Storms (Hedley album)

Last updated

Storms
Hedley Storms.jpg
Studio album by
Released8 November 2011
Recorded2011
Genre
Length43:24
Label Universal Music Canada
Producer
Hedley chronology
Go with the Show
(2009)
Storms
(2011)
Wild Life
(2013)
Singles from Storms
  1. "Invincible"
    Released: 22 August 2011
  2. "One Life"
    Released: 24 October 2011
  3. "Kiss You Inside Out"
    Released: 17 May 2012

Storms is the fourth full-length studio album by Canadian pop rock band Hedley. It was preceded by the release of two top-20 singles, lead single "Invincible" in August 2011 and "One Life" in October 2011. The album was released in Canada on 8 November 2011 through Universal Music Canada. [2] A critical and commercial success, the album debuted at No. 2 on the Top Canadian Albums chart. [3] In May 2012, Storms was re-issued with a modified track listing that includes a third single and sixteenth track "Kiss You Inside Out". [4]

Contents

Background

On May 5, 2011, Hedley confirmed that they were back in the studio recording a new album. [5] Around the time of recording, bassist Tommy Mac was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer. Mac managed to record his tracks for the album in between treatments and was later declared cancer-free. [6] Mac further explained in an interview with MuchMusic that "didn't let the guys know until the last minute." [7] According to the group, Mac's perseverance inspired the band to "create the kind of uplifting songs that might spur others to carry on through their own hard times." [6]

The sixth track "Beautiful" was first released on Hedley's live album Go With the Show in 2010. [8] It was performed at the Metro Centre in Halifax. A Jumbotron video was also recorded and can be seen on the DVD, as a special feature. In support of Storms, the band went on the 31 city Shipwrecked tour during early 2012. [9]

Pre-orders for the album were available via iTunes on 24 October 2011, where fans who pre-ordered the album would receive an instant download of the group's second single "One Life". [10] Released on 8 November 2011, the group performed new songs off the album on MuchMusic on 11 November. [11]

Composition

The group worked with producer Brian Howes and the album sees the group experimenting with elements of pop and electronic music to create their most musically diverse soundscape yet, as well as the one with most overt pop overtones. Jacob Hoggard described the album as their "most serious, polished album yet." [12] Similarly, guitarist Dave Rosin said the record was "important" to them, highlight the band's maturity and growth. [13] The last track, "I Won't Let You Go (Darling)" was produced by Hoggard and Rosin and is their longest song ever recorded, at 8 minutes and 34 seconds. The song was originally supposed to be four minutes but the group improvised the last half and spent 30 takes to get the song right, according to the band. [14]

Singles

The album produced three top-20 singles. The lead single "Invincible", was released on 22 August 2011 and features guest vocals from rapper P. Reign. [15] The song peaked at number nine on the Canadian Hot 100 and was certified double platinum in Canada. [16] [17] The album's second single "One Life", was released on 24 October 2011. [18] The song reached number 16 on the Canadian Hot 100. [16] The third single "Kiss You Inside Out" was released on 17 May 2012 and was featured in their re-issued release of Storms. [19] The song was met with critical acclaim, peaking at number two on the Canadian Hot 100 and was certified triple platinum in Canada. [16] [17] The song also topped the Canada AC chart for two weeks. [20] The song earned a Juno Award nomination for Single of the Year in 2013. [21]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
MuchMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [22]

Critical

Jon O'Brien of AllMusic described the album as "an enjoyably big, brash, and bombastic affair." He stated, "the follow-up to 2009's The Show Must Go always sounds more convincing when it embraces their boy band leanings, whether it's the heartfelt string-soaked balladry of 'Heaven's Gonna Wait' and 'Stormy'." However, he criticized the album's last track "I Won't Let You Go (Darling)", where he said the song was "unnecessarily" long. [1] Allison of MuchMusic remarked, "Hedley have shown that adulthood is upon them with a maturity in their lyrics and risk taking in their musicianship that has yet to be heard in earlier records. Expanding their range by working with producer Babyface and trying their hand at a more pop and house sound, the band, who was once known for singing about drunken nights and hot girls, still have their party anthems present on Storms" and highlighted "Beautiful", "Bullet For Your Dreams" and "I Won't Let You Go (Darling)" as the standout tracks. [22]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number two on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 23,000 copies. [3] This was the biggest debut of the week, behind Michael Bublé's holiday album Christmas. [3] On 23 November 2011, the album was certified Gold by Music Canada, and on 23 December of the same year, it was certified Platinum. [23] Storms won the Juno Award for Best Pop Album at the 2012 ceremony. [24]

Track listing

Canadian standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)ProducerLength
1."One Life" Jacob Hoggard, Matt Squire, Lucas Banker Brian Howes 3:33
2."Invincible"Hoggard, Howes, Jason Van PoederooyenHowes3:43
3."Heaven's Gonna Wait"Hoggard, HowesHowes4:07
4."We Are Unbreakable"Hoggard, Howes, Gregg Wattenberg, Ryan Star, Derek FuhrmannHowes3:32
5."Young"Hoggard, Howes, PoederooyenHowes3:24
6."Beautiful"Hoggard, Dave RosinHowes, Hoggard3:23
7."Bullet for Your Dreams"Hoggard, Howes, PoederooyenHowes3:03
8."Hot Mess"Hoggard, Ryan Petersen, Nolan SipeHowes3:06
9."Stormy"Hoggard, BabyfaceHowes3:41
10."Last Call"Hoggard, John FeldmannHowes3:30
11."I Won't Let You Go (Darling)"Hoggard, RosinHowes, Hoggard8:34
Total length:43:24
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Hiding Place"  
13."Carry On"  
14."Heaven's Gonna Wait" (Acoustic Mix)Hoggard, Howes 
15."All You Get Is Sound" (Pre-order only)  
American standard edition / Canadian 2012 re-issue [4]
No.TitleWriter(s)ProducerLength
1."One Life"Hoggard, Squire, BankerHowes3:33
2."Kiss You Inside Out"Brandyn Burnett, Lauren Christy, Adrian Newman Newman3:37
3."Invincible"Hoggard, Howes, PoederooyenHowes3:43
4."Heaven's Gonna Wait"Hoggard, HowesHowes4:07
5."We Are Unbreakable"Hoggard, Howes, Wattenberg, Star, FuhrmannHowes3:32
6."Young"Hoggard, Howes, PoederooyenHowes3:24
7."Beautiful"Hoggard, RosinHowes, Hoggard3:23
8."Bullet for Your Dreams"Hoggard, Howes, PoederooyenHowes3:03
9."Hot Mess"Hoggard, Petersen, SipeHowes3:06
10."Stormy"Hoggard, BabyfaceHowes3:41
11."Last Call"Hoggard, FeldmannHowes3:30
12."I Won't Let You Go (Darling)"Hoggard, RosinHowes, Hoggard8:34
Total length:47:01

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes. [25]

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [23] Platinum80,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for Storms
CountryDateFormatEditionLabel(s)Ref.
Canada8 November 2011
  • Standard
  • deluxe
Universal Music Canada [2]
22 May 2012 Re-issue [4]
United StatesDigital downloadStandard [28]

References

  1. 1 2 3 O'Brien, Jon. "Storms Review by Jon O'Brien". AllMusic . Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Storms – Hedley | Release Info". AllMusic . Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Williams, John. "Michael Buble hits No. 1". Jam! . CANOE. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Storms – Album by Hedley". iTunes . Archived from the original on 29 January 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  5. @Hedleyonline (5 May 2011). "Who's excited?? :) -TH RT @TommyMac1: Studio for new Hedley cd soon!!!" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  6. 1 2 "Hedley turns some bad news into a gold record". Red Deer Advocate . 6 July 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  7. Allison (6 July 2012). "Hedley's Tommy MacDonald Opens Up About His Battle With Cancer". MuchMusic . Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  8. "Go with the Show – Hedley". AllMusic . Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  9. "Not Only is Hedley Hitting Up Much... Their Ticket Presales Start Tomorrow Too!". MuchMusic . 8 November 2011. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  10. @Hedleyonline (24 October 2011). "Happy Hedley pre-order day!! Pre-order #storms on iTunes + instantly receive the awesome great track 'One Life'!" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  11. "Hedley Storm Live at Much". MuchMusic . 11 November 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  12. "Surviving the storm: Juno-nominated Hedley is back in groove". Ottawa Citizen . 6 March 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  13. Christine Hinzmann (27 January 2012). "Hedley bringing the Storms". Prince George Citizen . Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  14. "Hedley gets serious in 4th album 'Storms'". CityNews . 8 November 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  15. "New Hedley Single "Invincible"". UMC Media Press Release. Universal Music Canada. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  16. 1 2 3 "Hedley Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard . Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  17. 1 2 "Canadian certifications – Hedley". Music Canada . Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  18. "One Life – Hedley | Release Info". AllMusic . Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  19. "Hedley Are Back With A Brand New Single "Kiss You Inside Out"". Universal Music Canada. 17 May 2012. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  20. "Hedley Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard . Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  21. Alex Ballingall (18 April 2013). "Juno Single of the Year: Story behind Hedley's Kiss You Inside Out". Toronto Star . Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  22. 1 2 Allison (9 November 2011). "Hedley Are Ready for the Perfect Storm on Fourth Album". MuchMusic . Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  23. 1 2 "Canadian album certifications – Hedley – Storms". Music Canada.
  24. "Juno Awards 2012: Full list of winners". Toronto Star . 1 April 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  25. Storms (booklet). Hedley. Universal Music Canada. 2011.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. "Hedley Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard . Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  27. "Canadian Albums: 2012 Year-End Charts". Billboard . Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  28. "Storms [International Version] – Hedley | Release Info". AllMusic . Retrieved 20 August 2025.