Hunter Hayes (album)

Hunter Hayes
Studio album by Hunter Hayes
Released October 11, 2011 (2011-10-11)
Recorded Nashville, Tennessee at Castle Recording Studios, The Grip, The Good Noise Room, Dark Horse Recording, Blackbird Studios
Genre Country
Length 44:46
Label Atlantic
Producer
Hunter Hayes chronology
Hunter Hayes
(2011)		 Storyline
(2014)
Singles from Hunter Hayes
  1. "Storm Warning"
    Released: May 16, 2011
  2. "Wanted"
    Released: March 5, 2012
  3. "Somebody's Heartbreak"
    Released: October 22, 2012
Hunter Hayes (Encore)
Singles from Hunter Hayes (Encore)
  1. "I Want Crazy"
    Released: April 7, 2013
  2. "Everybody's Got Somebody but Me"
    Released: September 3, 2013

Hunter Hayes is the debut major-label studio album by American country artist Hunter Hayes. It was released on October 11, 2011, via Atlantic Records.[1] Hayes wrote or co-wrote every track on the album and plays every instrument and sings every vocal track[2] with the exception of the Encore tracks.

At the 55th Grammy Awards, Hunter Hayes was nominated for Best Country Album and "Wanted" was nominated for Best Country Solo Performance while Hayes was nominated for Best New Artist.[3] The album was certified Platinum by the (RIAA) on August 8, 2013.

Background

Hunter Hayes moved to Nashville in 2009, and Rascal Flatts recorded a song he co-wrote, "Play," on their 2010 album Nothing Like This. The producer on the Rascal Flatts album, Dann Huff, then teamed up with Hayes to produce Hayes' first major-label album after he signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records.[4] For the album, he intended to do it his own way, "playing everything on the album, having fun and experimenting."[5] He wrote or co-wrote every songs in the album, and played every instrument, and co-produced the project with Dann Huff.[6]

The first singles released from the album was "Storm Warning" which he co-wrote with Gordie Sampson and busbee. The single was a moderate hit, but his next single Wanted became a considerable success, hitting No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

A deluxe edition of the album, titled Encore, was released in June 2013 with five new tracks, including the singles "I Want Crazy" and a duet version of "Everybody's Got Somebody but Me" that he re-recorded with Jason Mraz. Hayes said that really wanted "I Want Crazy" to be on a record and that it was a new direction for him musically.[7] "Light Me Up", a track from the Encore edition, was re-recorded for Hayes' 2015 UK-only compilation, I Want Crazy, and was released as that record's second single in March 2015.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[9]
Roughstock[10]
Taste of Country[11]

The album is generally well received by the critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic thought that Hayes, "while happy with the middle of the road", "also has crisp, bright, relentless melodies designed to win over any audience.[9] Billy Dukes of Taste of Country was impressed that Hayes wrote, produced and played every instrument on his debut album, but thought that the "lack of participants leaves a tonal homogeneity." He also felt the songs "feel at times plastic," but "what Hayes lacks in "wow" he makes up for with a consistency most artists hope to achieve by album three." Matt Bjorke of Roughstock was enthusiastic and considered it a "fantastic debut album," and that it "really only feels like the beginning of a superstar career for an artist who is able to rise above looking like the next matinee idol on the cover of this record."[10]

Commercial performance

The album peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 and No. 7 on the Country Albums chart, with 18,000 copies sold in the United States during its initial week.[12] With the success of the song "Wanted", sales of the album also increased. In June 2013, on its 71st week, it jumped to No, 7 on the Billboard 200 with the release of the deluxe version of the album, Encore, selling 40,000 copies for the week.[13] The album was certified platinum by the (RIAA) on August 8, 2013, and as of February 2014, the album including the Encore edition has sold 1,105,000 copies in the US.[14]

The album produced 5 singles, 3 of them were consecutive No. 1s on the country charts. A total of over 8 million singles were sold from the album.[15]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Storm Warning"  
 3:59
2. "Wanted"  
 3:49
3. "If You Told Me To"  
 3:26
4. "Love Makes Me"  
 3:20
5. "Faith to Fall Back On"  
  • Hayes
  • Barry Dean
 3:08
6. "Somebody's Heartbreak"  
 3:49
7. "Rainy Season"  
  • Hayes
  • Elam
  • Baker
 5:08
8. "Cry with You"  
  • Hayes
  • Dean
 3:48
9. "Everybody's Got Somebody but Me"  
 2:40
10. "What You Gonna Do"  Hayes 4:48
11. "More Than I Should"  
 3:15
12. "All You Ever"  
  • Hayes
  • Sam Ellis
 3:36
Total length:
 44:46
Japanese bonus tracks[16]
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
13. "Storm Warning" (Live)
  • Hayes
  • Sampson
  • busbee
 5:28
14. "Wanted" (Live)
  • Hayes
  • Verges
 4:06
15. "Somebody's Heartbreak" (Live)
  • Hayes
  • Dorff
  • Laird
 5:34
Total length:
 59:54

Encore edition

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Storm Warning"  
  • Hayes
  • Sampson
  • busbee
 3:59
2. "Wanted"  
  • Hayes
  • Verges
 3:49
3. "If You Told Me To"  
  • Hayes
  • Rose
 3:26
4. "Love Makes Me"  
  • Hayes
  • Elam
  • Baker
 3:20
5. "Faith to Fall Back On"  
  • Hayes
  • Dean
 3:08
6. "Somebody's Heartbreak"  
  • Hayes
  • Dorff
  • Laird
 3:49
7. "Rainy Season"  
  • Hayes
  • Elam
  • Baker
 5:08
8. "Cry with You"  
  • Hayes
  • Dean
 3:48
9. "Everybody's Got Somebody but Me" (featuring Jason Mraz)
  • Hayes
  • Brainard
  • Zuffineti
 2:39
10. "What You Gonna Do" (with Ashley Monroe)Hayes 5:38
11. "More Than I Should" (Re-recorded)
  • Hayes
  • Rutherford
  • Stover
 3:22
12. "All You Ever"  
  • Hayes
  • Ellis
 3:36
13. "In a Song"  
  • Hayes
  • Ellis
 4:18
14. "I Want Crazy"  
 3:56
15. "A Thing About You"  
  • Hayes
  • Elam
  • Baker
 3:18
16. "Better Than This"  
 3:32
17. "Light Me Up"  
 4:04
Total length:
 64:55
iTunes bonus videos[17]
No. Title Length
18. "The Making of Encore"   9:32
19. "Behind the Scenes of "What You Gonna Do" (with Ashley Monroe) 4:30
20. "I Want Crazy" (Music video) 4:43

Personnel

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2011–2013) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart 12
UK Country Artist Albums Chart[18] 6
US Billboard Top Country Albums 1
US Billboard 200[19] 7

Year-end charts

Chart (2012) Position
US Billboard Top Country Albums[20] 22
US Billboard 200[21] 107
Chart (2013) Position
US Billboard Top Country Albums[22] 6
US Billboard 200[23] 27
Chart (2014) Position
US Billboard Top Country Albums[24] 48
US Billboard 200[25] 154

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[26] Gold 40,000
United States (RIAA)[27] Platinum 1,138,000[14]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country US Country Airplay US US
Pop		 US
Adult		 US
AC		 CAN Country
[28]		 CAN
2011 "Storm Warning" 14 — 78 — — — — —
2012 "Wanted" 1 1 16 23 12 13 — 27
"Somebody's Heartbreak" 7 1 54 — — — 5 66
2013 "I Want Crazy" 2 2 19 — — — 1 14
"Everybody's Got Somebody but Me" (featuring Jason Mraz) 18 15 77 — — — 33 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Preceded by
Here's to the Good Times by Florida Georgia Line		 Top Country Albums number-one album
July 6, 2013 		Succeeded by
Here's to the Good Times by Florida Georgia Line

References

  1. ↑ Wyland, Sarah (August 27, 2011). "Hunter Hayes to Release Debut Album October 11". Great American Country. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  2. ↑ Mahan, Kelly (September 13, 2011). "Hunter Hayes Is 'Most Wanted' on Headlining Tour". The Boot. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  3. ↑ http://www.grammy.com/nominees
  4. ↑ "Hunter Hayes". 890 cJDC.
  5. ↑ "An Evening with Hunter Hayes". Troubadour.
  6. ↑ Donna Hughes (April 22, 2011). "Hunter Hayes is the ‘Next Big Thing!’". The Boot.
  7. ↑ Gary Graff, Detroit (November 5, 2013). "Hunter Hayes Talks New Music: 'I Didn't Sit and Write Another 'Wanted". Billboard.
  8. ↑ "Light Me Up (UK Version) - Single by Hunter Hayes". iTunes Store (GB). Apple Inc. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  9. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Hunter Hayes review". Allmusic. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  10. 1 2 Matt Bjorke (April 16, 2012). "Album Review: Christmas With Scotty McCreery". Roughstock. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  11. ↑ Billy Dukes (October 11, 2011). "Hunter Hayes, ‘Hunter Hayes’ – Album Review". Taste of Country.
  12. ↑ Matt Bjorke (October 19, 2011). "Chart News For October 19, 2011: Scotty & Lauren Make Country History!". Roughstock.
  13. ↑ Paul Grein (June 26, 2013). "Week Ending June 23, 2013. Albums: Yeezus!". Yahoo Chart Watch.
  14. 1 2 Bjorke, Matt (February 26, 2014). "Country Album Chart News: The Week of February 26, 2014: Cole Swindell's Big Debut, Eric Church Still #1; Info on Scotty, Hunter, Carrie & Taylor's Latest Albums". Roughstock. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  15. ↑ Ben Foster (December 20, 2013). "Hunter Hayes By The Numbers: The Star Wraps Eventful 2013". Roughstock.
  16. ↑ "Hunter Hayes / Warner Music Japan". Warner Music Japan. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  17. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Hunter Hayes (Encore)". iTunes Store. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Top 40 Country Artist Albums Archive 2nd March 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Billboard 200 chart for June 26, 2013". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Country Albums". Billboard.
  21. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard.
  22. ↑ "Country Albums". Billboard.
  23. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard.
  24. ↑ "Country Albums". Billboard.
  25. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard.
  26. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Hunter Hayes – Hunter Hayes". Music Canada.
  27. ↑ "American album certifications – Hunter Hayes – Hunter Hayes". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  28. ↑ "Hunter Hayes Album & Song Chart History – Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
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