Life for Rent

Life for Rent is the second studio album by English singer Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003.

[6][7] Life for Rent's first track and lead single "White Flag" begins with a lone synth-chord reminiscent of Sinéad O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U".

[10] "Mary's in India" is a reflective song about a friend who moves abroad, as the title suggests, and the void her departure creates in those she leaves behind.

[10] The fifth track "See You When You're 40" is a somber and melodic ballad with a touch of symphonic air, featuring a "quasi" trip hop beat.

[10] The sixth track "Don't Leave Home" sounds like Dido is picking herself up again although she speaks of shutting the blinds and closing the door,[10] but she revealed that it is about drug addiction.

[8] "This Land Is Mine" is a reflective piece that according to PopMatters, "could have Travis or Coldplay recording it with big grins on their faces.

[13] It peaked at number two in the United Kingdom, being held off the top spot by the Black Eyed Peas' "Where Is the Love?

[16] It reached number two on the US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks listing and stayed on the chart for 66 weeks.

[27] "Sand in My Shoes" was released as the fourth and final single from the album; in the US, it was serviced to radio on 23 August 2004, while in the UK, it was issued commercially on 13 September 2004.

[31] Jason MacNeil, from PopMatters, gave a very positive review, finishing with: "this record seems to outweigh the previous album in terms of quality and depth".

[10] Alexis Petridis wrote "It would be nice to report that Dido's second album is strong enough to reveal her detractors as snobs, who hate the notion that her music appeals to 'ordinary' people ...

[40] "Life for Rent doesn't offer anything that drastically different from Dido's debut album [No Angel], ... she's unassuming and gentle, but her songs are so melodic and atmospheric they easily work their way into the subconscious" was the review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, from Allmusic.

[32] Andrew Lynch, from Entertainment.ie noted: "Life For Rent is no masterpiece, but it has the same kind of sweet, unassuming, girl-next-door charm that made its predecessor such a smash hit".

[41] Derryck Strachan, BBC Music reviewer wrote " ... she treads a fine line between credibility and popularity ...

[1] Mark Beaumont, writing for NME in 2016, included it on his list of eight of the all-time best-selling albums in the UK have no redeeming features whatsoever, dubbing it "just 54 minutes of mimsy maritime mithering crying out for Adele to come along and bellow Dido clean out of the charts forever.

"[42] Life for Rent was the fastest selling album by a woman recording artist, passing five million sales mark in just two weeks.