Drastic Fantastic and Tiger Suit (2007–2012)
Tunstall's second studio album, Drastic Fantastic, premiered on 3 September 2007 in Scotland, followed a week later on 10 September 2007 with the London release for Britain and then on 18 September 2007 in the U.S. In its first week Drastic Fantastic reached No. 1 on the Scottish Album Charts, No. 3 on the British Charts, and No. 9 in the American Charts. The album's lead single, "Hold On", was released in the UK in August 2007, debuting at No. 34 before peaking at No. 21. The song was also very successful in certain European nations, peaking at No. 19 in Italy, No. 19 in Norway, No. 26 in Switzerland, and No. 39 in Ireland. The album's second single, "Saving My Face", was released in December 2007. The song did not reach the UK Top 40 Singles Charts but did peak at No. 50, managing three weeks on the UK Charts. Despite missing the UK Top 40, the song made the Top 40 in Italy at No. 23 and in Switzerland peaking at No. 93. The album's third single and final worldwide single, "If Only", was released in March 2008, becoming the second single from the album to miss the UK Top 40; it managed to reach No. 45.
In the United States, "Hold On" was moderately successful, charting at No. 95 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Chart and No. 27 on the U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40. However, it failed to make an impact inside the Billboard Hot 100, placing at No. 104. Drastic Fantastic became one of her best charting albums to date: No. 3 on the UK Album Charts, topping the Scottish Album Charts, and making the top ten on the US Billboard 200 album charts at No. 9. Further single releases from Drastic Fantastic, "Saving My Face" and "If Only", were moderately successful, charting at No. 50 and No. 45 on the UK Singles Charts, respectively.
Tunstall commented that the photograph for the album cover was influenced by the rock star Suzi Quatro. On 5 October 2007, the U.S. discount department store chain Target, in association with NBC, released a special KT Tunstall Christmas EP on CD, Sounds of the Season: The KT Tunstall Holiday Collection. On 10 December 2007, it was released in Europe through Relentless under the title Have Yourself a Very KT Christmas.
In 2008 Tunstall recorded a song for the double album Songs for Survival in support of the indigenous rights organisation Survival International. In a video for Survival International, she speaks of music as being a force for good and of what she learned about tribal people on this project. She also discusses various issues concerning our culture of consumption and greed, our relation to the earth, and the importance of indigenous rights in the world today. Tunstall also worked with Suzanne Vega on Vega's seventh studio album Beauty & Crime (2007), singing backing vocals on the songs "Zephyr and I" and "Frank and Ava". It was revealed in the booklet by Vega that the two never met in person during the process of making the album.
Over the Christmas holidays in 2008, Tunstall joined Neil Finn's 7 Worlds Collide line-up in Auckland, New Zealand, to record a charity studio album for Oxfam. The album was recorded in Finn's New Zealand studio over three weeks and featured all-new material, with singing and songwriting contributions divided amongst the group. Most of the participants from the original 2001 7 Worlds Collide line-up returned, along with several new additions including Jeff Tweedy, Glenn Kotche, John Stirratt and Pat Sansone of Wilco, New Zealand songwriters Don McGlashan and Bic Runga, and Finn's son Elroy Finn. The album, titled The Sun Came Out, was released on 31 August 2009.
On 11 February 2010 the Daily Record reported that Tunstall had recorded her new album in Berlin's Hansa Studios. Located near the former site of the Berlin Wall, the studio is where legendary albums including David Bowie's "Heroes" (1977) and U2's Achtung Baby (1991) were recorded. Tunstall said, "I had an amazing three weeks recording in Hansa in Berlin in January and am finishing it all off in London." Her third studio album, titled Tiger Suit, was released in the United Kingdom on 27 September 2010 and in the United States on 5 October 2010.
Tunstall said that Tiger Suit's title was inspired by a recurring dream she had before discovering that 2010 was the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac. In the dream, she sees a tiger in her garden and goes outside to stroke it. She returns indoors and is seized by the fear that she could have been killed. Over the years, it has occurred to her that the reason the tiger responded so passively is that she herself was disguised as a tiger, wearing a tiger suit. She said that while writing and recording the album, she experimented with a new sound she called "Nature techno", which mixes organic instrumentation with electronic and dance textures, similar in style to the work of Icelandic singer Björk. At a media showcase in London, Tunstall offered an unusual description of the songs from her forthcoming third album: "Like Eddie Cochran working with Leftfield".
The album's first single was "Fade Like a Shadow" in the United States and "(Still a) Weirdo" in the United Kingdom. Tunstall has also been a panelist on the BBC Two comedy music show Never Mind the Buzzcocks, first on series 21 episode 8 (2008), and on series 24 episode 10 (2012).
