Montevallo (album)

Montevallo
Studio album by Sam Hunt
Released	October 27, 2014
Recorded	2013–14
Genre	Country[1] R&B[1]
Length	38:19
Label	MCA Nashville
Producer	Zach Crowell Shane McAnally
Sam Hunt chronology
X2C (2014) Montevallo (2014)
Singles from Montevallo
"Leave the Night On" Released: June 16, 2014 "Take Your Time" Released: November 24, 2014 "House Party" Released: June 1, 2015[2] "Break Up in a Small Town" Released: September 21, 2015 "Make You Miss Me" Released: March 7, 2016[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Billboard	[5]
Popmatters	[1]

Montevallo is the debut studio album by American country music artist Sam Hunt. It was released on October 27, 2014, via MCA Nashville.^[6][7] Hunt co-wrote all ten tracks on the album.^[8] The album was produced by Zach Crowell and Shane McAnally.^[9] "Cop Car" was previously recorded by Keith Urban on his eighth studio album Fuse, who released it as a single in January 2014.

In 2015, Montevallo was nominated for Best Country Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

Critical reception

Upon release, Montevallo received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, and was heavily drawn attention to Hunt's incorporation of hip hop, R&B, and pop music elements into the project. Elias Leight from Billboard provided a favorable review, describing "eighty percent of this album could compete easily in the top 40", and stated the album "comes from a guy with a hit on the country charts, but has little to identify it as country." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic rated the album 3.5 out of 5, saying that "Hunt is unabashedly a modern guy and his taste for busy electronic arrangements and facility with fleet-footed rhythms distinguish him from the pack of modern country bros...What grounds the album is his clean, commercial songwriting, heavy on hooks but also sturdily constructed. Ultimately, Hunt's ability to fuse his classical construction with modern flair and pass it off as no big thing is what makes his debut something more than just another album from the bro next door."^[4]

Commercial performance

The album debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 3 and on the Top Country Albums chart at No. 1, with 70,000 sold for the week. The lead single from the album "Leave the Night On" also reached No. 1 at the same time on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, which made Sam Hunt the first in 22 years to reach the top of three country charts simultaneously since Billy Ray Cyrus.^[10] Montevallo topped the Top Country Albums chart for nine non-consecutive weeks. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on April 14, 2015, and double Platinum on February 1, 2016.^[11] The album reached over a million in sales in the US by February 2016.^[12] As of March 2016, the album has sold 1,118,100 copies in the US.^[13]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Take Your Time"	Sam Hunt Josh Osborne Shane McAnally	4:02
2.	"Leave the Night On"	Hunt Osborne McAnally	3:11
3.	"House Party"	Hunt Zach Crowell Jerry Flowers	3:10
4.	"Break Up in a Small Town"	Hunt Crowell McAnally	3:49
5.	"Single for the Summer"	Hunt Crowell Osborne McAnally	5:10
6.	"Ex to See"	Hunt Osborne Matthew Ramsey	3:18
7.	"Make You Miss Me"	Hunt Osborne Ramsey	3:45
8.	"Cop Car"	Hunt Crowell Matt Jenkins	4:13
9.	"Raised on It"	Hunt Crowell Flowers	3:55
10.	"Speakers"	Hunt Kylie Sackley Brandon Hood	3:46

Credits and personnel

Mix engineers

• Zach Crowell – "House Party", "Cop Car", "Single for the Summer", "Make You Miss Me", "Speakers"
• Billy Decker – "Leave the Night On", "Raised on It"
• Ryan Gore – "Take Your Time"
• Reid Shippen – "Break Up in a Small Town", "Ex to See"

Musicians

• Josh Burkett – electric guitar
• Tyrone Carreker – electric guitar, background vocals
• Chad Cromwell – drums
• Zach Crowell – programming, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, ganjo, piano, keyboards, background vocals
• David Davidson – violin, viola
• Mike Durham – electric guitar
• Fred Eltringham – drums
• Ian Fitchuk – piano, drums
• Jerry Flowers – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, ganjo
• Mickey Guyton – background vocals
• Sam Hunt – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, ganjo, piano
• Hillary Lindsey – background vocals
• Shane McAnally – background vocals
• Chris McHugh – drums
• Ron McNelly – electric guitar
• Richard Madenfort – electric guitar, piano, background vocals
• Devin Malone – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, pedal steel guitar, dobro
• Josh Osborne – background vocals
• Joshua Sales – drums
• Scotty Sanders – pedal steel guitar
• Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass guitar
• Matt Stanfield – piano, keyboards, organ
• Ilya Toshinsky – acoustic guitar, ganjo, mandolin

Production

• Brad Belanger – cover photo
• Kenley Flynn – production coordination
• Andrew Mendelson – mastering engineer
• Karen Naff – design
• Stephanie Wright – A&R

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2014–16) Peak position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 167 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[15] 2 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[16] 60 Italian Albums (FIMI)[17] 83 Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] 50 UK Albums (OCC)[19] 93 US Billboard 200[20] 3 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[21] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2014) Position US Billboard 200[22] 184 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[23] 40 Chart (2015) Position US Billboard 200[24] 11 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[25] 1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[26]	Platinum	80,000
Netherlands (NVPI)[27]	Platinum	40,000
United States (RIAA)[11]	2× Platinum	1,118,100[13]
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Easton, Anthony (19 November 2014). "Sam Hunt: Montevallo". Popmatters. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
2. "R&R :: Going For Adds :: Country". Radio & Records. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
3. "Sam Hunt's 5th single announced" (PDF). CountryAircheck. Retrieved Feb 29, 2016.
4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Montevallo review". Allmusic. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
5. Leight, Elias (October 30, 2014). "Album Review: Country Singer Sam Hunt Already Sounds Post-Country on His Debut Album". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
6. Allers, Hannahlee (September 12, 2014). "Sam Hunt Announces Debut Album". The Boot. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
7. Howell, Coti (September 16, 2014). "Sam Hunt Reveals ‘Montevallo’ Album Details". Taste of Country. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
8. Nicholson, Jessica (September 9, 2014). "Sam Hunt To Release ‘Montevallo’ In October". MusicRow. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
9. Bjorke, Matt (September 11, 2014). "Sam Hunt "Montevallo" Tracklist & Cover Art". Roughstock. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
10. Jessen, Wade (November 7, 2014). "Sam Hunt Scores Country Charts Feat Last Achieved 22 Years Ago". Billboard.
11. "American album certifications – Sam Hunt – Montevallo". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
12. Caulfield, Keith (February 2, 2016). "Sam Hunt's 'Montevallo' Hits 1 Million Sold in the U.S.". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
13. Bjorke, Matt (May 5, 2016). "Country Album Chart Report: May 5, 2016". Roughstock.
14. "Ultratop.be – Sam Hunt – Montevallo" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
15. "Sam Hunt – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Sam Hunt.
16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Sam Hunt – Montevallo" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
17. "Italiancharts.com – Sam Hunt – Montevallo". Hung Medien.
18. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
19. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
20. "Sam Hunt – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Sam Hunt.
21. "Sam Hunt – Chart history" Billboard Top Country Albums for Sam Hunt.
22. "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
23. "Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
24. "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
25. "Top Country Albums: Year-End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
26. "Canadian album certifications – Sam Hunt – Montevallo". Music Canada.
27. "Dutch album certifications – Sam Hunt – Montevallo" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.