Storyteller (Carrie Underwood album)

Storyteller
Studio album by Carrie Underwood
Released October 23, 2015 (2015-10-23)
Genre
Length 46:12
Label
Producer
Carrie Underwood chronology
Greatest Hits: Decade #1
(2014)		 Storyteller
(2015)
Singles from Storyteller
  1. "Smoke Break"
    Released: August 21, 2015
  2. "Heartbeat"
    Released: November 30, 2015
  3. "Chaser"
    Released: April 1, 2016
  4. "Church Bells"
    Released: April 3, 2016

Storyteller is the fifth studio album recorded by American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood. It was released on October 23, 2015, through Sony Music Entertainment. Following the release and success of her fourth studio album, Blown Away (2012), Underwood began working on Storyteller in early 2014. However, she tentatively suspended most work on the album because of her pregnancy with her first child. In the midterm, Underwood released her first greatest hits record, Greatest Hits: Decade #1, on December 9, 2014, to much success. After the birth of her son, she took some additional time off before going back into the studio in early 2015 to finish working on the album.

Met with mostly positive reviews from music critics, Storyteller became a commercial success and set multiple records upon its release. By debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, it made Underwood the only country artist in history to have all of her first five studio albums debut at number one or two, and with a number one debut on the Top Country Albums chart, it made her the only artist to score six consecutive number one albums on the chart. Storyteller also performed well internationally upon its release, including a number four debut in Australia, number three in Canada and thirteen in the United Kingdom.

Background

"I feel like one of the things that sets country music apart from other types of music is the storytelling aspect. I want three-and-a-half-minute movies on the radio. I love that there’s a beginning, middle, and an end, and it all makes sense. You can follow the characters, and you can see it all playing out in your head. That’s what I’m drawn to, so that’s what I write, what I pick, and what I want to sing. All the songs on the album either are very character-driven mini-movies or they’re my own personal stories. Hopefully, both are entertaining and relatable.”

Underwood on the album's title, Storyteller.[2]

After the release and success of her fourth studio album, Blown Away, in 2012 and its international supporting tour, Blown Away Tour (2012-2013), Underwood confirmed, in August 2013, that she had began planning on a new album and would start working on it in 2014.[3] However, she released her first greatest hits album in late 2014 to much success, while pregnant with her first child.[4] After giving birth, in February 2015, Underwood went back into the studio to finish working on the album.[5] On August 20, 2015, Underwood announced the album's title and release date via live Facebook stream.[6]

Underwood has described Storyteller as being more laid-back and more twangy as opposed to the her last studio album, Blown Away (2012).[4] For this album, Underwood worked with frequent collaborators such as Hillary Lindsey, Ashley Gorley, Chris DeStefano, David Hodges, Brett James, and Mark Bright, although Underwood also worked with new collaborators such as Liz Rose, Zach Crowell, and Jay Joyce.[7] Joyce produced the album's lead single "Smoke Break", which Underwood wrote with DeStefano and Lindsey.[8]

Promotion

Underwood revealed the album's track listing on September 9, 2015, via her Instagram account. On September 10, 2015, Underwood appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and also performed "Smoke Break". On September 21, 2015, Underwood performed the song at the Apple Music Festival in London.[9]

On October 9, 2015, "Heartbeat" was released as a promotional single from the album.[10] The song features background vocals by country artist Sam Hunt . It sold 23,000 copies and debuted at number 26 on Hot Country Songs chart for the week ending October 31, 2015. As of October 26, 2015 the song has sold 31,000 copies.[11] The song also entered the Scottish Singles Chart at number 80.

"Renegade Runaway" was released as the second promotional single on October 16, 2015. It sold 13,000 copies and debuted at number 34 on Hot Country Songs chart. A third and final promotional single, "What I Never Knew I Always Wanted" was released October 19, 2015. It sold 9,000 copies and entered the Hot Country Songs chart at number 38 and reached number 32. As of November 21, 2015, it sold 21,000 copies. All three singles were made available for download on iTunes, Amazon, and other digital retailers with a pre-order of the full Storyteller album.

In support of the album, Underwood returned to headline the C2C: Country to Country festival for the first time since 2013, making her the first artist to headline the festival twice. She performed concerts in London, Dublin, Glasgow, Oslo and Stockholm.

Singles

"Smoke Break", the lead single off Storyteller, was released on August 21, 2015. The song set an all-time record for the largest first-week radio adds in the history of Country Aircheck, with 145 Mediabase adds and 159 total Billboard and Country Aircheck reporting stations lined up for the song’s official airplay impact date.[12][13] It reached number four on the Hot Country Songs chart and number two on the Country Airplay chart.

"Heartbeat" was confirmed as the second single from Storyteller at the 2015 American Music Awards.[14] The song made its official impact on country radio on November 30, 2015.[15] It has reached number two on the Hot Country Songs chart and number one on the Country Airplay chart, becoming her 14th leader on the chart, widening her record for the most number-one's among women in the history of the chart.

"Chaser" has been confirmed as the third single from Storyteller in the United Kingdom, and was released to UK radio stations on April 1, 2016.

"Church Bells" has been confirmed as the fourth single from Storyteller, and third in the U.S., and was released to country radio on April 3, 2016.[16]

Tour

Underwood began the "Storyteller Tour: Stories in the Round" on January 30, 2016, in Jacksonville, Florida to support the album.[17]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[18]
Billboard[19]
The Boston GlobePositive[20]
Entertainment WeeklyA-[21]
Exclaim!6/10[22]
Rolling Stone[23]
Spin70/100[24]

Storyteller received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 74 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews" based on nine reviews.[1]

Jewly Hight of Billboard rated the album three and a half out of five stars, and commended : "Unlike newer country acts who can sound like they’re merely co-starring with their own faddish production, Underwood commands the spotlight, balancing the well-established extremes of her on-stage persona -- Midwestern girl-next-door and imperious diva -- within these freshened-up aesthetic frames. If it weren't for several songs’ worth of forgettable filler (the half-baked outlaw escapade “Mexico,” cursory club anthem “Clock Don’t Stop”), the album would be divided almost evenly between episodes of vengeful, countrified melodrama and moving celebrations of conventional fulfillment. The first half holds a pair of Southern-Gothic blockbusters that are the closest she has come to channeling McEntire’s down-home storytelling: “Choctaw County Affair,” a tale of lovers silencing their would-be blackmailer, and “Church Bells,” a rags-to-riches murder ballad in which a woman quietly offs her abusive husband. The second half concludes with sentimental tunes that will soundtrack many a wedding slow dance in coming months: the wistfully swelling power ballad “The Girl You Think I Am” and adult-contemporary pop number “What I Never Knew I Always Wanted.”[25] In a mixed review for Exclaim!, Stuart Henderson wrote that the record is "more than halfway boring," explaining that "It isn't uninspired or weakly performed. Rather, it is boring in spite of the overwhelming bombast, the booming bass and pounding drums, the huge vocals, the wailing guitars; it is boring because rather than electrifying you, it distances and anaesthetizes."[22]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album four out of five stars and states: "Storyteller is no small album: it demands attention and it deserves it, too."[18] The Boston Globe's Sarah Rodman calls it Underwood's best album yet, and writes: "there’s plenty on Storyteller that will sound familiar to Underwood fans, and a few filler tracks."[20]

Commercial performance

In the United States, Storyteller debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 177,000 equivalent album units; the album sold 164,000 copies in pure sales, with the remainder of its unit total reflecting the album's streaming and track equivalent album units.[26] This made Underwood the only country artist to have his or her first five studio albums debut at number one or number two on the Billboard 200 chart.[27] In addition, the album debuted at number one on the Top Country Albums chart, earning Underwood another record as the only artist to score six consecutive number one albums on that chart.[27] It held the number two position on the Billboard 200 in its second week, moving another 81,000 units, including over 73,000 album copies sold.[28] On the chart dated December 19, it rose back to number one on the Top Country Albums for a second week.[29] It was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 4, 2015 for shipments of over 500,000 copies in the US.[30] As of May 2016, the album has sold 573,200 copies in the US.[31]

Outside of the United States, the album debuted at number three in Canada, number four in Australia,[32] number six in Scotland, number thirteen on the UK Albums Chart—becoming her second top twenty album in the region[33]—and charted in another six regions.

Track listing

Storyteller – Standard edition[34]
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer Length
1. "Renegade Runaway"  
Jay Joyce 3:40
2. "Dirty Laundry"  
Joyce 3:25
3. "Church Bells"  
Mark Bright 3:15
4. "Heartbeat"  
  • Underwood
  • Crowell
  • Gorley
Crowell 3:31
5. "Smoke Break"  
  • Underwood
  • DeStefano
  • Lindsey
Joyce 3:20
6. "Choctaw County Affair"  Jason WhiteJoyce 3:31
7. "Like I'll Never Love You Again"  
Joyce 3:37
8. "Chaser"  
Joyce 4:24
9. "Relapse"  
  • Ben Caver
  • Sara Haze
  • James
Crowell 3:24
10. "Clock Don't Stop"  
Bright 3:23
11. "The Girl You Think I Am"  
Bright 3:38
12. "Mexico"  
Bright 3:28
13. "What I Never Knew I Always Wanted"  
  • Underwood
  • James
  • Lindsey
Bright 3:36
Total length:
 46:12


Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[36]

Performance credits
Instruments
Production and creative imagery
  • A&R — Kristen Wines
  • Assistant — Keith Armstrong, Nik Karpen, Kam Luchterland, Chris Small
  • Engineers — Nick Autry, Derek Bason, Nick Chagon, Jason Hall, Andrew Schubert
  • Assistant engineer — Paul Cossette, Caleb VanBuskirk
  • Creative designer and design — Scott McDaniel
  • Digital editing — Derek Bason, Chris Small
  • Liner notes — Carrie Underwood
  • Managers — Simon Fuller and Anne Edelblute
  • Mastering — Adam Ayan
  • Mixing — Derek Bason, Chris Lord-Alge
  • Package design — Grace Boto
  • Photographer — Randee St. Nichols
  • Production — Mark Bright, Zach Crowell, Jay Joyce
  • Production coordinators — Kenley Flynn, Mike "Frog" Girffith
  • Production assistant — Melissa Spillman, Richard Madenfort

Other charted songs

Following the release of the album, five of its songs charted on the Hot Country Songs: "The Girl You Think I Am" at number 38 (8,000 copies sold), "Like I'll Never Love You Again" at number 39 (8,000 copies), "Dirty Laundry" at number 47 (3,000 copies), "Relapse" at number 48 (4,000 copies) and "Church Bells" at number 49 (2,300 copies).[37]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[32] 4
Australian Country Albums (ARIA)[38] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[39] 87
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[40] 193
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[41] 3
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[42] 67
Irish Albums (IRMA)[43] 18
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[44] 13
Scottish Albums (OCC)[45] 6
South Korean International Albums (Gaon)[46] 39
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] 38
UK Albums (OCC)[48] 13
UK Country Albums (OCC)[49] 1
US Billboard 200[50] 2
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[51] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2015) Position
Australian Country Albums (ARIA)[52] 12
US Billboard 200[53] 108
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[54] 14

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[55] Gold 573,200

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

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, formats, label, editions and reference
Region Date Format(s) Label Edition(s) Ref.
Australia October 23, 2015
Sony Music Nashville Standard [56]
Canada
[34]
United Kingdom Columbia [57]
United States
  • Arista Nashville
  • 19
 [34]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Reviews for Storyteller by Carrie Underwood". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Carrie Underwood Biography". carrieunderwoodofficial.com.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Gayle (August 12, 2013). "Carrie Underwood Already Planning Next Album". The Boot. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Carrie Underwood says she’s at the top of her game on 'twangy' album Storyteller". Entertainment Weekly. August 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ Sam Alex. "Carrie Underwood Says Song About Baby Isaiah Likely to Make New Album". Taste of Country.
  6. ↑ http://www.thebig98.com/articles/entertainment-news-104651/surprise-carrie-underwood-drops-new-song-13870698/
  7. ↑ http://tasteofcountry.com/carrie-underwood-storyteller/
  8. ↑ "Carrie Underwood Announces New Album 'Storyteller'". Rolling Stone. August 21, 2015.
  9. ↑ Leahey, Andrew (September 9, 2015). "Carrie Underwood Plots New Tour and London Performance". Rolling Stone. Rollng Stone. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  10. ↑ "New Music: Carrie Underwood - "Heartbeat" [Full Audio / Review]". Directlyrics. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  11. ↑ http://roughstock.com/news/2015/10/39146-the-top-30-digital-singles-chart-october-26-2015
  12. ↑ Denise Quan (August 25, 2015). "See Carrie Underwood's Smoldering 'Smoke Break' Video". Rolling Stone.
  13. ↑ Sterling Whitaker (August 25, 2015). "Carrie Underwood’s ‘Smoke Break’ Makes History at Country Radio". Taste of Country.
  14. ↑ Vulpo, Mike (November 22, 2015). "Carrie Underwood Gushes About Her "Happy" Baby Boy, Reveals His New Milestone Keeping Mom and Dad Busy". E! Online. United States: NBCUniversal. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  15. ↑ "R&R :: Going For Adds :: Country" (Week Of: November 30, 2015). Radio & Records. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  16. ↑ "Music Week". Music Week. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  17. ↑ http://carrieunderwoodofficial.com/carrie-underwood-announces-2016-tour/
  18. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Storyteller - Carrie Underwood — Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  19. ↑ Hight, Jewly (October 23, 2015). "Carrie Underwood Mixes Country's Past and Present on Storyteller: Album Review". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  20. 1 2 Rodman, Sarah (October 22, 2015). "Carrie Underwood spins vivid yarns on best album yet". The Boston Globe. John W. Henry. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  21. ↑ Greenblatt, Leah (October 22, 2015). "Storyteller by Carrie Underwood: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  22. 1 2 Henderson, Stuart (October 21, 2015). "Carrie Underwood - Storyteller". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  23. ↑ Rodman, Sarah (October 23, 2015). "Storyteller". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Carrie Underwood Sells Outlaw Country Its Soul Back on ‘Storyteller’". Spin. Bob Guccione, Jr. November 3, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  25. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/6738292/carrie-underwood-storyteller-album-review
  26. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (November 1, 2015). "5 Seconds of Summer Earns Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  27. 1 2 Asker, Jim (November 3, 2015). "Carrie Underwood Makes History With Sixth No. 1; Rhett, Hunt, Old Dominion Make Moves". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  28. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (November 8, 2015). "Chris Stapleton Soars to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart After CMAs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  29. ↑ Asker, Jim (November 8, 2015). "Dan + Shay Land First No. 1 Single; Carrie Underwood Returns to Lead Country Albums Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  30. ↑ "RIAA – Gold & Platinum: Carrie Underwood albums". RIAA.com. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 26, 2008.
  31. ↑ Bjorke, Matt (May 2, 2016). "Country Album Charts: Week Of May 2, 2016". Roughstock. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  32. 1 2 "Australiancharts.com – Carrie Underwood – Storyteller". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  33. ↑ Moss, Liv (October 30, 2015). "5 Seconds Of Summer score first Number 1 album with Sounds Good Feels Good". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  34. 1 2 3 "Carrie Underwood Reveals Track Listing for Storyteller". Sony Music Nashville. Sony Music Entertainment. September 10, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Carrie Underwood – Storyteller – Target Exclusive". Target Corporation. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Storyteller - Carrie Underwood - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  37. ↑ http://roughstock.com/news/2015/11/39256-top-30-digital-singles-november-2-2015
  38. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Issue 1340 (Week Commencing 2 November 2015)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 22. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Carrie Underwood – Storyteller" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  40. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Carrie Underwood – Storyteller" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Carrie Underwood – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Carrie Underwood. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  42. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Carrie Underwood – Storyteller" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  43. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 44, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  44. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Carrie Underwood – Storyteller". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  45. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  46. ↑ "International Album Chart – 2014.08.24~2014.08.30" (in Korean). GAON. Archived from the original on November 9, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  47. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Carrie Underwood – Storyteller". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  48. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  49. ↑ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  50. ↑ "Carrie Underwood – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Carrie Underwood. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  51. ↑ "Carrie Underwood – Chart history" Billboard Top Country Albums for Carrie Underwood. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  52. ↑ "Top 50 Country Albums 2015". ARIA. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  53. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums: Year End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  54. ↑ "Top Country Albums: 2015 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  55. ↑ "American album certifications – Carrie Underwood – Storyteller". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  56. ↑ "Story Teller – Carrie Underwood". iTunes Music. Australia: Apple Inc. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  57. ↑ "Storyteller-Carrie Underwood". Amazon. United Kingdom: Amazon.com, inc. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
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