Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | |
---|---|
Cast recording by | |
Released | September 25, 2015 |
Recorded | August 16–21, 2015 |
Studio |
|
Genre | |
Length | 142:13 |
Label | Atlantic |
Producer |
|
Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is the cast album to the 2015 musical Hamilton . The musical is based on the 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton written by Ron Chernow, with music, lyrics, and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The recording stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson, Daveed Diggs, Anthony Ramos, Okieriete Onaodowan, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Jonathan Groff. The ensemble features Jon Rua, Thayne Jasperson, Sydney James Harcourt, Ephraim Sykes, Ariana DeBose, and Sasha Hutchings. The musicians on the album are Alex Lacamoire, Kurt Crowley, Andres Forero, Robin Macatangay, Richard Hammond, Benny Reiner, Jonathan Dinklage, Erin Benim Mayland, Anja Wood, Mario Gotoh, and Laura Sherman. It achieved the largest first week sales for a digital cast album and is the highest-charting cast album since 1963. [1] It was the highest-selling Broadway cast album of 2015 and peaked at number one on the Rap Albums chart, the first cast album to ever do so. [2] After being certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2023, Hamilton became the best-selling cast album of all time. It is also considered one of the best ever musicals.
The cast album for the musical premiered in September 2015 on NPR's website. [3] Its digital release on September 25, 2015, debuted on numerous charts and was released in stores as a two-disc set on October 16, 2015. It debuted at number one on the Top Broadway Albums chart, as well as number 3 on Top Rap Albums. [1] Hamilton's debut was the second-biggest first week sales of a Broadway cast album, just behind the cast album for the musical Rent. It debuted at number 12 on the overall Billboard 200 chart for sales, with over 2.1 million streams combined from digital service providers, the largest streaming debut for a cast album ever. [1] Following the 70th Tony Awards in 2016, the album re-peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it one of only three cast recordings to reach the top 10 in the last 50 years. [4] The album reached a new peak of number two in July 2020, following the release of the live stage film of the Broadway production on July 3, 2020. This made Hamilton the highest charting cast album since Hair in 1969. This peak also came on the album's 250th consecutive week on the Billboard 200. [5]
The album was the highest-selling Broadway cast album of 2015 and peaked at number one on the Top Rap Albums chart, the first cast album to ever do so. [2] It achieved the largest first week sales for a digital cast album and was the highest-charting cast album debut since 1963. [1] It sold 169,000 copies in 2015, and a further 739,000 copies in 2016, making it the fifth best-selling album of 2016. [6] It was certified 6x Multiplatinum by the RIAA on April 4, 2019, making it the best-selling cast recording of all time. [7] That record was extended when the album was certified 7× platinum on September 16, 2020. [7] As of July 2020 the album has sold 1.97 million pure copies. [5] On June 26, 2023, it became the first cast album to receive a Diamond certification. [8]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 85/100 [9] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [10] |
Billboard | [11] |
Pitchfork | 6.9/10 [12] |
Rolling Stone | [13] |
Vice | A [14] |
Hamilton was met with critical acclaim. Billboard called the album an "eye-popping debut", giving it a 5-out-of-5 star review and listing it at number 2 on the magazine's 50 Best Albums of 2015. [11] Rolling Stone gave it a 4.5-out-of-5 star rating, listing it at number 8 on the magazine's Top 50 Albums of 2015. [13] [15] Robert Christgau wrote in Vice , "I can attest that the intrinsic intellectual interest [ Lin-Manuel Miranda ] powers up here is so impressive it's exciting". [14]
All tracks are written by Lin-Manuel Miranda
No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Alexander Hamilton" |
| 3:56 |
2. | "Aaron Burr, Sir" |
| 2:36 |
3. | "My Shot" |
| 5:33 |
4. | "The Story of Tonight" |
| 1:31 |
5. | "The Schuyler Sisters" |
| 3:06 |
6. | "Farmer Refuted" |
| 1:52 |
7. | "You'll Be Back" |
| 3:28 |
8. | "Right Hand Man" |
| 5:21 |
9. | "A Winter's Ball" |
| 1:09 |
10. | "Helpless" |
| 4:09 |
11. | "Satisfied" |
| 5:29 |
12. | "The Story of Tonight (Reprise)" |
| 1:55 |
13. | "Wait for It" |
| 3:13 |
14. | "Stay Alive" | Cast | 2:39 |
15. | "Ten Duel Commandments" |
| 1:46 |
16. | "Meet Me Inside" |
| 1:23 |
17. | "That Would Be Enough" |
| 2:58 |
18. | "Guns and Ships" |
| 2:07 |
19. | "History Has Its Eyes On You" |
| 1:37 |
20. | "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" | Cast | 4:02 |
21. | "What Comes Next?" | Groff | 1:39 |
22. | "Dear Theodosia" |
| 3:04 |
23. | "Non-Stop" |
| 6:25 |
Total length: | 70:58 |
No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "What'd I Miss" |
| 3:56 |
2. | "Cabinet Battle #1" |
| 3:35 |
3. | "Take a Break" |
| 4:46 |
4. | "Say No to This" |
| 4:02 |
5. | "The Room Where It Happens" |
| 5:18 |
6. | "Schuyler Defeated" |
| 1:03 |
7. | "Cabinet Battle #2" |
| 2:22 |
8. | "Washington On Your Side" |
| 3:01 |
9. | "One Last Time" |
| 4:56 |
10. | "I Know Him" | Groff | 1:37 |
11. | "The Adams Administration" | Cast | 0:54 |
12. | "We Know" |
| 2:22 |
13. | "Hurricane" |
| 2:23 |
14. | "The Reynolds Pamphlet" | Cast | 2:08 |
15. | "Burn" | Soo | 3:45 |
16. | "Blow Us All Away" |
| 2:53 |
17. | "Stay Alive (Reprise)" |
| 1:51 |
18. | "It's Quiet Uptown" |
| 4:30 |
19. | "The Election of 1800" |
| 3:57 |
20. | "Your Obedient Servant" |
| 2:30 |
21. | "Best of Wives and Best of Women" |
| 0:47 |
22. | "The World Was Wide Enough" |
| 5:02 |
23. | "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" | Cast | 3:37 |
Total length: | 71:15 2:22:13 |
Interpolations
Notes
Cast
Ensemble vocals
| Production
| Musicians
Additional musicians for recording
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [56] | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [57] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [58] | Platinum | 15,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [59] | 2× Platinum | 600,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [7] | Diamond | 5,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Title | Certifications |
---|---|
"Aaron Burr, Sir" | |
"Alexander Hamilton" | |
"A Winter's Ball" | |
"Best of Wives and Best of Women" |
|
"Blow Us All Away" |
|
"Burn" | |
"Cabinet Battle #1" |
|
"Cabinet Battle #2" |
|
"Dear Theodosia" | |
"Election of 1800" |
|
"Farmer Refuted" | |
"Guns and Ships" | |
"Helpless" | |
"History Has Its Eyes On You" |
|
"Hurricane" |
|
"I Know Him" | |
"It's Quiet Uptown" |
|
"Meet Me Inside" |
|
"My Shot" | |
"Non-Stop" | |
"One Last Time" |
|
"Right Hand Man" | |
"Satisfied" | |
"Say No to This" |
|
"Schuyler Defeated" |
|
"Stay Alive" | |
"Take a Break" |
|
"Ten Duel Commandments" |
|
"That Would Be Enough" |
|
"The Adams Administration" |
|
"The Reynolds Pamphlet" |
|
"The Room Where It Happens" | |
"The Schuyler Sisters" |
|
"The Story of Tonight" | |
"The Story of Tonight (Reprise)" |
|
"Wait For It" | |
"Washington on Your Side" |
|
"We Know" |
|
"What Comes Next?" |
|
"What'd I Miss" |
|
"Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" |
|
"Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" | |
"You'll Be Back" | |
"Your Obedient Servant" |
|
Year | Award type | Categories | Results |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Grammy Award | Best Musical Theater Album [64] | Won |
NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Duo, Group, or Collaboration [65] | Nominated | |
2017 | Billboard Music Award | Billboard Music Award for Top Soundtrack/Cast Album [66] | Won |
Lin-Manuel Miranda is an American songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, rapper, and librettist. He created the Broadway musicals In the Heights (2005) and Hamilton (2015), and the soundtracks for the animated films Moana (2016), Vivo, and Encanto. He has received numerous accolades including a Pulitzer Prize, three Tony Awards, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and five Grammy Awards, along with nominations for two Academy Awards. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2018.
Alex Lacamoire is a Cuban-American composer, arranger, conductor, musical director, music copyist, and orchestrator who has worked on many shows both on and off-Broadway. He is the recipient of multiple Tony and Grammy Awards for his work on shows such as In the Heights (2008), Hamilton (2016), and Dear Evan Hansen (2017). Lacamoire was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018.
Rigo "Riggs" Morales is a music executive, writer, producer, author, and former music journalist. He began his career as a music writer for publications such as The Source, XXL, Vibe and The Fader, and later became a record label executive known for working with artists such as Eminem, 50 Cent, Wiz Khalifa, Janelle Monae, and for producing the Original Broadway Cast Recording for the Tony Award-winning musical, Hamilton.
Hamilton: An American Musical is a sung-and-rapped-through biographical musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Based on the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, the musical covers the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and his involvement in the American Revolution and the political history of the early United States. Composed over a seven-year period from 2008 to 2015, the music draws heavily from hip hop, as well as R&B, pop, soul, and traditional-style show tunes. It casts non-white actors as the Founding Fathers of the United States and other historical figures. Miranda described Hamilton as about "America then, as told by America now".
Anthony Paul Ramos Martinez is an American actor and singer. After graduating in musical theatre from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, he began working in stage musicals. In 2015, he originated the dual roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the Broadway musical Hamilton. He received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series or Movie for his performance in the 2020 stage recording of the play.
"Alexander Hamilton" is the opening number for the 2015 musical Hamilton, a musical biography of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. This song features "alternately rapped and sung exposition".
"Satisfied" is the eleventh song from Act 1 of the musical Hamilton, based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. The song is sung by the character Angelica Schuyler, originally performed by Renée Elise Goldsberry.
"Wait for It" is the thirteenth song from Act 1 of the musical Hamilton, based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. It speaks of Aaron Burr's undying determination in the face of Hamilton's swift rise to influence and power. Vocally, it covers a baritenor range of Ab2 to Ab4.
"Dear Theodosia" is the penultimate song from Act 1 of the musical Hamilton, based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. The song is sung by the character Aaron Burr, originally performed by Leslie Odom Jr., and Hamilton, originally performed by Miranda.
"Helpless" is the tenth song from Act 1 of the musical Hamilton, based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song.
"You'll Be Back" is the seventh song from Act 1 of the musical Hamilton, based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. It is sung by Jonathan Groff in the show's original cast recording. Within the context of the musical, it is King George III lamenting the anti-royal machinations of the rebelling American colonists. It covers a vocal range of D3 to A4 and is written for a tenor voice.
"My Shot" is the third song from Act 1 of the musical Hamilton, based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song.
The Hamilton Mixtape is a 2016 mixtape album featuring assorted songs from the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton performed by various artists, including Kelly Clarkson, Wiz Khalifa, Nas, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Dessa, Miguel, Chance the Rapper, Nate Ruess, K’naan, Aloe Blacc, and the Roots. It was widely well received by critics.
"Cabinet Battle #1" & "Cabinet Battle #2" are songs written for Act II of the musical Hamilton, based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the songs.
Moana: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2016 Disney animated film of the same name. The soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on November 19, 2016. It features songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa'i, with lyrics in English, Samoan, Tokelauan and Tuvaluan. The two-disc deluxe edition includes the score, which was composed by Mancina, as well as demos, outtakes and instrumental karaoke tracks. The record also produced two singles.
Dear Evan Hansen: Original Broadway Cast Recording is the cast album to the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The recording stars Ben Platt, Rachel Bay Jones, Laura Dreyfuss, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Michael Park, Mike Faist, Will Roland and Kristolyn Lloyd. The album was produced by Alex Lacamoire, Pasek and Paul, and featuring musicians include Rob Jost, Adele Stein, Justin Smith, Ben Cohn, Jamie Eblen, Dillon Kondor, Justin Goldner, Christopher Jahnke and Todd Low. The album was released by Atlantic Records on January 27, 2017, and featured at #8 on the Billboard 200, making the highest debut for a cast album after Camelot (1961). It also topped the Internet Albums chart. It further received the Best Musical Theater Album award at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.
"Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" is the twentieth song from Act 1 of the musical Hamilton, based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. It recounts the story of the Battle of Yorktown.
Mary Poppins Returns: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album for the film of the same name. The songs and score for the film were composed by Marc Shaiman, with song lyrics written by Scott Wittman and Shaiman. The soundtrack album was released by Walt Disney Records on December 7, 2018.
Encanto (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to Disney's 2021 film of the same name. Released by Walt Disney Records on November 19, 2021, the album contains eight original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and produced by Mike Elizondo that were recorded by various singers, and 27 score pieces composed by Germaine Franco. It was released in 44 languages in addition to English and Spanish.
In the Heights (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is the cast album to the Broadway production In the Heights. Released on June 3, 2008, the album features 23 songs with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and performed by the cast members. The album was one of the best-selling cast albums in the 2000s, sold around 500,000 copies and certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. It won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, the following year.