Amidst the Chaos

Last updated
Amidst the Chaos
Sara Bareilles - Amidst the Chaos.png
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 5, 2019 (2019-04-05)
Studio
Length49:46
Label Epic
Producer T Bone Burnett
Sara Bareilles chronology
What's Inside: Songs from Waitress
(2015)
Amidst the Chaos
(2019)
More Love: Songs from Little Voice Season One
(2020)
Singles from Amidst the Chaos
  1. "Armor"
    Released: October 26, 2018
  2. "Fire"
    Released: February 15, 2019

Amidst the Chaos is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, released on April 5, 2019, through Epic Records. The lead single from the album, "Armor", was released digitally on October 26, 2018. [1] The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 selling 35,000 copies in its first week (29,000 of which were traditional album sales), making it Bareilles' sixth top 10 album. [2] "Saint Honesty" earned Bareilles a Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance at the 2020 ceremony.

Contents

Background

In an interview with Forbes , Bareilles stated that the 2016 American Presidential Election was the catalyst for her beginning to write the album, with the title being a reference to the presidency of Donald Trump. The song "No Such Thing" was written as an ode to president Barack Obama, [3] while "Armor" was written in response to the #MeToo Movement and released early in light of the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. [4] The duet with John Legend, "A Safe Place to Land", was written about the immigrant family separation crisis along the US–Mexico border in 2018. [5]

Promotion

The lead single, "Armor", was released on October 28, 2018, with Bareilles performing the song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on November 28, backed by an all-female band. [6] She announced the album on February 13, and said it would become available to pre-order on February 15. She also posted the cover art, a black-and-white shot of herself with "windblown hair". [7]

Prior to the album's release, Bareilles embarked upon the four-date A Little Chaos Tour, stopping in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City between March 17 and 22, 2019. [8] Bareilles performed several unreleased songs from the album, as well as its promotional singles. On April 6, 2019, Bareilles appeared as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live and performed "Fire" and "Saint Honesty". [9]

A November 2019 Hollywood Bowl performance was recorded and released in 2021 as Amidst the Chaos: Live from the Hollywood Bowl .

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fire" Sara Bareilles 3:50
2."No Such Thing"
3:57
3."Armor"Bareilles4:27
4."If I Can't Have You"4:13
5."Eyes on You"Bareilles4:04
6."Miss Simone"
4:13
7."Wicked Love"Bareilles4:39
8."Orpheus"Bareilles4:13
9."Poetry by Dead Men"
  • Bareilles
  • Tranter
3:48
10."Someone Who Loves Me"Bareilles3:18
11."Saint Honesty"
  • Bareilles
  • McKenna
4:35
12."A Safe Place to Land" (featuring John Legend)
  • Bareilles
  • McKenna
4:29
Total length:49:46
Digital edition [11]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Shiny"
  • Bareilles
  • McKenna
2:53
Total length:52:39

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Charts

Chart (2019)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [12] 25
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [13] 35
Scottish Albums (OCC) [14] 28
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [15] 69
UK Albums (OCC) [16] 82
US Billboard 200 [17] 6

Related Research Articles

The Billboard 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by Billboard magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Often, a recording act will be remembered by its "number ones", those of their albums that outperformed all others during at least one week. The chart grew from a weekly top 10 list in 1956 to become a top 200 list in May 1967, and acquired its current name in March 1992. Its previous names include the Billboard Top LPs (1961–1972), Billboard Top LPs & Tape (1972–1984), Billboard Top 200 Albums (1984–1985) and Billboard Top Pop Albums (1985–1992).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Bareilles</span> American singer and songwriter (born 1979)

Sara Beth Bareilles is an American singer-songwriter. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. She has earned various accolades, including two Grammy Awards, as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Tony Awards. In February 2012, VH1 named her one of the Top 100 Greatest Women in Music.

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<i>Little Voice</i> (album) 2007 studio album by Sara Bareilles

Little Voice is the second and major-label debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, which was released on July 3, 2007 on the Epic Records label. Six of the tracks are re-recorded studio versions of songs from her previous album, Careful Confessions. A two-disc special edition of Little Voice with live acoustic tracks was released on March 18, 2008. The bonus disc also includes an interview with Bareilles and accompanying videos of the performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Song (Sara Bareilles song)</span> 2007 single by Sara Bareilles

"Love Song" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, released in June 2007 via Epic Records from her major-label debut album, Little Voice (2007). It was nominated for 2009 Grammy Awards in the categories Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

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<i>Kaleidoscope Heart</i> 2010 studio album by Sara Bareilles

Kaleidoscope Heart is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, which was released on September 7, 2010 through Epic Records. The lead single from the album, "King of Anything", was released digitally on May 10, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of Anything</span> 2010 single by Sara Bareilles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Bareilles discography</span>

American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles has released seven studio albums, two demo albums, four live albums, two soundtrack albums, six extended plays, twenty-one singles and thirteen music videos. After graduating from University of California, Los Angeles, Bareilles independently released her debut album Careful Confessions in January 2004. In 2005, music executive Charlie Walk signed her to a record deal with Epic Records. A year after, she began to work with Eric Rosse on her second studio album, Little Voice, which featured six re-recorded songs of the twelve that were originally on Careful Confessions, plus six additional songs. Little Voice was released in July 2007 and entered the Billboard 200 chart in the United States at number 45, which marked as her chart debut. The album became a commercial success, it peaked on the chart at number 7 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of one million copies in the United States, subsequently becoming her most successful studio album to date. Its lead single, "Love Song", became a worldwide hit, charting at the top-ten in many regions. Epic released two additional singles, "Bottle It Up" and "Gravity", from Little Voice.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brave (Sara Bareilles song)</span> 2013 single by Sara Bareilles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Choose You (Sara Bareilles song)</span> 2014 single by Sara Bareilles

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<i>Whats Inside: Songs from Waitress</i> 2015 studio album by Sara Bareilles

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"She Used to Be Mine" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles for Waitress, a musical stage adaptation of the 2007 film of the same name. It was recorded by Bareilles for her fifth studio album, What's Inside: Songs from Waitress (2015), and was released to digital retailers as its lead single on September 25, 2015.

<i>The Hamilton Mixtape</i> 2016 album

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khalid (singer)</span> American singer and songwriter (born 1998)

Khalid Donnel Robinson, known mononymously as Khalid, is an American singer and songwriter. He is signed to Right Hand Music Group and RCA Records. He rose to fame after the release of his debut studio album American Teen (2017), which was certified 4× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album spawned the US top 20 singles "Location" and "Young Dumb & Broke", with the former being certified Diamond by the RIAA.

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<i>Amidst the Chaos: Live from the Hollywood Bowl</i> 2021 live album by Sara Bareilles

Amidst the Chaos: Live from the Hollywood Bowl is a 2021 live album by American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, released on Epic Records. The album has received positive reviews from critics.

References

  1. Spencer, Tallie (February 13, 2019). "Sara Bareilles Announces New Album 'Amidst the Chaos'". Billboard . Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  2. Caulfield, Keith (April 14, 2019). "Khalid's 'Free Spirit' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard . Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  3. Baltin, Steve. "Sara Bareilles On Her New Album, Broadway, The Obamas And More". Forbes . Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  4. Hughes, Hilary (November 2018). "Sara Bareilles Reveals She Released Feminist Anthem 'Armor' Early Because of the Kavanaugh Hearings". Billboard. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  5. Wood, Mikael (3 April 2019). "Why Sara Bareilles, with a raw new album, is no longer 'terrified of upsetting anybody'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  6. Bajgrowicz, Brooke (29 November 2018). "Sara Bareilles Puts on Her 'Armor' For Empowering 'Late Show' Performance: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  7. "Sara Bareilles reveals new album will be titled 'Amidst the Chaos'". WIKY. February 13, 2019. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  8. "SARA BAREILLES ANNOUNCES SPECIAL LIMITED RUN LIVE SHOWS". Artist Direct.
  9. Iasimone, Ashley (7 April 2019). "Sara Bareilles Performs 'Fire' & 'Saint Honesty' on 'SNL'". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  10. allmusic
  11. "Amidst the Chaos by Sara Bareilles". Spotify . 10 May 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  12. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  13. "New Pup Album Makes A Big Splash, But Khalid Makes No. 1". FYIMusicNews. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  14. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  15. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 15: del 5.4.2019 al 11.4.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España . Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  17. Caulfield, Keith (April 14, 2019). "Khalid's 'Free Spirit' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2019.