Blown Away (album)
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Blown Away | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 1, 2012 | |||
Recorded | February 27 – November 22, 2011 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 55:20 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Mark Bright | |||
Carrie Underwood chronology | ||||
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Singles from Blown Away | ||||
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Blown Away is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood. It was released in the United States and Canada on May 1, 2012, by Arista Nashville.[1] After finishing her successful Play On Tour in December 2010 to promote her third studio album Play On, Underwood started working on the album, but took her time, as she "wanted to change things up", and needed to step away from the "celebrity bubble" to "have real things to write about and to sing about". It took her over one year to finish the album, which, according to Underwood, ended up having a "darker storyline" than her previous efforts.
Met with mostly positive reviews from
Blown Away was the seventh best selling album overall and second best-selling country album of 2012 in the US. It finished 2012 with over 1.4 million copies sold worldwide, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Blown Away has since sold around 1.8 million copies in the US and over two million copies worldwide. In January 2020, the album was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA.
It spawned the Billboard Hot 100 Top 20 and Country Airplay number-one singles "Good Girl" and "Blown Away", along with the Country Airplay top-two hits "Two Black Cadillacs" and "See You Again". All singles received multi-Platinum or Platinum certifications.
In 2013, at the
Background and composition
After Underwood's Play On Tour ended in December 2010, she started to work on her fourth studio album. Underwood took her time working on Blown Away. She stated that she "wanted to change things up", and she needed to step away from the "celebrity bubble" to "have real things to write about and real things to sing about."[2] Sony Music Nashville chairman/CEO Gary Overton said that the singer "took nearly a year to compile and record the songs."[3] Songwriters Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear wrote "Blown Away" and sent it to the singer.[4] Underwood loved the song and recorded it, also naming her album Blown Away as it was the song that defined the album's darker direction.[5] She then started writing material with several songwriters, including Hillary Lindsey and Kear. Together, the trio wrote "Two Black Cadillacs", which is about two women finding out that they both are involved in a relationship with the same man and set their differences aside to kill him. Underwood said that "it was so much fun to write and just be in that room" with Lindsey and Kear, as they "didn't really know what to expect or where we were headed or what we would end up with."[6]
Underwood has stated that the album would contain material that is different from her previous efforts, since stating that Blown Away features songs with a "darker storyline."[7] She has stated that she isn't trying to impress people with what [she] can do" and she doesn't "have to sing to the moon with every single song" with this project. The lead single, "Good Girl," is said to be the album's most upbeat track, with the other tracks creating a much darker record.[8] The album combines country, pop and rock genres.[9] Ashley Gorley described writing the single, "Good Girl", saying, "I was out in Los Angeles working on projects with Chris [DeStefano.] Carrie happened to be out there, and Carrie’s management team had an idea for the three of us to all get together to write. I had written with Carrie and Chris several times separately, but never together. We all thought it would be a great combination and turns out we were right!”[10]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 70/100[11] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [12] |
American Songwriter | [13] |
Billboard | 89/100[14] |
Country Weekly | [15] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[16] |
The Guardian | [17] |
Los Angeles Times | [18] |
Rolling Stone | [19] |
Slant Magazine | [20] |
USA Today | [21] |
Blown Away received mostly positive reviews from music critics. On
Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times was less than enthusiastic about the album, giving it two stars out of four, and saying that much of the album "finds Underwood using her remarkable voice to deliver feel-good bromides like those in the lightly-reggae-inflected 'One Way Ticket.'"[26] While Johnathan Keefe of Slant magazine wasn't overly impressed with the album in his review, giving the album 3 stars, he did give Underwood credit for "at least tak[ing] far more creative risks than she ever has before and occasionally stray[ing] from a formula that had become stale and predictable."[27] Melissa Newman of Hitfix gave the album a B, but criticized the album's material, calling it "a mixed bag, with the songs running the gamut from ranking among her best to wondering who the hell let some of them on the album."[28] Sean Daly of Tampa Bay Times gave the album a C, saying, "Cliche pleadings for lost love dominate Blown Away, which sounds a lot more Hollywood safe than Nashville tough."[29] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave the album 2.5 out of 5 stars saying that "Underwood's voice is as powerful as ever, but Blown Away tries too hard, ratcheting up melodrama with strings and effects."[30] At The Guardian, Caroline Sullivan felt that the album "may be too formulaic to give her much of a foothold."[17]
Awards and nominations
Award | Category | Result |
---|---|---|
2012 American Music Awards | Favorite Country Album | Won |
2013 Country Music Awards of Australia | Top Selling International Album of the Year | Won |
2013 World Music Awards[31] | World's Best Album | Nominated |
2013 Academy of Country Music Awards | Album of the Year | Nominated |
2013 People's Choice Awards | Favorite Album | Nominated |
2013 Billboard Music Awards | Top Country Album | Nominated |
2013 Country Music Association Awards | Album of the Year | Nominated |
Commercial performance
Blown Away debuted at number one in the United States on the
The album was the seventh best selling album of 2012 in the US, being the second time Underwood has an album inside the top 10 albums since her debut album
In Canada, the album debuted at number one, with first-week sales of 17,300 copies.[42] It also debuted at number four on the ARIA Top 50 Albums, and at number one on the ARIA Top 20 Country Albums charts in Australia.[43] Her first-ever officially released album in the United Kingdom, Blown Away debuted at number eleven on the UK Top 100 Albums, and at number one on the UK Top Country Albums.[44] It has since sold 61,000 copies in the United Kingdom[45] and has been certified Silver by the BPI.[46]
Promotion
With the release of her highly anticipated fourth album, Underwood made numerous television, radio, and online appearances. On April 29, Underwood was featured on
Singles
The first single of the album, "
The second single of the album is "Blown Away". Before the official release of the song, it charted at number 66 on the Hot 100 and number 49 on the Hot Country Songs, and has since reached a peak of number twenty and two, respectively. It became Underwood's 16th number one single when it topped the Country Airplay chart. It is also her first song to chart in the UK Singles Chart where it has reached 155. It has been certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA and Platinum by the CRIA.
The third single of the album is "
On March 18, 2013, Underwood announced via Twitter that "See You Again" would be the fourth single off the album. "See You Again" impacted Country radio on April 15.[51] It reached number two on the Country Airplay chart and number seven on Hot Country Songs. On August 10, 2015, "See You Again" was certified Platinum by the RIAA.
Tour
The tour included an international run of shows during the summer of 2012, including her first-ever United Kingdom concert, taking place at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London on June 21. The Royal Albert Hall concert sold out within the first 90 minutes of public ticket sales.[52] The opening act for Underwood on the North American leg of the tour was country singer Hunter Hayes. Underwood donated $1 from each ticket sold on the North American leg of the tour to support the Red Cross disaster relief. The first leg of The Blown Away Tour began in September 14 in Manchester and continued deep into December.[53][54] Due to positive reception and successful touring revenue from the first North American leg of the tour, a second North American leg of the tour was announced for the spring of 2013. The tour ultimately ran through May 2013 and played to over one million fans over the course of 112 shows.[55]
A concert DVD,
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | " Robert John "Mutt" Lange | 3:55 | |
Total length: | 55:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
15. | "Cowboy Casanova" | Underwood, Mike Elizondo, Brett James | 3:56 |
16. | "Before He Cheats" | Tompkins, Kear | 3:19 |
17. | "Last Name" | Underwood, Laird, Lindsey | 4:01 |
18. | "Jesus, Take the Wheel" | James, Lindsey, Sampson | 3:46 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from AllMusic.[59]
Vocals
Musicians
|
Technical and production
Visuals and imagery
|
Charts
Weekly charts
Singles
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[80] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada)[81] | Platinum | 80,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[82] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[41] | 3× Platinum | 1,853,200[39] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Release dates
Country | Date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
Canada | May 1, 2012 | CD, digital download | Arista Nashville |
United States | |||
Denmark | May 2, 2012 | Sony Music | |
China | |||
Australia | May 4, 2012 | ||
New Zealand | |||
Ireland | May 11, 2012 | ||
Singapore | |||
United Kingdom | June 18, 2012 | RCA | |
Japan | July 25, 2012 | Sony Music |
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- ^ "PCarrie Underwood finds 'real things' to sing about". Reuters. March 30, 2012. Archived from the original on June 22, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
- Gannett Company. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
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- AllMusic
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- ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline (June 14, 2012). "Carrie Underwood: Blown Away – review". The Guardian. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ^ "Album review: Carrie Underwood's 'Blown Away'". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. April 30, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
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- ^ Ewing, Ian. "Review: Carrie Underwood - Blown Away". Keepin' It Country. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
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- ^ Newman, Melissa. "Album Review: Will Carrie Underwood's 'Blown Away' blow you away?". Hitfix. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
- ^ Daly, Sean. "Carrie Underwood Squanders Her Talent on Lackluster New Album 'Blown Away'". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
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- ^ a b Bjorke, Matt (October 9, 2019). "Top Country Catalog Album Sales Chart: October 9, 2019". Roughstock.
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- ^ May122012. "Carrie Underwood's 'Blown Away' Debuts at No.1 in Canada-Country Music Is Love". Countrymusicislove.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
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