Dido began writing songs for what would become No Angel around 1994, as she signed multiple ephemeral management deals, as well as her first publishing deal. Suffering from depression and frequent panic attacks, she wrote "Honestly OK" and "Slide". Soon thereafter, she met the entertainment lawyer Bob Page, with whom she would be in a 12-year relationship. A day after meeting him, she wrote "Here with Me", "Thank You", "I'm No Angel", and "Take My Hand".[10] In 1995, Dido began collaborating with her brother Rollo Armstrong's electronic dance music band Faithless, recording backing vocals for their debut studio album Reverence (1996) and co-writing its track "Flowerstand Man". She simultaneously recorded material for her own album, assembling an 11-track demo collection Odds & Ends, which circulated via Nettwerk Music Group, with whom she had recently signed a management deal. Alongside "Take My Hand", Odds & Ends included "Sweet Eyed Baby", which would later be remixed and retitled "Don't Think of Me", and the tracks "Worthless" and "Me", which would be included as bonus tracks on the Japanese edition of No Angel.[11]
Dido spent 1996 touring with Faithless, recording additional songs while on tour,[11] and signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music that October.[12] She recorded vocals for two tracks on Faithless' second studio album Sunday 8PM (1998), one of which incorporated elements of then-unreleased "My Lover's Gone". Her collaborative work with Faithless attracted attention of Clive Davis, founder and then-president of Arista Records, who instantly offered Dido a record deal with the label after attending their concert in London in 1998.[13] She initially refused, opting to remain signed to Rollo's label Cheeky Records, but eventually accepted the offer after Rollo sold Cheeky to the Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), Arista's parent company, in 1999, as she was finishing recording No Angel.[10][12] Dido recorded over 25 songs for the album, 12 of which made the final track listing, at six locations in London—the Angel Recording Studios, The Church Studios, the Eden Studios, the Olympic Studios, Sarm West, and the Swanyard Studios.[13][14] She wrote all of the album's tracks, and produced all except "Don't Think of Me", which is the sole track produced by Youth. Rollo co-wrote five and produced seven of the album's 12 tracks, while Rick Nowels produced three. Faithless members Jamie Catto and Sister Bliss also contributed to the album, with Catto co-writing and producing "My Lover's Gone", and Sister Bliss producing "Take My Hand" and co-writing and producing the bonus track "Worthless".[14]
On "Thank You", Dido expresses appreciation for her partner, who helps diminish various inconveniences in her life.[15] Christian Ward of NME described the song as reminiscent of The Corrs.[16]
No Angel opens with "Here with Me", a "languid" folktronica track driven by "heart-monitor" synths and "dramatic" strings.[27] The song depicts Dido as a woman dependent on her lover, attempting to imagine her life without him, while on "Hunter", she yearns to descend from the unsolicited pedestal he placed her on.[20][17] String-infused "Don't Think of Me" shows a protagonist angrily scorning her former partner.[28][15] "All You Want" details romantic loss from the perspective of a fixated lover, as evident in the lines: "I'd like to watch you sleep at night / To hear you breathe by my side" and "Now our bed is oh so cold / My hands feel empty, no one to hold / And I can sleep what side I want."[17][27] "Thank You" expresses gratitude towards a partner alleviating different inconveniences.[15] Musically, it is a ballad built on an acoustic guitar, congas, a recorder, and a drum machine.[29] Folktronica and trip hop track "Honestly OK" displays a minimalist vocal arrangement against an electronic dub background, and is among the more introspective songs on the album: "I'm so lonely, I don't even want to be with myself anymore".[17][20] "Slide" and "Isobel" are lyrical encouragements directed towards an anguished and remorseful friend.[15] Syncopated up-tempo title track "I'm No Angel" is followed by the blues-influenced closing track "My Life",[25] built on "cinematic" strings and a Wurlitzer electronic piano.[20] Lyrically, the latter sees Dido regaining control over her situation, concluding the events of the album's lyrics similarly to a romantic comedy climax, according to Natalie Shaw of BBC.[17]
Prior to the completion of No Angel, "Thank You" first appared on the soundtrack for the 1998 film Sliding Doors.[d] As early as the summer of 1998, Arista began distributing samples of the album to journalists, including the five-track The Highbury Fields EP, while some material also appeared on a promotional cassette for the 1998 Lilith Fair.[11][13] Consequently, various retailers faced high demand for the album in the months preceding its release.[13]No Angel was ultimately released on 1 June 1999, with "Here with Me" released as its lead single two weeks earlier. Dido had begun touring clubs across the US, which commenced in Boston on 10 May, and was slated to perform on five dates of the 1999 Lilith Fair in July.[13] "Here with Me" was soon chosen as the opening theme for the American television series Roswell (1999–2002),[27] and reached number 16 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100, the Billboard Hot 100's extension chart.[31] "Don't Think of Me" was released as a promotional single on 7 February 2000,[32] before "Thank You" was released as the second single on 18 September,[33] as Dido continued touring the US throughout the year, also serving as an opening act for Sting.[34] She further promoted No Angel with televised performances on shows such as Live with Regis,[35]The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live,[36] and The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.[37]
As Rollo's negotiations regarding the 1999 sale of Cheeky Records to BMG postponed all Cheeky releases for over a year,[12]No Angel was not released outside the US until 16 October 2000, when it was released in Dido's native UK.[38] It was progressively released worldwide within the following six months.[39][40][41] The album's release in Europe and Oceania coincided with the release of Eminem's international number-one hit single "Stan", a song which incorporates a sample of the opening verse of "Thank You", and was widely credited with propelling Dido to global prominence and accelerating the sales of No Angel.[e] In the UK, the album was reissued as an enhanced CD on 29 January 2001,[44] while "Here with Me" was released as the lead single on 12 February 2001,[45] peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart,[46] and within the top 10 in 12 additional countries.[47] Prior to the single's relaunch, Dido filmed a second accompanying music video for the song.[25] Dido began touring the UK for the first time in February,[10] followed by shows across Europe throughout the spring, before returning to North America to perform at larger venues throughout the summer.[12] "Thank You" was internationally released on 21 May 2001,[48] peaking at number three on both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100.[46][49] "Hunter" was released as the third and final single from No Angel on 18 June,[50] attaining less commercial success than its predecessors by peaking at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart and failing to enter the US Billboard Hot 100.[46]
Dido also promoted No Angel with televised performances in the UK, such as those of "Here with Me" and "Thank You" on Later... with Jools Holland,[51][52] and separate performances of "Here with Me", "Thank You", and "Hunter" on Top of the Pops in February,[53] June,[54] and September 2001,[55] respectively. In Australia, she performed "Here with Me" at the 2001 ARIA Music Awards on 30 October.[56] Earlier that month, a double-disc special edition of the album was released in Japan and Australia,[57][58] while a double-disc limited edition, including the previously unreleased "Christmas Day", was released in the UK on 19 November.[59] "All You Want" was also released as a limited 3-inch mini single exclusively in the UK on 10 December.[60] Although she refused to perform at the Brit Awards 2001, where she was slated to perform "Stan" with Eminem,[12] she performed "Here with Me" at the following ceremony on 20 February 2002.[61] In November 2008, No Angel was digitally reissued to include "Worthless" and a Deep Dish-produced remix of "Thank You" as bonus tracks.[4] In commemoration of its 25th anniversary, the album is set to be made available on vinyl worldwide for the first time, alongside additional merchandise, in September 2025.[62][f]
No Angel received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. American journalists, such as those of Elle, Los Angeles Times, and Time, as well as Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine, welcomed Dido and her "sparkling", "stylish" and "accomplished" debut.[26][20][36] Meanwhile, British journalist Christian Ward of NME opined that Dido failed to match the strength of Eminem's "Stan", which helped introduce her to her native UK market after she had already become prominent in the US.[16] Jeff Burger from AllMusic and Beth Johnson of Entertainment Weekly both directed predominant praise towards the sonic quality of No Angel, which Burger described as "atmospheric, seductive, and beautifully produced and sequenced".[22][28]Fridae's Ikram Khasim further called the album "an amalgamation of pop, soul, folk, and trip-hop (thanks to her brother Rollo from the band Faithless) rolled into a pleasing package",[19] while a critic from Interview concluded that it "feels just about perfect".[36] Conversely, Chris Nettleton of Drowned in Sound dismissed the record's sound as commercialised and overproduced, concluding that the album lacks a coherent theme.[42] He nonetheless complimented Dido's vocal performance, as did John Aizlewood of The Guardian. Both Nettleton and Aizlewood commended the album's Faithless-influenced aspects, with Nettleton highlighting "My Lover's Gone" for exhibiting a musical style reminiscent of the band, and Aizlewood accentuating a "template of aggressive lushness" shared between the artists.[42][23] Burger was, however, ambivalent towards the album's lyricism, which he labelled less adventurous than that of Sinéad O'Connor, to whom Dido received frequent critical comparisons.[22] Ward further criticized the lyricism as "tedious", and Dido's artistry as "music for people who buy one CD a year".[16]
Regardless of the critical polarity, Q listed No Angel as one of the best 50 albums of 2001.[65] At the Brit Awards 2002, the album won Best British Album;[66] it would go on to be nominated for British Album of 30 Years at the Brit Awards 2010, but would ultimately lose to (What's the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis.[67][68] Internationally, the album won the 2002 NRJ Music Award for International Album of the Year,[69] in addition to being nominated for the 2001 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Album.[70] In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Ernesto Lechner reflected on No Angel sounding "surprisingly mature for a debut album", concluding that although Dido's "mellow approach and pretty melodies are a bit too laid-back to qualify as groundbreaking", it would be "cynical to altogether dismiss the chanteuse's sincere intentions and gorgeous voice".[21] In a retrospective review for BBC, journalist Natalie Shaw remarked: "While there's little variation in No Angel's material, its songs do their jobs diligently. But that's exactly the problem – it's all so constructed."[17] Writing for The Independent upon the album's 25th anniversary, journalist Adam White declared it "neither as bland as conventional wisdom suggests it is, nor quite interesting enough to be a secret classic".[27]
No Angel was universally a sleeper hit. In the US, it debuted at number 50 on the Top Heatseekers chart dated July 24, 1999, after which it fluctuated for a year before reaching the summit on August 5, 2000.[34] On the Billboard 200, the album debuted at number 144 on the issue dated June 3, 2000,[71] and began rapidly ascending the chart in subsequent months, which was attributed to extensive touring, adult contemporary radio exposure, and Eminem's "Stan".[34] In November, No Angel was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying shipments of one million units in the country,[72] and entered the top 40 of the Billboard 200.[73] In January 2001, the album leaped towards the top 10 on the Billboard 200 at number nine,[71] reaching its peak position of number four in its 40th week, on the chart dated 3 March 2001.[74] On the year-end Billboard 200 for 2001, it was positioned at number 17,[75] having been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA that July.[72] According to Nielsen Soundscan, No Angel had sold over 4.2 million units in the US by November 2008,[76] and has spent a total of 69 weeks on the Billboard 200.[77] In Canada, the album debuted at number 18 on the Canadian Albums Chart dated 6 January 2001,[78] peaking at number four in its tenth week.[79]
For sales of 400,000 copies in the country, it was certified quadruple platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) in September 2003.[80]
Following the success of "Stan" in Australia and the UK, where it hit number one, No Angel was finally distributed in other markets outside North America in late 2000. The album made its debut on the UK Albums Chart in October of the same year at number fifty,[81] and entered the top ten for the first time on its 14th week by climbing 11–5.[82] By early February 2001, No Angel finally reached the top of the chart and remained there for six consecutive weeks.[83][84] In early October, it returned to number-one for a seventh and final week at the top.[85] Notably, the album re-entered the top ten on its 126th week on the chart at the end of the busy Christmas shopping period of 2003 due to the massive success of her second studio album Life for Rent.[86]No Angel became the top-selling album of 2001 and the 27th highest-selling of 2002.[87][88] Moreover, it has been recognised as the 26th best-selling album of all time in the country, with sales that exceed 3,088,700 copies,[89] resulting in a tenfold platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry.[90] Meanwhile, in neighbouring Ireland, the album was listed as the second highest-selling of 2001 by the Irish Recorded Music Association, behind Swing When You're Winning by Robbie Williams.[91]No Angel also experienced success in Germany, selling 750,000 units, which resulted in a triple gold certification by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie.[92]
Furthermore, No Angel entered the Australian albums chart at number twenty-one and quickly rose to the top on its sixth week, dethroning The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem.[93] It remained there for eight consecutive weeks.[94]No Angel finished 2001 as the second highest-selling album of the year, behind the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack,[95] and was also amongst the forty best-selling records of the following year.[96] The album received a sextuple platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association, denoting shipments of over 420,000 units in the country.[97] In New Zealand, No Angel topped the albums chart for nine non-consecutive weeks and spent fifty-nine weeks inside the top forty.[98] By the spring of 2002, the album had sold 75,000 copies and was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand.[99] In 2001 the album was the number 1 best-selling album, selling 8.6 million copies worldwide.[100]
^International special and Japanese editions cover features the background in silver rather than black and red.[1][2][3] Digital reissue cover features Dido's image inside her name tinged pink, against a grey background.[4] UK limited edition cover also features a grey background, but omits Dido's image from her name.[5] 2025 vinyl reissue cover features photographic films, displaying imagery from the liner notes of No Angel tinged red, behind Dido's name.[6]
^The 45 King first heard "Thank You" while watching the film, and subsequently produced a tape incorporating a sample from the song. He sent the tape to Interscope Records, through which it reached Eminem, who reinterpreted the lyrics of "Thank You" as written from the perspective of an obsessed fan,[30] rather than an enamoured woman.[15]
^attributed to Khasim,[19] Sheryl Garratt of The Guardian,[12] Chris Nettleton of Drowned in Sound,[42] and staff of ABC News[43]
^ abPrior to the 2025 vinyl release, No Angel was made available on vinyl through a limited-edition pressing for National Album Day, exclusively in Ireland and the UK, on 15 October 2021.[198][199]