Showbiz is the debut studio album by the English rock band Muse, first released in France on 7 September 1999 through Naïve Records and in the United Kingdom on 4 October 1999 through Taste Media. The album was released in other regions by various different labels.
Recorded at RAK Studios and Sawmills Studio, Showbiz was produced by Muse, John Leckie and Paul Reeve. "Uno", "Cave", "Muscle Museum", "Sunburn" and "Unintended" were released as singles. Showbiz drew mainly positive reviews and reached number 29 on the UK Albums Chart.
| rev2 = No Ripcord
| rev2score = 9/10
| rev3 = NME
| rev3score = 6/10
| rev4 = Pitchfork
| rev4score = 6.7/10
| rev5 = Rolling Stone
| rev5score =
| rev6 = USA Today
| rev6score =
Showbiz drew mainly positive reviews. Several critics drew comparisons to Radiohead. Neva Chonin of Rolling Stone wrote that Showbiz "matches Thom Yorke's penchant for majestic agony – screams and the word self-destruction pepper the title track – but with an edge that's quirkier and decidedly more ragged than their elders".
The sleeve design was criticised by the Muse biographer Ben Myers, who wrote that it was "just plain strange. Ill-advised. Tacky, even ... [it] recalled the sort of artwork that Eighties prog-rock revivalists like Marillion used or, worse still, the doodlings of a sci-fi obsessed A-Level art student" instead of "the work of an exciting, new, distinctly modern band."
Track listing
Personnel
Personnel adapted from Showbiz CD liner notes
| 46
|-
|-
!scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)
|69
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)
| 11
|}
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2001)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)
|179
|}
Certifications
Release history
{|class="wikitable"
!Region
!Date
!Label
!Format
!Catalog
|-
|France
|7 September 1999
|Naïve
|CD
|NV 3211-1
|-
|Germany
|rowspan="4"|20 September 1999
|rowspan="4"|Motor
|rowspan="4"|CD
|rowspan="4"|547 979-4
|-
|Russia
|-
|Turkey
|-
|Ukraine
|-
|United States
|28 September 1999
|Maverick
|CD
|0 9362-47382-2 0
|-
|rowspan="4"|United Kingdom
|rowspan="4"|4 October 1999
|rowspan="4"|Taste/Mushroom
|CD
|MUSH59CD
|-
|LP
|MUSH59LP
|-
|CS
|MUSH59MC
|-
|MD
|MUSH59MD
|-
|Benelux
|4 October 1999
|PIAS
|CD
|481.2001.20
|-
|Japan
|4 October 1999
|Avex Trax
|CD
|AVCM-65057
|}