geronimo" (2011) and "Something from Nothing" (2007).

"In Love with the World" was released as the album's third single. Co-written by Rick Nowels, "In Love with the World" is about the sacrifices Dione had to make to pursue her career, and "letting go of someone who loves me, because maybe he doesn't love me enough to let me be free". Aura Dione performed the song for the first time in Denmark on late-night talk show Clement Søndag on 22 April 2012. It impacted Danish radio on 28 May 2012.^[9] The song peaked at number five in Denmark.

In October 2012, "Reconnect" was added to Danish radio station DR P3 as the album's fourth single.

Commercial performance

In Denmark, the album debuted at number 18 after three days of sale.^[10] The following week the album rose to number 11. In its thirty-third week on the chart, Before the Dinosaurs peaked at number six.^[11] Before the Dinosaurs debuted and peaked at number 36 in Switzerland on 20 November 2011. In its third and final week on the chart, the album fell to number 83.^[12] In Austria, the album debuted at number thirty on 18 November 2011.^[13] The album has since been certified gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for shipments of 10,000 copies in Austria. On October 19 it was confirmed, that Dione will release a re-release of her album, including a bonus DVD.

Track listing

The 12 tracks on the album are listed below.^[13]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Geronimo" (Jost & Damien Radio Mix)	Aura Dione, David Jost, Joachim Persson, Ian O'Brien-Docker, Thomas Troelsen	David Jost, DamiemDamien, Joachim Persson	3:16
2.	"Reconnect"	Dione, Jost, Robin Grubert	David Jost, Robin Grubert, Jochen Naaf	3:55
3.	"Friends" (featuring Rock Mafia)	Dione, Antonina Armato, Tim James, Jost	Rock Mafia, David Jost	3:42
4.	"In Love with the World"	Dione, Rick Nowels	Rick Nowels, Devrim Karaoğlu	3:27
5.	"What It's Like"	Dione, Jost, Ross Golan, Persson	David Jost, Joachim Persson	3:20
6.	"Into the Wild"	Dione, Nowels	Rick Nowels	3:41
7.	"Masterpiece"	Dione, Devrim Karaoğlu, Nowels	Rick Nowels, Devrim Karaoğlu	3:55
8.	"Where the Wild Roses Grow"	Dione, Benjamin Mühlethaler, Thomas Schulz, Kenneth Bager, Roger Massimo	Benjamin Mühlethaler, Thomas Schulz, Kenneth Bager	3:11
9.	"America"	Dione, Karaoğlu, Nowels	Rick Nowels, Devrim Karaoğlu	3:44
10.	"Recipe"	Dione, Nowels	Rick Nowels, Devrim Karaoğlu	3:42
11.	"Superhuman"	Dione, Nowels	Rick Nowels, Devrim Karaoğlu	3:50
12.	"Before the Dinosaurs"	Dione, Nowels	Rick Nowels	4:09

German iTunes Store special edition additional track^[14]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Deja Voodoo"	Aura Dione	4:48

• The special edition contains twelve commentary tracks where Aura Dione talks about each song on the album.^[14]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2011) Peak position Austrian Albums Chart[13] 30 Danish Albums Chart[11] 6 German Albums Chart[15] 14 Polish Albums Chart[16] 89 Swiss Albums Chart[12] 36

Year-end charts Chart (2011) Position Danish Albums Chart[17] 71 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Austria (IFPI Austria)[18] Gold 10,000* * Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Edition
Germany[19]	4 November 2011	CD, digital download	Island Records, Universal Music, Koolmusic	Standard edition
Switzerland[20]
Austria[21]
Netherlands[22]
Denmark[23]
Poland[24]	31 January 2012		Magic Records, Universal Music
Germany[25]	27 February 2012		Island Records, Universal Music, Koolmusic	Cardboard sleeve edition

References

1. "Untote Style-Klone aus dem ShakiraGaGaRihanna-Labor". Laut. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
2. Høeg, Henning (4 November 2011). "Som en dansk Gaga". B.T. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
3. Christensen, Jeppe Krogsgaard (3 November 2011). "Med en guldfugl i brystet". Berlingske Tidende. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
4. Treo, Thomas (2 November 2011). "Hun har jo ikke noget tøj på". Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
5. Wehding, Signe Bønsvig. "Aura: Before The Dinosaurs - Anmeldelse - GAFFA.dk". Gaffa. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
6. Schollert, Peter (3 November 2011). "Aura Dione: Before The Dinosaurs". Jyllands-Posten. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
7. Wolkoff, Christian (4 November 2011). "Aura – nøgent, men kønsløst". Soundvenue. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
8. Henneberg, Christoffer (17 February 2012). "Aura runder en million streams". Gaffa (in Danish). Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
9. Hegstrup, Casper Bach (30 May 2012). "Ny musik på P3 uge 22" (in Danish). DR P3. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
10. "Album Top-40". Hitlisten (in Danish). IFPI Danmark & Nielsen Music. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
11. "Aura Dione – Before The Dinosaurs". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
12. "Aura Dione – Before The Dinosaurs". Media Control. Archived from the original on 14 February 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
13. "Aura Dione – Before The Dinosaurs" (in German). IFPI Austria. Austriancharts.at. 18 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
14. "ITunes - Musik – "Before the Dinosaurs (Special Version)" von Aura Dione". itunes.apple.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
15. "Aura Dione, Before The Dinosaurs" (in German). Media Control. charts.de. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
16. "Top 100 - lista miesięczna". ZPAV (in Polish). zpav.pl. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
17. "Album-Top 100". Hitlisten. IFPI Danmark & Nielsen Music Control. Archived from the original on 2012-06-09.
18. "Austrian album certifications – Aura Dione – Before the Dinosaurs" (in German). IFPI Austria.
19. "Before the Dinosaurs: Aura Dione: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
20. "Cede.ch - Dione Aura, Before The Dinosaurs". Cede.ch. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
21. "iTunes - Musik - Before The Dinosaurs (Special Version)". iTunes. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
22. "Before The Dinosaurs, Aura Dione | Muziek". bol.com. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
23. "Releaseplan | Universal Music Denmark". Universal Music Denmark. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
24. "magic RECORDS". Amazon.de. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
25. "Before the Dinosaurs Pur Edition". Amazon Germany.