Wikipedia

Montevallo(album)

Montevallois the debut studio album by Americancountry musicsingerSam Hunt.It was released on October 27, 2014, byMCA Nashville.[4][5]Hunt co-wrote all 10 tracks on the album.[6]The album was produced byZach CrowellandShane McAnally.[7]"Cop Car"was previously recorded byKeith Urbanon his eighth studio albumFuse,who released it as a single in January 2014.

Montevallo
Studio albumby
Sam Hunt
ReleasedOctober 27, 2014(2014-10-27)
Recorded2013–2014
Genre
Length38:19
LabelMCA Nashville
Producer
Sam Huntchronology
X2C
(2014) 		Montevallo
(2014) 		Southside
(2020)
SinglesfromMontevallo
  1. "Leave the Night On"
    Released: June 16, 2014
  2. "Take Your Time"
    Released: November 24, 2014
  3. "House Party"
    Released: June 1, 2015[2]
  4. "Break Up in a Small Town"
    Released: September 21, 2015
  5. "Make You Miss Me"
    Released: March 7, 2016[3]

In 2015,Montevallowas nominated forBest Country Albumat the58th Annual Grammy Awards.[8]It won the 2016American Country Countdown Awardsfor Digital Album of the Year.[9]

Background

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The album's name is a nod to the town ofMontevallo, Alabama,the hometown of Hunt's wife, Hannah Lee Fowler.[10]He played football for theUAB Blazersand met Hannah during his time inBirmingham.Hunt moved to Nashville in 2008 but continued to date his girlfriend on and off. Fowler and Hunt married in Georgia in 2017. Many of the songs on the album are inspired by their relationship challenges.[11]

Singles

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"Leave the Night On"was released as the lead single from the album on June 16, 2014. The song peaked at number one on both theHot Country Songschart and theCountry Airplaychart, as well as peaking at number 30 on the USBillboardHot 100.It has been certified Platinum by theRIAA.As of February 2015, it has sold 1,002,000 copies in the US.

"Take Your Time"was released as the second single from the album on November 24, 2014. The song became Hunt's most successful single up to that time, crossing over to pop and adult contemporary formats, peaking at number 20 on the USBillboardHot 100, as well as topping both Hot Country Songs chart and Country Airplay chart. It topped the year-end charts on the Hot Country Songs chart in 2015. It has been certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA. As of March 2016, it has sold 2,001,000 copies in the US.

"House Party"was released as the third single from the album on June 1, 2015. Like the previous singles," House Party "also reached number one on both Hot Country Songs chart and Country Airplay chart. It peaked at number 26 on the USBillboardHot 100. The song has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. As of February 2016, it has sold 1,121,000 copies in the US.

"Break Up in a Small Town"was released as the fourth single from the album on September 21, 2015. It peaked at number 29 on the USBillboardHot 100 and became Hunt's first single to miss the top spot on the Hot Country Songs chart and the Country Airplay chart, peaking at number two on both charts. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. As of March 2016, it has sold 1,230,000 copies in the US.

"Make You Miss Me"was released as the fifth single from the album on March 7, 2016. It topped the Country Airplay chart, making Hunt the first solo male artist to land four number ones on the Country Airplay chart from a debut studio album. It peaked at number two on the Hot Country Songs chart and at number 45 on the USBillboardHot 100. As of September 2016, it has sold 607,000 copies in the US.[12]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Billboard[14]
PopMatters[1]
Vice(Expert Witness)[15]

Upon release,Montevalloreceived positive reviews from contemporary music critics, and drew heavy attention to Hunt's incorporation of hip hop, R&B, and pop music elements into the project. AtAlbum of the Year,which assigns anormalizedrating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received anaveragescore of 70 based on 3 reviews.[16]Elias Leight fromBillboardprovided 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 ErlewineofAllMusicrated 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."[13]Writing forVice,Robert Christgaucited "Take Your Time" and "Cop Car" as highlights and summarized the album with the following: "Popmeister from a small town hooks women for a living, defies cops for show".[15]

Commercial performance

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The album debuted on the USBillboard200at number three and on theTop Country Albumschart at number one, with 70,000 sold for the week. The lead single from the album, "Leave the Night On"also reached number one at the same time on theHot Country SongsandCountry Airplaycharts, which made Sam Hunt the first country artist in 22 years to reach the top of three country charts simultaneously sinceBilly Ray Cyrus.[17]Montevallotopped the Top Country Albums chart for nine non-consecutive weeks. The album was certified Gold by theRIAAon April 14, 2015, and 2× Platinum on February 1, 2016.[18]The album reached over a million in sales in the US by February 2016.[19]As of April 2017, the album has sold 1,292,400 copies in the US.[20]

For the year-end charts of 2015,Montevallowas ranked at number one on the Top Country Albums chart and at number 11 on the USBillboard200.

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Take Your Time"
4:02
2."Leave the Night On"
  • Hunt
  • Osborne
  • McAnally
3:12
3."House Party"
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"
3:18
7."Make You Miss Me"
  • Hunt
  • Osborne
  • Ramsey
3:45
8."Cop Car"
4:13
9."Raised on It"
  • Hunt
  • Crowell
  • Flowers
3:55
10."Speakers"
  • Hunt
  • Kylie Sackley
  • Brandon Hood
3:46

Personnel

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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

Production

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

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[54] Platinum 80,000^
United States (RIAA)[55] 4× Platinum 3,000,000‡/ 1,292,400[20]

^Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^abcEaston, Anthony (19 November 2014)."Sam Hunt: Montevallo".PopMatters.RetrievedDecember 31,2014.
  2. ^"R&R:: Going For Adds:: Country".Radio & Records.Archived fromthe originalon May 18, 2015.RetrievedMay 16,2015.
  3. ^"Sam Hunt's 5th single announced"(PDF).CountryAircheck.RetrievedFeb 29,2016.
  4. ^Allers, Hannahlee (September 12, 2014)."Sam Hunt Announces Debut Album".The Boot.RetrievedSeptember 25,2014.
  5. ^Howell, Coti (September 16, 2014)."Sam Hunt Reveals 'Montevallo' Album Details".Taste of Country.RetrievedSeptember 25,2014.
  6. ^Nicholson, Jessica (September 9, 2014)."Sam Hunt To Release 'Montevallo' In October".MusicRow.RetrievedSeptember 25,2014.
  7. ^Bjorke, Matt (September 11, 2014)."Sam Hunt" Montevallo "Tracklist & Cover Art".Roughstock.Archived fromthe originalon October 6, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 25,2014.
  8. ^"Final Nomination List: 58th Grammy Awards"(PDF).Grammy Award.RetrievedDecember 7,2015.
  9. ^Angela Stefano (May 1, 2016)."2016 American Country Countdown Awards Winners List".The Boot.
  10. ^"Sam Hunt Reveals the Meaning Behind His Album Title," Montevallo, "Out Now - Music News - ABC News Radio".abcnewsradioonline.Retrieved2020-04-08.
  11. ^Wray, Cheryl (2017-08-31)."12 things to know about Sam Hunt's time at UAB".al.Retrieved2020-04-08.
  12. ^Bjorke, Matt (September 19, 2016)."Top 30 Digital Singles Chart: September 19, 2016".Roughstock.
  13. ^abErlewine, Stephen Thomas."Montevalloreview ".Allmusic.Retrieved30 October2014.
  14. ^Leight, Elias (October 30, 2014)."Album Review: Country Singer Sam Hunt Already Sounds Post-Country on His Debut Album".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 31,2014.
  15. ^abChristgau, Robert(July 1, 2016)."Expert Witness".Noisey.Vice.RetrievedJuly 9,2020– via robertchristgau.
  16. ^"Sam Hunt - Montevallo".Album of the Year.RetrievedApril 20,2021.
  17. ^Jessen, Wade (November 7, 2014)."Sam Hunt Scores Country Charts Feat Last Achieved 22 Years Ago".Billboard.
  18. ^"American album certifications – Sam Hunt – Montevallo".Recording Industry Association of America.
  19. ^Caulfield, Keith (February 2, 2016)."Sam Hunt's 'Montevallo' Hits 1 Million Sold in the U.S."Billboard.RetrievedFebruary 10,2016.
  20. ^abBjorke, Matt (April 18, 2017)."Top Country Catalog Album Sales Chart: April 18, 2017".Roughstock.
  21. ^"ARIA Report".ARIA.Retrieved11 April2020.
  22. ^"Ultratop.be – Sam Hunt – Montevallo"(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  23. ^"Sam Hunt Chart History (Canadian Albums)".Billboard.
  24. ^"Dutchcharts.nl – Sam Hunt – Montevallo"(in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  25. ^"Italiancharts – Sam Hunt – Montevallo".Hung Medien.
  26. ^"NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart".Recorded Music NZ.July 11, 2016.RetrievedJuly 8,2016.
  27. ^"Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  28. ^"Official Albums Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  29. ^"Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20".Official Charts Company.Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  30. ^"Sam Hunt Chart History (Billboard200) ".Billboard.
  31. ^"Sam Hunt Chart History (Top Country Albums)".Billboard.
  32. ^"Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres".Billboard.
  33. ^"Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts".Billboard.RetrievedJanuary 16,2015.
  34. ^"ARIA Top 50 Country Albums for 2015".Australian Recording Industry Association.Retrieved15 January2022.
  35. ^"Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End 2015".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 10,2015.
  36. ^"Top Country Albums: Year-End 2015".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 10,2015.
  37. ^"Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2016".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 24,2020.
  38. ^"Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 9,2016.
  39. ^"Top Country Albums: Year-End 2016".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 27,2016.
  40. ^"ARIA Top 50 Country Albums for 2017".Australian Recording Industry Association.Retrieved15 January2022.
  41. ^"Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 12,2017.
  42. ^"Top Country Albums – Year-End 2017".Billboard.RetrievedJuly 14,2020.
  43. ^"ARIA Top 50 Country Albums for 2018".Australian Recording Industry Association.Retrieved15 January2022.
  44. ^"Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2018".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 5,2018.
  45. ^"Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018".Billboard.RetrievedJuly 14,2020.
  46. ^"ARIA Top 50 Country Albums for 2019".Australian Recording Industry Association.Retrieved15 January2022.
  47. ^"Top Country Albums – Year-End 2019".Billboard.RetrievedJuly 14,2020.
  48. ^"ARIA Top 50 Country Albums for 2020".Australian Recording Industry Association.Retrieved15 January2022.
  49. ^"Top Country Albums – Year-End 2020".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 13,2020.
  50. ^"ARIA Top 50 Country Albums for 2021".Australian Recording Industry Association.Retrieved15 January2022.
  51. ^"Top Country Albums – Year-End 2021".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 12,2021.
  52. ^"Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200".Billboard.RetrievedNovember 15,2019.
  53. ^"Decade-End Charts: Top Country Albums".Billboard.RetrievedApril 16,2020.
  54. ^"Canadian album certifications – Sam Hunt – Montevallo".Music Canada.RetrievedMay 21,2021.
  55. ^"American album certifications – Sam Hunt – Montevallo".Recording Industry Association of America.RetrievedJune 15,2023.
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