Make It Big is the second studio album by English pop duo Wham!, released in 1984. In comparison to their earlier work, Wham! (George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley) had more control over the album's production and Michael would also be credited as a producer.
The album was a commercial success, hitting number one in both the US and the UK and spawning four singles, all reaching the top three in the US and the UK. Make It Big was certified 4× platinum in the US during the time of its release, and has since been certified 6× platinum in the US.
The music video for single "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" had the duo in shirts that read 'Choose Life'. It would be the first of several hits from the album. The second single from the album, "Careless Whisper", when released was credited to either Wham! featuring George Michael (in North America and several other countries) or solely to George Michael (in the United Kingdom and some European countries) as it became apparent that at some point, Michael would embark on a solo career. The music video for third single "Freedom" featured the duo while performing a concert in China; incidentally Wham! would become the first Western popular music act to tour China. The fourth single "Everything She Wants" was released as a double A-side with the eventual classic "Last Christmas"; "Last Christmas" would later appear on the duo's Music from the Edge of Heaven (1986), an album released only in North America and Japan.
Background and production
Make It Big was mostly written and recorded at Studio Miraval in Southern France over a course of six weeks, This allowed George Michael to escape press attention and work peacefully. According to Andrew Ridgeley, the decision to record in the south of France was made largely due to tax reasons, as well as it being the ideal place for them to spend the summer due to the hot weather. Plus, it was one and a half hours away from London, and Michael "had to keep going back to do things for 'Careless Whisper'". However, engineer Chris Porter later revealed that most of the album was mixed at Sarm West's Studio 2 (where "Careless Whisper" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" were recorded), with some mixing already completed at Studio Miraval. Some additional recordings were done at Advision Studios, including parts of "Careless Whisper".
Critical reception
Make It Big, Wham!'s second album, would see the duo score hit singles in the United States. Their first album Fantastic was a hit in the UK but failed to make an impact in the US. Make It Big received some positive reviews. Christopher Connelly from Rolling Stone wrote that the "music is an unabashed rehash of Motown", adding, "Make It Big is an almost flawless pop record, a record that does exactly what it wants to and has a great deal of fun doing it." while Cash Box described its sound as "less tense, more tuneful". In a retrospective review, 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."
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!scope="row"|Austrian Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|Canadian RPM Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|Dutch Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|European Top 100 Albums
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!scope="row"|Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
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!scope="row"|Italian M&D Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|Japanese LPs Charts (Oricon
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!scope="row"|New Zealand Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|Norwegian Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|Swedish Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|Swiss Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|UK Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
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!scope="row"|US Billboard Top R&B Albums
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{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
! scope="col"| Chart (2024)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
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! scope="row"| Greek Albums (IFPI)
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! scope="row"| Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)
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Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+1984 year-end chart performance for Make It Big
!Chart (1984)
!Position
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!scope="row"|Australian Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|Canadian Albums Chart
|44
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!scope="row"|French Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|UK Albums Chart
|4
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{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+1985 year-end chart performance for Make It Big
!Chart (1985)
!Position
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!scope="row"|Australian Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|Canadian Albums Chart
|8
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!scope="row"|Japanese Albums Chart
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!scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
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!scope="row"|Swiss Albums Chart
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!scope="row"|UK Albums Chart
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Decade-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+1980s end chart performance for Make It Big
!Chart (1980s)
!Position
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!scope="row"|Japanese Albums Chart
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Certifications and sales
<!-- Reference is from 2024 after LP re-release. The album already achieved this certification before this release -->