It's About Us
| It's About Us | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 7, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2014 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:03 | |||
| Label | Columbia, Syco | |||
| Producer |
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| Alex & Sierra chronology | ||||
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| Singles from It's About Us | ||||
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It's About Us is the only studio album by American duo Alex & Sierra, released on October 7, 2014 by Columbia Records.[2] Their debut single and the album's lead single "Scarecrow" was written by the duo along with Martin Johnson and Sam Hollander and was released on June 23, 2014, while "Little Do You Know" was released as the second single from the album.
The album debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 selling 27,000 copies within its first week of release.
Background and development
[edit]In 2013, Alex & Sierra won Season 3 of The X Factor. Their prize included a $1 million recording contract from Sony Music Entertainment. Following their win on The X Factor, Alex & Sierra announced they would be making their debut album 'quick' and 'right'.[3] They've worked with Julian Bunetta, Sam Watters, John Shanks, Toby Gad, Jason Mraz and One Direction member Harry Styles,[4] Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter John Legend also made a contribution to the early stages of the album, however the track was not selected to be on the album.[5] On May 3, 2014, Alex & Sierra revealed their debut single, "Scarecrow".
Alex & Sierra have commonly described the album as one that is not just filled with slow or upbeat songs. They hope it becomes one of those albums that you can listen to without the songs ever sounding the same. Also, in an interview with Glamour.com the two shared that they had never written a song before. The duo described it as a really laid-back and magical experience and added that they wrote a total of twenty songs in five days.[6]
The first single "Scarecrow" was released on June 23, 2014 and was written by the duo, Martin Johnson and Sam Hollander. They described the single as "a song about hope, It's about believing in a relationship so strongly that a lack of communication isn't enough for you to give up on the other person. Everyone has trouble communicating sometimes... Or all the time, and everyone deserves to be believed in."[7]
Promotion
[edit]Alex & Sierra began promoting the album by performing on Today and Yahoo! Music on June 23, 2014 as part of the promotion for their single "Scarecrow".[8] They also promoted the single on popular blogging sites such as perezhilton.com[9] and rickey.org[10] A lyric video featuring puppets instead of the singers themselves was released on May 27, 2014.[11] While they released the official music video for the song on July 11, 2014.[12]
Reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
Critical
[edit]Matt Collar of AllMusic gave a positive review of the album stating "Alex & Sierra have delivered an album that showcases their crowd-pleasing musical chemistry."[1]
Commercial
[edit]It's About Us debuted at number 9 on the New Zealand Albums Chart the week ending October 13, 2014. The album debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 with 27,000 copies sold within its first week of release.[13] The album has sold 86,000 copies in the United States as of August 2016.[14]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Scarecrow" | Johnson | 3:26 | |
| 2. | "Give Me Something" |
|
| 3:12 |
| 3. | "Bumper Cars" | Mac | 4:00 | |
| 4. | "Almost Home" |
| Shanks | 3:23 |
| 5. | "Here We Go" |
|
| 3:23 |
| 6. | "It's About Us" (Interlude) |
| 1:01 | |
| 7. | "Little Do You Know" |
| Gad | 3:05 |
| 8. | "Cheating" |
|
| 2:27 |
| 9. | "Just Kids" |
| Steve Shebby | 3:28 |
| 10. | "I Love You" | Carlsson | 3:49 | |
| 11. | "Broken Frame" |
|
| 3:40 |
| 12. | "Back to You" |
| Scott | 3:52 |
| 13. | "All for You" |
| Ryan | 3:11 |
| Total length: | 42:03 | |||
Notes
- ^[a] significes a co-producer
Personnel
[edit]- Lead vocals – Alex & Sierra
- Background vocals – John August, Johan Carlsson, Sam Hollander, Martin Johnson, Kyle Moorman, Brandon Paddock, Ali Tamposi
- Violin – Paul Cartright, Stephan Hovsepian, Carrie Kennedy, Emily Moore, Joel Pargman, Jen Simone, Audrey Solomon, Ina Velli
- Guitar – Josh Cumbee, Toby Gad, Martin Johnson, Alex Kinsey, Jamie Scott, John Shanks
- Piano – Sierra Deaton, Toby Gad, Martin Johnson, Steve Mac, Jamie Scott, John Shanks,
- Cello – Ira Glansbeek, John Krovoza
- Trumpet – Sean Eric
- Percussion – Martin Johnson
- Rhythm/string arrangements – Nick Squires, Steve Mac
- Producers: Julian Bunetta, Johan Carlsson, Ian Franzino, Toby Gad, Steve Mac, John Ryan, John Shanks
- Vocal producers: Steve Shebby, Peter Carlsson, Steve Mac, David "DQ" Quinones
- Engineers: Nico Grossfield, John Hanes, Sam Holland, Martin Johnson, Paul Lamalfa, Chris Laws, Edwin Menjivar, Brandon Paddock, Dann Pursey, John Ryan, John Shanks
- Assistant engineers: Ian Franzino, Keith Munson
- Programming: Toby Gad, Martin Johnson, Kyle Moorman, Brandon Paddock, John Ryan, John Shanks, John August, Julian Bunetta, Johan Carlsson, Josh Cumbee
- Mixing: Michael H. Brauer, Serban Ghenea, Ash Howes, Joe Zook
- Mixing assistant: Ryan Lipman, Brandon Paddock
- Photography: Sierra Deaton, Sami Drasin, Alex Kinsey, Chris Whittle
- Artwork: Pamela Littky, Sierra Deaton, Alex Kinsey
Charts
[edit]| Chart (2014–16) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart[15] | 97 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] | 199 |
| Canadian Albums Chart[17] | 11 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart[18] | 9 |
| US Billboard 200[13] | 8 |
| US Digital Albums (Billboard)[19] | 3 |
Release history
[edit]| Region | Date | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | October 7, 2014 | Columbia | Digital |
| Brazil | |||
| United Kingdom | |||
| United States |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Collar, Matt (October 7, 2014). "It's About Us - Alex & Sierra | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - It's About Us by Alex & Sierra". iTunes. July 15, 2014. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ Murphy, Shaunna. "Alex & Sierra: 'X Factor' Winners Plan To Do 1st Album 'Quick' & 'Right'". Hollywood life. Archived from the original on December 22, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
- ^ Robertson, James. "Harry Styles secretly co-writes song with idol John Legend for US X Factor duo". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ^ Parker, Lyndsey (January 24, 2014). "'X Factor' Winners Alex & Sierra Writing With John Legend for Debut Album". Yahoo. Archived from the original on January 28, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ^ Melby, Leah (June 23, 2014). "The X-Factor's Alex and Sierra: Their New Album, Scarecrow, Jason Mraz, and More". Glamour.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Alex & Sierra's 'Scarecrow' Premiere: Watch The Exclusive Acoustic Video". Billboard.com. June 24, 2014. Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Alex & Sierra perform "Scarecrow" - Today Show - VIDEO". Mjsbigblog.com. June 23, 2014. Archived from the original on July 1, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE! Alex & Sierra Perform An Acoustic Version Of Scarecrow!". PerezHilton.com. October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ Yaneza, Rickey (June 24, 2014). "Alex and Sierra release 'Scarecrow' acoustic performance official video". Rickey.org. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Alex & Sierra - Scarecrow (Lyric Video)". YouTube.com. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
- ^ "Alex & Sierra - Scarecrow". YouTube.com. July 11, 2014. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ a b Christopher Morris (October 15, 2014). "Country Keeps Its Hold on U.S. Album Charts With Jason Aldean in Top Spot". Variety.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (October 25, 2014). "Slipknot Land No 1 Album On ARIA Chart". Noise11. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Alex & Sierra – It's About Us" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
- ^ "Canadian Albums: Top Albums Chart". Billboard.com. March 28, 2015. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Digital Albums Chart". Billboard.com. March 28, 2015. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
