Begin to Hope

Begin to Hope is the fourth album by Russian-born American singer-songwriter Regina Spektor.^[12] It was released June 13, 2006. The album debuted at number 70 on the Billboard 200, but due to the popularity of the single "Fidelity", it peaked at number 20^[13] and was labeled a "pace setter" by Billboard. Rolling Stone named it the 21st-best album of 2006.^[14] The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA for shipments to U.S. retailers of 1,000,000 units.^[15]

Begin to Hope
Studio album by Regina Spektor
Released	June 13, 2006
Recorded	Summer 2005
Studio	SeeSquaredStudio and New York Noise Studios, NYC
Genre	Anti-folk indie pop chamber pop
Length	47:15
Label	Sire 9362-44112-2
Producer	David Kahne, Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor chronology
Mary Ann Meets the Gravediggers and Other Short Stories (2006) Begin to Hope (2006) Far (2009)
Singles from Begin to Hope
"On the Radio" Released: May 30, 2006 "Fidelity" Released: September 25, 2006 "Better" Released: July 2007 "Summer in the City" Released: December 2007

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	A−[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[4]
The Guardian	[5]
Mojo	[6]
NME	8/10[7]
Pitchfork	7.5/10[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	[10]
Uncut	[11]

The album was nominated for the 2006 Shortlist Music Prize.^[16]

Peter Gabriel recorded a cover of "Après Moi" on his orchestral album Scratch My Back, released in 2010.

Track listing

All songs written by Regina Spektor.

1. "Fidelity" – 3:47
2. "Better" – 3:22
3. "Samson" – 3:10
4. "On the Radio" – 3:22
5. "Field Below" – 5:18
6. "Hotel Song" – 3:29
7. "Après Moi" – 5:08
8. "20 Years of Snow" – 3:31
9. "That Time" – 2:39
10. "Edit" – 4:53
11. "Lady" – 4:45
12. "Summer in the City" – 3:50

Deluxe Edition bonus disc

1. "Another Town" – 4:07
2. "Uh-Merica" – 3:16
3. "Baobabs" – 2:02
4. "Düsseldorf" – 3:09
5. "Music Box" – 2:11

iTunes Store/Amazon MP3 bonus tracks

1. "Hero" – 3:44
2. "Bartender" – 3:12

Vinyl edition disc 2, side A

1. "Another Town" – 4:10
2. "Uh-Merica" – 3:19
3. "Baobabs" – 2:04
4. "Düsseldorf" – 3:12
5. "Music Box" – 2:07

Vinyl edition disc 2, side B

1. "Better" (Piano and Voice) – 3:09
2. "Better" (Radio Recut) – 3:12
3. "Hero" – 3:45
4. "Bartender" – 3:12

Vinyl 10th Anniversary edition disc 2, side B Bonus Track

1. "Baby Jesus" – 2:43

Personnel

• Regina Spektor – piano, vocals, guitar, percussion
• Nick Valensi – guitar on "Better"
• David Kahne – bass on "Better"
• Zhao Gang – erhu on "Field Below"
• Ralph U. Williams – saxophone on "Lady"
• Shawn Pelton – drums on "Fidelity", "Better", "On the Radio", "Hotel Song", "Après Moi" & "That Time"
• Rachel Beth Egenhoefer – album design
• David Kahne – mainstream pop producer^[17]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2006–07) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 29 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 72 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 40 Irish Albums (IRMA)[21] 18 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22] 10 Scottish Albums (OCC)[23] 63 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 18 UK Albums (OCC)[25] 53 US Billboard 200[13] 20 Chart (2025) Peak position Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[26] 28

Year-end charts Chart (2007) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[27] 100 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28] 58 US Billboard 200[29] 154

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[30]	Gold	35,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[31]	Gold	7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[32]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA)[15]	Platinum	1,000,000‡ / 600,000[33]
Summaries
Worldwide	—	1,000,000[34]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Single success

In 2006, Regina Spektor's first single, "Fidelity", premiered on VH1. Soon after, VH1 included her among "You Oughta Know: Artists on the Rise".^[35]

Spektor performed "Fidelity" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in July 2006 and on ABC's Good Morning America in April 2007.^[36] She also performed "On The Radio" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in November 2006. She performed the song again on Late Show with David Letterman in April 2007, and on the Australian Rove McManus show in 2007.

"Better" was released to US radio in late July 2007.

Even though it was not released as a single, "Hotel Song" has reached No. 11 in the Irish music download charts and No. 16 in the Irish Top 50 Singles Chart as of May 2007.

"Samson" is a new recording of a song originally released on 2002's Songs. Gwen Stefani used the song for her Season 9 battle between Korin Bukowski and Chase Kerby on The Voice.

"Après Moi" was covered by Peter Gabriel on his 2010 album Scratch My Back.

In popular culture

• The song, "Better" appeared in the fourth season of the CBS TV show, How I Met Your Mother, in an episode titled "Happily Ever After." A piano version of the song appeared prominently throughout the series finale of The Good Wife in 2016.
• "Hotel Song" is featured in mobile phone company Vodafone's TV commercial in Ireland, contributing to the song's popularity in the country. The song was also featured in the 2011 Jennifer Westfeldt film Friends with Kids.
• "Music Box" is featured on a JCPenney commercial.
• "Samson" was featured on CSI: NY in the second-season episode "All Access".
• "Field Below" was on an episode of Criminal Minds.
• "That Time" was featured in the 2008 Martin McDonagh film In Bruges starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.
• "Hero" was featured in the film (500) Days of Summer, along with "Us" from Spektor's previous album, Soviet Kitsch.
• "Fidelity" is one of the songs featured in "Elephant Love Medley," a number in Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

Sales

• In New Zealand, the album was certified Gold for sales of more than 7,500.
• In Australia, the album was certified Gold for sales of more than 35,000.
• In the United States, the album was certified Gold for shipments of over 500,000 copies.^[37] Its sales have since surpassed 600,000 according to Nielsen/Soundscan.