Reality Killed the Video Star is the eighth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, released in November 2009.

[citation needed] Reality Killed the Video Star was viewed by critics and fans as being Williams' "comeback album" after the relative failure of his 2006 release, Rudebox.

In that period, he worked with many producers, including Guy Chambers, Soul Mekanik, Mark Ronson,[citation needed] and Trevor Horn.

[15] However, the British singer confirmed in August 2009 on his official website that the entire album was produced by Trevor Horn, and added that it was recorded in London.

[5] Rumours of a new studio album co-written with Chambers had surfaced in early 2007, along with known commitments required by Williams to complete his EMI contract.

The singer's spokesman, Tim Clark, said that the artist was planning to begin recording sessions in March and that the new album would be released in late 2009.

[15] The album was originally planned to be named Il Protagonista (Italian for The Protagonist) until Williams' management told him to change the title as it was "too pretentious".

[22] The track, "Morning Sun", was co-written by James Bond lyricist Don Black who wrote Michael Jackson's 1972 song "Ben".

"[24] The British singer-songwriter unveiled the album at an industry playback in London, where EMI UK and Ireland president Andria Vidler hosted the event.

He felt that the album highlights are the "lush ballads 'Morning Sun' and 'You Know Me', the intricate wordplay of 'Blasphemy' and the 1980s sound of 'Last Days of Disco'", while also noting that "a confident-sounding Williams also experiments with some light psychedelia on 'Deceptacon' and electronic dance music on the anthemic 'Starstruck' and 'Difficult for Weirdos'.

Rogers said that on the track "Starstruck" "Goldfrapp's Felt Mountain, The Ipcress File soundtrack and the shadow of Broadcast fall over the first ten seconds of this song about our obsession with celebrity".

[30] Williams performed some material from Reality Killed the Video Star on the BBC Electric Proms at The Roundhouse in London on 20 October 2009.

[38] On the release day of the album in the UK, 9 November 2009, Williams appeared on Loose Women for a special edition of the show as the only guest.

[39] A special intimate live show at The Metro Theatre took place in Sydney on 25 November 2009, where Williams performed material from the new album and some of his hits.

[57][58] Jude Rogers from The Quietus said that the song features a vocal "that shows what his voice really can do" and that "Even a middle-eight that nods towards the trippy oompah of 'I Am the Walrus' can't change a mood that is both grand but melancholy, epic but reflective.

Club gave the album a C rating stating that: "Neurotically examining his personality quirks through decidedly unoriginal, un-quirky pop songs, Williams apparently wants to express his individuality with classic-rock reference points and frustratingly nonsensical novelty tracks.

He said that it offers "string-drenched ballads, slick George Michael-style electronic dance-pop, Elvis Costello-esque clever wordplay and the slightly cheesy, supremely catchy MOR pop he made his name with."

Sutherland said that "The end result may not be enough to convince America it's missing out, but expect this album to bring the already-converted back onboard in droves.

Karger felt that although the album "contains fewer knockout potential hits than past efforts", it does feature "the two strongest soul-flecked tracks of Williams' career" in "You Know Me" and "Won't Do That", and that the singer "simply sounds fantastic with a horn section".

Hogwood concluded that Williams' "new found maturity suits his voice on one hand, but given his musical past it makes him a far safer proposition than he used to be.

Powers felt that the songs "showcase the nasally soulful Williams as an irresistibly smart, cosmopolitan manchild of the overly wired world."

She said that the production on the album is "gorgeous" and that "Williams benefits greatly from the gifts of the producer's longtime team, including the arranger Anne Dudley.

He said that the album includes "cowbell-enhanced rave-up, a bit of Lady Gaga–ish electro-pop, and one track named after Transformers" and went on to call the record "a charm offensive with stars and stripes".

[69] Slant Magazine music critic Jonathan Keefe gave the album a mixed review, rating it two and a half stars (out of five) and talked about Williams' lack of success in the United States, calling him "one of the U.S. pop market's biggest missed opportunities".

Keefe felt that the album featured the sort of "heavy balladry and slick adult-pop" that made Williams' earlier records unappealing to American audiences and suggested that by "downplaying [his] formerly irrepressible charm", Reality Killed the Video Star does not do enough to reintroduce the singer to the US pop market.

She said that "Reality Killed the Video Star is littered with references to his fall from grace, most of which hinge on the premise that someone or something else is truly responsible for his diminishing popularity."

[11] Reality Killed the Video Star's sales week was the highest for a number-two album since James Blunt's Back to Bedlam sold 273,183 copies to claim the runners-up spot behind Eminem's Curtain Call: The Hits in December 2005.