^ "Canadian album certifications – Tracy Chapman – New Beginning".^ "Danish album certifications – Tracy Chapman – New Beginning".^ "Austrian album certifications – Tracy Chapman – New Beginning" (in German).Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1997".^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1996".Australian Recording Industry Association. ^ "Tracy Chapman Chart History ( Billboard 200)".^ "Charts.nz – Tracy Chapman – New Beginning".^ " – Tracy Chapman – New Beginning" (in German).^ "Austriancharts.at – Tracy Chapman – New Beginning" (in German).^ "The ongoing debate about women playing didgeridoo: how a musical icon can become an instrument of remembering and forgetting" (PDF).^ "Ask Billboard: Mariah Carey, Tracy Chapman, Jeff Bates".^ Brackett, Nathan Hoard, Christian David (May 20, 2004).^ Ruhlmann, William (November 14, 1995).Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. * Sales figures based on certification alone. Assistant engineers: John Ewing, Jr., Kevin Scott, Doug Trantow.Andy Stoller – bass guitar, background vocals, tamboura.Glenys Rogers – percussion, background vocals.Eric Rigler – tin whistle, Uilleann pipes.Adam Levy – electric guitar, background vocals.Rock Deadrick – percussion, drums, background vocals.Tracy Chapman – organ, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead vocals, background vocals.The album also featured an extensive use of backup singers, which was very rare in Chapman's earlier works. Chapman was taught to play at the Didgeridoo University in Alice Springs however, the use of a didgeridoo by women is taboo in many aboriginal nations.
The use of a didgeridoo in the "New Beginning" track was a source of controversy. According to Billboard Magazine, the "New Beginning" single was the first disc to have a sticker printed on the back of the packaging detailing system requirements to play the multi-media footage. It was later included on her 2000 album Telling Stories. The song "Unsung Psalm" was originally written and recorded for this album, but was cut. Chapman earned the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for the track, and it was also nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1997. One notable exception is the hit " Give Me One Reason", which is a blues piece.
The album's sound consists of Chapman's trademark acoustic folk-rock sound and is mainly made up of slow low-key tunes and a few upbeat tracks. According to Nielsen Soundscan, it is her biggest-selling recording since 1991, with 3.8 million copies sold, and according to the RIAA, it has shipped five million copies in the United States. New Beginning is the fourth album by singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released in 1995 (see 1995 in music).