The fourth single " Angel" peaked at number nine, but did reach number three on the Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart, something the other three singles also achieved. The album spawned three top-three hits on the Canadian Singles Chart, including " Building a Mystery", which spent 8 weeks at number one, " Sweet Surrender", which reached number two, and " Adia" which ascended to number three. Critical reviews were mixed some of the more positive reviews praised the songwriting, while the album's detractors criticized it as banal and slow. It was certified as Diamond in sales in Canada and as 8x Platinum in sales in the US. The album reached the top position on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums chart, number two on the US Billboard 200 and became her first album to reach the top 50 outside of North America, achieving that in the UK, Australia and the Netherlands.
Surfacing was released in July 1997, coinciding with the start of McLachlan's Lilith Fair tour. After that she completed the ten songs for the album and went to Marchand's Quebec studio to record. Mentally exhausted, she found it difficult to concentrate on her new album and took six months off in Vancouver. McLachlan set about writing Surfacing in 1996, after two and a half years touring for her previous album, 1993's Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Released in 1997, it was produced by McLachlan's frequent collaborator, Pierre Marchand. Surfacing is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan.