Editing Robbie Williams (section)

===2002–2005: ''Escapology'' and ''Intensive Care''===
{{Main|Escapology (album)|Greatest Hits (Robbie Williams album)|Intensive Care (album)}}
In 2002, Williams signed a record-breaking £80&nbsp;million contract with EMI.<ref>{{cite news |title=Robbie signs '£80m' deal |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2291605.stm|work=BBC News |date=2 October 2002}}</ref> The contract included a number of provisos, including the label ceding greater creative control to the artist and a commitment to breaking Williams into the US market. It remains the [[List of largest music deals|biggest music deal in British history]]. The deal was brokered by [[Ingenious Media]], a UK corporate finance advisory business. Williams began working on what would be his fifth studio album, spending a year in the recording studio. The album heralded a new era for Williams. He had taken a more active role in the making of this album. "One Fine Day", "Nan's Song", and "[[Come Undone (Robbie Williams song)|Come Undone]]" were the first songs that Williams wrote without the input of Guy Chambers. Most of the songs were recorded in Los Angeles.

{{Quote box|width=27%|align=right|quote="For the first time in my life, I'm speechless."|source=—Williams addresses the crowd during his three record-breaking [[Concerts at Knebworth House|concerts at Knebworth]] playing to 375,000 people, the biggest event in UK music history.<ref name="Knebworth">{{cite news |title=Fans go wild for Robbie |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3116113.stm |work=BBC |date=17 June 2018}}</ref>}}
The album's first single, "[[Feel (Robbie Williams song)|Feel]]", written by Williams and Chambers, was recorded as a demo. When they started working on the album and were trying to re-record the vocals, Williams felt dissatisfied with it, so he decided to include the demo version and then release it as the first single. When the single was released in late 2002, it became Williams' biggest international hit, going number one in The Netherlands and Italy and reaching the top ten in many European countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Robbie Williams – Feel (Single) |url=http://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Robbie+Williams&titel=Feel&cat=s |publisher=GfK Dutch Charts |access-date=17 December 2015 }}</ref> When Williams' fifth studio album, ''[[Escapology (album)|Escapology]]'', was released in late 2002, it hit number one in at least 10 countries around the world. In the United States, it failed to make such an impact. ''Escapology'' sold almost 2&nbsp;million copies by the end of 2003 in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=30860 |title=Platinum Awards Content |date=30 September 2007 |access-date=24 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618162807/http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=30860 |archive-date=18 June 2008 }}</ref> On 1–3 August 2003, Williams played three consecutive [[Concerts at Knebworth House|concerts at Knebworth]] to 125,000 people each night, making it the biggest event in UK music history.<ref name="Knebworth"/> Memorable performances included "Come Undone" where he interjected with "Britain, I'm Your Son", and further interacted with the audience when he brought a girl up on stage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Beardsworth |first=Luke |date=2014-07-04 |title=Are you ready for Robbie? Seven great Robbie Williams live videos |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/seven-great-robbie-williams-live-7372033 |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=[[Birmingham Mail]] |language=en}}</ref> In October 2003, Williams released a live album of the concerts, ''[[Live at Knebworth]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Live at Knebworth |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-knebworth-mw0000711670 |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

In October 2004, Williams released ''[[Greatest Hits (Robbie Williams album)|Greatest Hits]]'', a retrospective of his career, which also contained new tracks he had been working on with then-new collaborator [[Stephen Duffy]]. "[[Radio (Robbie Williams song)|Radio]]", the compilation's first single, debuted at number one in the [[UK Singles Chart]],<ref name="UK Top 40 Database" /> becoming Williams' sixth number-one hit. When the compilation was released, it debuted at number one in the UK<ref name="UK Top 40 Database" /> and was the best selling album of the year in the UK<ref name="The Times" /> and Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_news/plat2006.html |title=IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2006 |publisher=IFPI |year=2006 |access-date=12 November 2008 |archive-date=7 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507023626/http://ifpi.org/content/section_news/plat2006.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Eight years after the release of "Angels", the British public voted it as the "Best Single of the Past Twenty-Five Years" at the [[2005 Brit Awards]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/news/brits2005/wdyt_2.shtml |title=Brits25: Did your favourites get awards? |publisher=BBC |date=9 February 2005}}</ref>

After touring Latin America in late 2004 for the promotion ''Greatest Hits'', Williams started working on his sixth studio album. Recorded at his house in the [[Hollywood Hills]], the album was co-written by [[Stephen Duffy]] over the course of 24 months. The album ''[[Intensive Care (album)|Intensive Care]]'' was launched in Berlin on 9 October. It became an international hit. In November 2005, Williams took home the [[MTV Europe Music Award]] for 'Best Male', but also, entered in ''[[The Guinness Book of World Records]]'' when he announced his World Tour for 2006, selling [[List of fastest-selling concert tours|1.6&nbsp;million tickets in one single day]].<ref name="sp-13394">{{cite news|url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/Robbie-Williams-Enters-The-Guinness-Book-of-World-Records-13394.shtml |title=Robbie Williams Enters The Guinness Book of World Records |date=26 November 2005 |publisher=Softpedia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006151507/http://news.softpedia.com/news/Robbie-Williams-Enters-The-Guinness-Book-of-World-Records-13394.shtml |archive-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref> Williams kicked off his ''[[Close Encounters Tour|Close Encounters World Tour]]'' in South Africa in April 2006; when he finished his European leg of the tour, 2.5&nbsp;million people had seen the show and, after touring Latin America and Australia, the numbers went up to 3&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Time |url=http://www.emimusic.com.mx/portal/hgxpp001.aspx?{{formatnum:224135}},O,S,0,PAG;CONC;26;2;D;372970;1;PAG;, |title=EMI Music Mexico |publisher=Emimusic.com.mx |access-date=23 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019102950/http://www.emimusic.com.mx/portal/hgxpp001.aspx?%7B%7Bformatnum%3A224135%7D%7D%2CO%2CS%2C0%2CPAG%3BCONC%3B26%3B2%3BD%3B372970%3B1%3BPAG%3B%2C |archive-date=19 October 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>